This year’s edition of the Ryder Cup competition, between the best pros in American golf and the best of Europe, will take place in Wales a little more than a month from now.

As the tournament approaches, golf fans might consider brushing up on some Ryder Cup history, courtesy of two books I reviewed in this column several years ago. Both books are still available at Amazon.com and other outlets, and well worth the modest effort to find them.

The first one, “Mr. Ryder’s Trophy,” is a work of fiction, but sometimes novels have a way of being closer to the full truth than you might think (Sleeping Bear Press; $22.95 SRP).

The author, Shirley Dusinberre Durham, is an accomplished amateur golfer and past committee member of USGA. Her first novel addresses several related themes, while centered around two mysteries concerning the origins of the cup: why did Sam Ryder create and sponsor this international competition, and who is the golfer appearing on the top of the famous award?

In 1976, Mr. and Mrs. Steven Winchester find themselves transferred to England for his job managing a factory north of London. Mrs. Winchester discovers Samuel Ryder once lived in the town and still inhabits it in his ghostly form.

Ryder and his longtime friend and professional golfer, Abe Mitchell, have decided that this American woman should help restore the Ryder Cup to its originally intended purpose - to give an opportunity for excellent competition among professional golfers in an atmosphere of sportsmanship and camaraderie.

Mitchell and Ryder eventually disclose how and under what conditions Jack Nicklaus will be inspired to suggest the creation of a European squad, in lieu of the previously more limited field of players from Great Britain and Ireland. It just so happens that about this same time Mrs. Winchester meets and plays a round of golf with a young English professional named Nick Faldo.

This novel will appeal to avid golfers with a sense of history and an interest in what one might call the morality of golf.

The second book, “Us Against Them,” is a far more straightforward piece of golf journalism by Robin McMillan (Harper Collins; $25.95). McMillan describes some fascinating reconstructions of strategy used by Ryder Cup captains during dozens of matches held since 1927. Learning what went into the decision to pair up teams or decide the playing order for the last day’s singles event made for a great read.

McMillan went through the archives and tracked down many of the participants for their own take on their experience. Once again I’m struck by how golfers can remember yardage, club selection and results from rounds that took place decades ago.

He also recounts some tales of gamesmanship that some players used to great effect. Seve Ballesteros was a great match player not only because of his scrambling ability, but also because he was able to make his competition think more about him than their own game. On the other hand, Paul Azinger and other American golfers were able to unnerve their opponents, and not just with their swing technique.

Based on what these interviews divulged, the winning strategies are actually pretty simple. In foursomes, the alternate shot format, make sure each team has one player who can keep the ball in play and another player capable of streaks of brilliance. In four-ball, try to pair together players with similar temperaments and ball-striking abilities.

For the singles matches, however, the best strategy seems to be to always lead off with your strongest players and overwhelm the other side before the final match of the day. Both sides have certainly won without using this tactic, but they’ve also unwittingly increased their odds of losing when they didn’t. Sometimes, they’ve been forced to watch in stunned disbelief as their side lost when they didn’t lead with their best guys first.

Now that it’s midsummer, I’m thinking of buying some hope. TaylorMade, Titleist, Callaway and the other club makers don’t really sell golf clubs. They simply cater to the dreams and desires of millions of duffers who are convinced that the latest innovation is just what they need to drop a quick five to 10 strokes off their handicaps.

My home club and others here in the Cape Region sponsor demo days at the beginning of the golf season. Nonetheless, I know enough about my own game to understand that early April is no time for me to think about a new driver. In the spring, my golfing skills (if you can call them that) are pretty rusty by comparison to how I usually play in late summer and fall.

One of the challenges I also have to face is dealing with too much information, not too little. After more than 10 years of writing golf book reviews and this column, I’ve been exposed to so much contradictory advice and opinions that I tend to delay any decisions about what equipment upgrades I should make.

I believe that’s called paralysis by analysis.

Plus, I’m a bit cheap.

These combined elements are my best explanation for why I still use a 5-year-old Ben Hogan driver, which I bought after using the prior one for about the same amount of time.

