Golfer’s Guide Magazine referred to him as “One of the Southeast’s most respected and sought-after golf writers.” Legendary golf course architect and World Golf Hall of Fame member Pete Dye exclaimed, “Joel is a wonderful writer and a great friend.” Zuckerman has eight books to his credit and a ninth in the works. His lively speaking engagements are in demand by corporate groups, at country clubs and on cruise ships. His course reviews, player profiles, essays and features have been seen in more than one hundred publications internationally, including Sports Illustrated, GOLF, Continental Magazine, SKY Magazine, Travel & Leisure Golf, Golf Connoisseur, Golfweek, Estates West, Millionaire and Golf International, among many others.

His first book was released in the spring of 2003. Golf in the Lowcountry discusses the golf life on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia. His second book, Golf Charms of Charleston, was released for Christmas of 2005, and was immediately reprinted. His third, titled Misfits on the Links, was released in the spring of 2006, and is currently in its third printing.  A Hacker’s Humiliations, his fourth book, was released in autumn 2007, and immediately reprinted. Autumn 2008 saw the release of his most ambitious project to date–a worldwide look at famed architect Pete Dye’s most important courses, titled Pete Dye—Golf Courses: 50 Years of Visionary Design.

Zuckerman was chosen to spearhead the project by the Dye family themselves out of a pool of nearly 1,000 potential candidates (the membership of the Golf Writers Association of America.)  And the book, with more than 20,000 copies pre-sold in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean and across the United States, featuring nearly 30 separate custom covers, has become one of the best-selling golf books of the last decade. Among other accolades, it was named Book of the Year by the International Network of Golf at the annual PGA Show in Orlando in January 2009.

His sixth book was released in concert with the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. Kiawah Golf: The Game’s Elegant Island, was published in the summer of 2012, just weeks prior to the championship itself, and the ensuing publicity included a live appearance on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive from the tournament venue itself.

His seventh book is an unprecedented look at the beating heart of golf in America—the club professional.  In the long history of golf writing, there has never before been a book dedicated specifically to the club pro, and all they do to keep the game relevant and vital in the difficult economic conditions currently besetting the nation.
Pro’s Pros—Extraordinary Club Professionals Making Golf Great was released in June 2013, and the unconventional subject matter immediately resulted in the author being booked for appearances on PBS radio, Sirius XM Satellite Radio and as a featured guest on Golf Channel’s signature show, Morning Drive. This unique project paved the way for Zuckerman to win his second Book of the Year Award at the PGA Show in Orlando in January, 2014.

Joel’s eighth book project is another one-of-a-kind. Golfers Giving Back—Exceptional Charity Tournaments Coast to Coast, is the first and only book ever written in praise of charity golf tournaments. Charity tournaments raise hundreds of millions of dollars for thousands of worthy causes annually: Medical research, hospitals, the environment, the military, the underprivileged, battered women, homeless shelters, educational scholarships, grief counseling–the list is endless. This book showcases fifty-five of the finest events in the nation–who they benefit, why they were started, the motivation of the founders, etc. The book featuring a foreword by Ryder Cup Captain Dave Stockton, was released in late November 2015, and sold out an initial press run of 10,000 hardcover copies by New Year’s Day, little more than six weeks later. Only a few dozen copies remain for sale, and only on this web site.