Slow play on the golf course so incensed Scotsman Eric Laing he decided to write a book on the subject.

And the long-time Bermuda resident is hoping his work, published earlier this month and in local and overseas bookstores in time for Christmas, will make a difference worldwide in the way the game is played.

?America, What have you done to The Auld Game?? is, in essence, an attack on US golfers who Laing claims are mostly responsible for killing the game through slow play.

Through 219 pages, including illustrations by local cartoonist Peter Woolcock and colour photographs, many from his native Scotland, Laing details what he believes are the reasons for slow play and offers his own suggestions on how the game could be played at a much faster pace, as it still is on the Scottish links where he grew up.

?Golf is losing ground as an attractive, relaxing sport that can be played and still leave time for other things in the course of the day,? says Laing. ?Current play is causing the loss of thousands of games per year on courses all over the world.?

The Mid Ocean Club member, a one-time six handicapper, who has lived and played on the Island for some 45 years, says there is an awareness of the problem at the highest levels of the US PGA, but few in authority are willing to voice their concerns publicly.

Professionals the author has spoken to, he says, agree with the sentiments of the book but they too have not been willing to address the issue.

?The destruction of the three-and-a-half hour game has been caused by US television coverage of tournaments and the amateur?s proclivity for copying whatever he sees there and taking it as gospel,? says Laing.

?In America, golf the business is killing golf the game. Golf the business extends through equipment, carts, course design, food, surroundings, non-effective rangers, poor club management, and the fear of losing customers by insisting the rules be obeyed.?

?No one,? he adds ?teaches or insists upon good behaviour as a prime requisite for playing.?

Official publishing date of the book was November 15 although it has been in print since early August.

Besides local bookstores, ?America! What have you done to The Auld Game?? can also be purchased on the Internet at www.theauldgame.com.