In golf equipment terms, that’s an eternity. So when I approached Shawnee’s golf professional, Devon Peterson, and asked if he thought I should replace my driver, he gave me one of his patented arched eyebrows, and a short, sharp laugh.

I took that as a yes.

We went out to the practice range, and he had me try three clubs - a TaylorMade Superfast, a Ping G15 driver and a Callaway Big Bertha Diablo. The TaylorMade features a 46.5-inch long shaft, as well as a 460cc head. The other two club heads are also sized at 460cc, the maximum permitted by the USGA. They all dwarf the Hogan.

These clubs might just fix a nagging problem that’s developed with my current driver. My tee shots now tend to go very, very high, and often very, very left. I can make a tee shot back up on a Shawnee fairway after a 210-yard carry. Jim Hutchins has had me try his “old” TaylorMade R7, fitted with extra weights in the toe to fight the hooks, and that’s helped a bit.

Among the three drivers Peterson had me try, the Superfast worked best on the range. He said the good shots were the best among the three, and that the mis-hits were also the most acceptable.

He taped up the Superfast’s clubface, and I tried it out on the course. Some tee shots were just fine. Others were as squirrelly as what I’ve been doing with the Hogan, but this time in all directions.

I think I was trying too hard to kill the ball under playing conditions, compared to the range results.

The other possibility, and one that I think makes a lot of sense, is that the Superfast’s driver shaft is just too long. With my swing speed (pretty fast) and talent level (pretty modest), I think it’s just too hard for me to bring the center of the clubface to the back of the ball on a consistent basis.

Before I buy anything, therefore, I’m going to try an experiment. Tom Wishon, who wrote “The Search for the Perfect Driver,” says most golfers would improve their swings by shortening their drivers. Based on a wrist-to-floor measurement, I should probably limit my driver length to 43.5 inches, three fewer than the Superfast’s normal offering.

Bruce Goldsborough of Tee II Green Golf on Rehoboth Avenue shortened the Hogan driver to this length, removing an inch and a quarter.

With impact tape and time on the range, I will see if I can hit more centered shots. If I do, then the new driver will also be cut down to my best size.

Hope springs eternal.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) can happen to anyone; in fact more than 10 million Americans are estimated to suffer from this painful condition. One of those 10 million is baseball legend, Hank Aaron. Hank is in the record books for breaking Babe Ruth's legendary home run record, eventually retiring from the game with 755 home runs.

During his baseball career, he was in excellent physical shape. However, after retirement, Hank started to experience knee pain. The pain got bad enough that he had trouble with everyday activities like walking short distances, playing golf, and even driving. "It was really embarrassing, especially as an athlete, to not be able to do these simple things," Hank said.

After his primary care doctor recommended that he see an orthopedic surgeon, Hank was diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee and began discussing treatment options with his doctor. He tried steroid shots and physical therapy. "They helped a little, but I still had pain," Hank said. "I talked to my doctor and asked is there anything else that we can do - anything besides surgery? That's when my doctor recommended a viscosupplement injection."

"Hank's experience is very similar to many of my patients. They want to relieve their knee pain, but they're reluctant to have surgery or take a lot of pills," said Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, orthopedic surgeon and best selling author of "FrameWork - Your 7 Step Program for Healthy Muscles, Bones and Joints.

"That's where an option like a viscosupplement injection can be very helpful. It's simple for the patient because it's just one injection, but more importantly it can give them pain relief for up to six months. That's time for people to get back to exercising, maybe lose a few pounds - both of which are really important for your knees."

Now that Hank's knee pain is gone he feels like himself again. "I'm able to go out and play with my grandkids," Hank said. "I'm able to ride my bicycle. I can finally play golf again without riding around in a cart. I don't think about my knee anymore."

After seeing firsthand how much knee pain can affect his life, Hank's now stepping up to raise awareness about osteoarthritis of the knee. Learn more about Hank's experience and help him raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation at teamhank.com.