Easygoing Elliott Goodman, an amateur golfer, finds himself on the operating table after a heart attack and is confronted by God. The Old Boy wants to know why the entirely ordinary Elliott should be allowed to live and, when Elliott's reasons seem lame, challenges him to 18 holes. Rather than play himself, God sends substitutes from history, including Leonardo, John Lennon, Columbus, Babe Ruth, Gandhi, Joan of Arc, Marilyn Monroe, Beethoven, Ben Hogan, etc. Mitchell doesn't lack nerve: the hole with Socrates is narrated as a Socratic dialogue, and the hole with Shakespeare as a rather dreadful attempt at a Shakespearean play. Much of the story is superficial, and many of the celebrity cameos are unconvincing, but Mitchell, like his hero, strikes an agreeable tone and is often amusing.
