Product Description

Every autumn, more than a thousand veterans and talented hopefuls sweat through three phases of hell in the Q School, as the PGA Tour Qualifying tournament is known, vying for the thirty slots available. It's a test all but a handful of the most brilliant golfers have to endure. And there's no way back if a player misses the cut. At Q School, a bad round or the wrong mindset means you're out for the year. John Feinstein tells the stories of the players who competed in the 2005 Q School and the lessons they learned along the way, with arresting accounts from established winners, rising stars, the defeated and the endlessly hopeful.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39459 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

Review
'10/10 ... highly recommended ... a real page-turner for those like me passionate about the game' GolfMagic.com 'Revealing insights ... it will certainly make you laugh' Irish Times 'This book has a brilliant beermat proposition at its core: what is it like to have your financial future entirely dependent on hitting a ball into a hole with a stick from three feet away. That is what faces those participating in Q School' Daily Telegraph 'I recommend Tales From Q School to devoted golfers' National Club Golfer

About the Author
John Feinstein is the author of a number of bestselling sports books. He is currently a commentator for National Public Radio and an essayist for CBS Sports; he contributes to the WASHINGTON POST. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland, and Shelter Island, New York.

Customer Reviews

Another very good read for golf fans
I bought this book because I enjoyed Mr Feinstein's earlier books: A good Walk Spoiled (about the PGA Tour)and The Majors. These really seemed to get inside the life of the professional tour golfer so we could see how tough it is for them. Throughout these books the threat hanging over them was "having to go back to Q School" as though it were a prison sentence - so I was delighted to see that he had written a book about the subject.
And yes it IS tough: "three phases of hell" it says on the back cover. "Golf's Fifth Major" may be a misnomer in terms of the status - but not of effort, competitiveness or ultimate importance. At the end there is no grand trophy for the winner, but tickets for those who succeed - on the PGA Tour for the select few, or on the Nationwide Tour for the second level. For the rest: heartbreak. The threat of failure here makes many reconsider their choice of career or how to keep going until next year's Q-School. There is, inevitably, more sadness than joy in the stories told in a competition where an entire career can hang on one shot.
Another very good book which shines a light on the less glamourous side of tour golf and makes you look at professional golfers with a new respect. It also made me look at PGA Tour TV coverage with more interest and to look up the career stories of some of the less well-known names I had read about in these pages.