Hardie Grant Books is thrilled to announce the acquisition of Australian professional golfer and commentator Ian Baker-Finch's authorised biography, To Hell and Back. Hardie Grant Books acquired world print, ebook and audiobook rights and will publish in June 2025.
Ian Baker-Finch is known and admired across the golfing world, and his is a powerful story about a sportsman with the eyes of the world on him. Written by Geoff Saunders, with Ian's full co-operation, Ian Baker-Finch: To Hell and Back is the first and only biography of one of the best-known names in golf. The book charts Ian's story from his early golfing career and rise to the top echelons of golf through to his later success in media.
Ian Baker-Finch said, ‘Working on my biography with Geoff over the last two years has been very rewarding. Looking through the photos, remembering all the stories from fellow players and caddies and reading their views; every step of the way has been enjoyable. The book has helped me to put both my career in golf, and my life, into perspective. I am looking forward to my story being told.’
Ian began his professional golfing career on the Australian Tour in 1979, and spent more than a decade successfully competing around the world. From 1983–93, Ian won 17 titles worldwide including tournaments on all four major Tours. He represented Australia in the 1985 World Cup, The World Four Tours Championship from 1985-91 and the Dunhill Cup in 1989 and 1992, but it was winning the 1991 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale that made him a household name and was the catalyst for a dramatic and inexplicable loss of form a few years later.
Ian Baker-Finch: To Hell and Back explores for the first time the tragic circumstances behind Ian’s sudden loss of form, and looks to answer the question the golfing world has asked for 30 years, 'What caused Ian Baker-Finch's crash?'
‘Ian’s golf fascinated me when I first saw him make his mark as a player in the early 1980’s. His rise in the game was meteoric and his loss of form was a golfing tragedy,’ said author Geoff Saunders. 'I believe Ian and I have distilled the reasons for his decline as a player down to a few key factors, which golfers of all levels can learn from. After the fall, Ian’s stellar golf broadcasting career shows the true measure of the man and adds to the story.‘
Faced with the tragically premature end of his playing career, Ian not only recovered but went from strength to strength: he has been a world-class sports commentator and analyst for CBS and other networks for over 25 years.
‘This is a fascinating story with two powerful messages: how the fame of winning big can lead to the kind of self-doubts that will undermine even the greatest talent – and importantly don’t ever lose faith in yourself and you can still win big again,’ said Hardie Grant Publisher Pam Brewster.
Ian Baker-Finch: To Hell and Back will be published on 3 June 2025.
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Publication Details:
Title: Ian Baker-Finch: To Hell and Back
Author: Geoff Saunders
Imprint: Hardie Grant Books
Publication Date: 3 June 2025
ISBN: 9781761451645
Format: hardback, eBook
RRP: AUD $49.99
Rights: World (print, eBook and audiobook)
Key Facts:
Hardie Grant acquires professional golfer and commentator Ian Baker-Finch's authorised biography, To Hell and Back.
Written by golf writer Geoff Saunders, with Ian's full co-operation.
In the book Ian explores for first time the tragic circumstances behind his sudden loss of form.
About us:
About Ian Baker-Finch
Ian Baker-Finch began his professional golfing career on the Australian Tour in 1979, and after more than a decade of successful competition around the world, he won the 1991 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. From 1983-93, Baker-Finch won 17 titles worldwide including tournaments on all four major Tours. He represented Australia in the 1985 World Cup, The World Four Tours Championship from 1985-91 and the Dunhill Cup in 1989 and 1992. Baker-Finch also served as Peter Thomson’s Vice Captain for the International Presidents Cup Team in 1996, as well as Gary Players’ Assistant Captain for the 2003, 2005 and 2007 International Presidents Cup Team.
Since retiring from professional golf Baker-Finch worked as a world-class sports commentator and analyst for CBS and other networks around the world. In 2000, he was recognized by the Australian Government as a recipient of the Australian Sports Medal, which honours individuals for high level of achievement in sports. He is a life member of both the Australian PGA and Australian PGA Tour, and in early 2024 was named the Chair of the PGA of Australia.
About Geoff Saunders
Geoff Saunders is the author of Sir Bob Charles, a biography of the great New Zealand golfer. Having played golf at a high level himself, Geoff writes from a perspective inside the game. After leaving high school he became an elite amateur and played on the Australasian Tour for 10 years. He is a past winner of the Bledisloe Cup, awarded to the leading amateur in the New Zealand Open. He was on the Board of New Zealand Golf from 2006 to 2010 and chaired the Open Committee. Geoff was a lawyer for 40 years and founded the specialist sports law firm Saunders Robinson Brown in Christchurch, New Zealand. He has been writing about golf for the last 10 years.
About Hardie Grant Books
Hardie Grant Books is a vibrant, successful, diverse and dynamic business with a list of books across a range of subjects including food, wine, sport, history, true crime, humour, popular culture and social issues. Our food and wine books are now recognised as some of the world’s best, carrying off major international awards as well as many of Australia’s most highly regarded design awards.
Contact details:
For more information, please contact Kasi Collins in the Hardie Grant Office on
E: kasicollins@hardiegrant.com, M: 0410 707 791
