The Heart of a Goof is a collection of nine short stories by English comic writer P. G. Wodehouse. It was first published in the United Kingdom on April 15, 1926, by Herbert Jenkins, and in the United States on March 4, 1927, by George H. Doran, New York, under the title Divots. The stories were originally published in magazines between 1921 and 1926.
The stories all concern golf, and are told by the Oldest Member. The book can be considered a sequel to The Clicking of Cuthbert (1922).
Contents
The original story titles and publication dates were as follows:
"The Heart of a Goof" UK: Strand, April 1924 US: Red Book, September 1923
Plot
The Oldest Member tells a young man at the club that a "goof" is someone who is unskilled at golf and becomes overly dejected because of this. He recounts the following tale of a goof, Ferdinand Dibble.
The Oldest Member sees Ferdinand talking to Barbara Medway, who is about to leave for the summer to Marvis Bay. Ferdinand confides in the Oldest Member that he wants to propose to Barbara, but he lacks confidence in himself because of his poor golfing. Later, Barbara also confides in the Oldest Member. She has figured out that Ferdinand loves her and returns his feelings. She is annoyed that Ferdinand will not tell her how he feels. The Oldest Member explains that Ferdinand is a goof, and suggests that Barbara induce Ferdinand to go to Marvis Bay. The average skill of the golfers at the hotel there is notoriously low. Ferdinand will gain enough confidence by defeating them to propose to Barbara. She follows this advice. At Marvis Bay, Ferdinand is amazed by his success against the other golfers, including the lawyer Mr Tuttle, Barbara's uncle. Barbara had to postpone her visit to Marvis Bay at the last moment. Ferdinand does not mind waiting because he continues to win and become more confident.
Ferdinand starts holding up games to give advice to his opponents. They resent this and plot to take him down a peg. Mr Tuttle employs a young man and relatively skilled golfer named George Parsloe, whom he invites to Marvis Bay to beat and humble Ferdinand. Ferdinand agrees to play against Parsloe. He regrets this when he sees Parsloe practising. Barbara arrives at Marvis Bay, but Ferdinand is too dejected because of Parsloe to be cheerful. She mistakenly believes he is not happy to see her and has met another girl. When Ferdinand notices the resulting change in her manner, he thinks she has fallen for Parsloe, who is an old friend of hers. While the match between Ferdinand and Parsloe is going on, Barbara hears about it in the hotel and realizes the actual reason Ferdinand seemed preoccupied. She rushes to the golf course. Her uncle tells her the two players are at the fifteenth hole and have the same score. Ferdinand became listless since he thought he lost Barbara, so he is not nervously over-thinking like usual and is playing better. Barbara suddenly speaks while Parsloe is playing and distracts him, leading to victory for Ferdinand. Barbara and Ferdinand confess their feelings for each other and plan to get married. Ferdinand knows he played better because he was too miserable to worry about his shots, and is concerned he will only be happy from now on. Barbara assures him she be able to think of a hundred ways of bothering him when they are married. Ferdinand is delighted.
"High Stakes" UK: Strand, October 1925 US: Saturday Evening Post, 19 September 1925
Plot
A young man tells the Oldest Member that two rich golfers at the club wagered money on who would win their match. The Oldest Member is reminded of the following story in which two men play for high stakes.