Joseph Farris - Its a Stupid Game; Itll Never Amount to Anything: The Golf Cartoons of Joseph Farris

Copyright 2015 by Joseph Farris All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fundraising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or info@skyhorsepublishing.com.

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation. Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file. Cover illustration credit: Joseph Farris ISBN: 978-1-63220-697-8
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-63220-999-3 Printed in China

I graphically show this in one cartoon where a golfers last wish is to be buried with his golf clubs. In another, I shift my focus and show a newly married couple with a Just Married sign on their golf cart spending their honeymoon on a golf course. Sex, a driving force in most of us, has to compete with golf when there is a choice of one or the other. Many golfers seek the wisdom of great golfers for a cutting edge in their game even when the wisdom can be contradictory. One of the golfers in my gallery even resorts to a guru high atop a mountain perch for advice. Perhaps the one cartoon that pretty much summarizes the goal of the serious golfer and his struggle to reach the top is my depiction of a golfer as Sisyphus, pushing a huge golf ball up a steep hill only to have it fail to reach the top and roll back down over and over in an endless cycle.

My first introduction to the game began when I discovered an old set of golf clubs in an abandoned outhouse on a property my wife and I purchased many years ago. I suspect the location was an omen for my golfing career. They werent the finest set of golf clubs in the worldin fact they were probably the worst set in the world. Many cartoonists lived in Fairfield County in Connecticut to be near New York City where most of their client magazines were located. The majority of my colleagues seemed to be golf addicts. Its possible that hitting a golf ball might have been a fantasy for clobbering some of the editors who seemed to take a delight in rejecting our work (or perhaps us).

The cartoonists held an annual golf tournament and a foursome of three of my friends and I decided to enter. We were the last foursome out. We were the first foursome back. We were the only foursome to quit after nine holes. We were terrible. I think Im lost. I think Im lost.

This isnt the Le Golf National LAlbatros course, is it? Ill sure be glad when this war to end all wars is over and I can get back to playing golf for the rest of my life. Let me get this straight. You first noticed your big head right after you scored a hole-in-one? It happened when I was trying to hit my ball out of a tricky bunker on the 8th hole. Youre obese. Get some exercise. This isnt meant to be a complaint but how can you afford this when as a professional golfer youve never even made the cut? Its a stupid game. This isnt meant to be a complaint but how can you afford this when as a professional golfer youve never even made the cut? Its a stupid game.

Itll never amount to anything. What a coincidence! I just shot an eagle! They wanted to make this hole tougher. Personally, I think they went overboard!