Being a golf pro anywhere would have probably given Rick Lipsey '89 plenty to write about.

But considering he was a golf pro in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan -- a country in the throes of reconciling traditional, monarchist Tibetan Buddhist history with its entrance into modern democracy and technology -- Lipsey's new book takes on added intrigue.

"Golfing on the Roof of the World: In Pursuit of Gross National Happiness" is Lipsey's account of living and working in Bhutan -- landlocked between India and China -- in 2002 as a golf instructor, the nation's first golf pro.

While the story is, of course, about golf, it is also an account of Lipsey's experience with the culture of Bhutan, where the national sport is archery, the population of the biggest city is 50,000, and where the national standard for success is "gross national happiness."

Lipsey graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences with a degree in English. He is a staff golf writer at Sports Illustrated, and his work has appeared in Golf, Golf Illustrated, Golf Pro, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Christian Science Monitor.