Product Description

Beginning with the tense US victory in the 1993 Ryder Cup, this book tells the story of an unusually turbulent year on the PGA tour. It also provides portraits of leading golfers such as Nick Price, Tom Watson and Greg Norman, and of rising stars such as Paul Azinger. The author, a leading American sports journalist and radio commentator, discusses the players' private lives and examines the pressures of a high-profile sport with virtually no off-season, the intense competition to stay on the "money list", and the psychological dangers in a game in which a player's true opponent is always himself. John Feinstein has written for "Sports Illustrated", "The Washington Post" and "Sporting News", and is the author of "A Season on the Brink" and "Hard Courts".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #916235 in Books
• Published on: 1995-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
In John Feinstien's A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour, someone asks Faldo, after his final round in the PGA, if his failure to win a major last year was a problem with his putter.

"The problem, " Faldo said, "was with the puttee."

If you've ever shanked a two footer, or taken a divot out of the green, you'll know something of what he was talking about, but for a fully textured understanding of this most cerebral of games, John Feinstein's best-selling account of the 1994 US PGA Tour is essential reading.

Feinstein sets himself the task of appreciating the game through an understanding of the man attached to the club shaft, and his studies of John Daly and Nick Faldo, in particular, are wonderfully observed and rendered.

Daly, and the drink, drugs and violence with which he was living, had a deep and lasting impact on the professional game in 1994 and beyond. He made excellence and achievement at golf look brutal and ugly, and the American public, who like to see a little blood and sweat for their money, loved it. The genteel narcissism that had been the spirit of the tour for so long dissolved in his wake.

Faldo, silent, brooding and an obsessive deconstructor of golf swings and mindsets, cuts a very different figure and Feinstein's book is one of the most complete studies of this extraordinary sportsman ever written. For Faldo and Daly, more than most, the golf course became a public arena for a personal struggle. Each round of golf was a journey into inner space.

Fortunately, there are lots of amusing and revealing anecdotes to accompany the psychological analysis and we are largely spared ramblings of the "humanity-in-every- bunker-shot" kind.

Feinstein's succinct style reflects this commitment to clarity, making this a readable and definitive work on the subject of man's pursuit of the small, round ball. --Alex Hankin

Customer Reviews

One of the best 'behind the scenes' golf books
John Ferstein has done what no other golf book has done so far. His 'behind-the-scenes' look at life on the PGA tour is one of those books that once you start reading it you can't put down, and once you've finished reading it you'll start all over again. From The Ryder Cup through PGA Qualifying School to the final major of the season. John Fernstein manages to show you just how tough life can be 'on the road' and how tough it can be when you just miss the chance to be 'on the road'. John not only takes us through life on the PGA tour, but also on the Nike Tour as well as the pressures of Qualifying School - where one shot can meand driving to a Nike Tour event each week or flying to a PGA Tour event each week. Also, he provides a wonderful insight into the players and how they got to where they were today. A must for all golf fans out there.

An enthralling read. A real insight into life on the USPGA.
For those who want to read and feel what goes on behind the scenes of the USPGA tour a book that is a must. It starts with the Ryder Cup in England in 1993. I still remember now watching Davis Love III beat Costatino Rocca on the 18th green at the Belfry and Love being swamped by his team mates whilst Rocca was left alone to ponder over what might have been. I felt then that Love should have pushed his team mates aside and sought out Rocca to shake his hand. He didn't. This book puts that matter right. Love sought him out and said 'It could have been me'. This book tells the stories behind the glare of the cameras. Paul Azingers come back after his treatment for cancer. His playing partners with tears in their eyes on the tee as he rejoined the tour after fearing he would never play again. The feeling of playing with John Daly surrounded by huge crowds and security men , and still playing the shot that was required to make the cut. The real pressure of trying to make it through Qualifying School. The tears, sadness, laughter and joy of just having the chance to play with the best. It is a book that I cannnot recommend highly enough for those who want more than just another book on how to play the game. Read it and enjoy.

The best golf book ever written. Full stop.
This book awakens the soul of the PGA Tour. Having read two of Feinstein's golf books, this is certainly the best. It tells of a year in the life of the PGA Tour, focuses on certain players (famous and the not so famous) and on the running of the Tour itself. Brilliantly written, humourous at times and always fascinating and enjoyable, A Good Walk Spoiled will keep you up all night as you follow in the footsteps of the professional golfers of America. If you ever wondered what the PGA was really like, then this is the book for you.