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374th out of 427 books
—
350 voters
A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour
In the highly acclaimed bestseller A Good Walk Spoiled, John Feinstein captures the world of professional golf as it has never been captured before. Traveling with the golfers on the PGA Tour, Feinstein gets inside the heads of the game's greatest players as well as its struggling wannabes. Meet superstars like Nick Price, who nailed a fifty-foot putt at the seventeenth to...more
Paperback, 680 pages
Published
May 1st 2005
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published 1995)
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This classic book from John Feinstein follows a number of both well-known and unknown golfers through the 1994 season. Though it might seem as if this book is dated, it is a surprisingly gripping story that centers around names still appearing on ESPN’s Sportscenter – Davis Love, Paul Azinger, etc. Feinstein writes pre-Tiger, and it seems odd somehow to read about golf without Tiger’s current starring role, but his absence allows more of a spotlight on other players.
By the end of the book, the l...more
By the end of the book, the l...more
If you took the long form version of every 1993 and 1994 "Golf Digest" article and compiled into a book. Sports books (and movies) are inherently perishable items that don't travel well. No one cares about your country's sport ("Futbol Night in America" anyone?). Similarly no one cares about the previous generations sporting events. This problem plagues Feinstein's fairly well-written collection of stories about professional golf on various levels back in the "BT" or "Before Tiger" Period. Of co...more
Feinstein is a great storyteller. I knew little about the PGA Tour prior to reading this book, but I now feel like I have a good handle on how the whole enterprise works. (Then again, I'm sure things have changed in the last 18 years since the events covered in this book.) interesting throughout . . . mostly. Certain chapters could have been trimmed down a bit to make it a little tighter.
My biggest complaint is with Feinstein's writing. As I said, he is a great storyteller. But he's not a great...more
A Good Walk Spoiled is the bestselling nonfiction sports book of all time. This book by John Feinstein provided very good insight about life on the PGA Tour. He followed the lives of touring pros such as Brian Henninger, John Cook, and Paul Goydos. The book showed how although the PGA Tour can be very glamorous, it is filled with its hardships as well. The one drawback to the book was that it got to be a small drag after a while; the book stretched to nearly five hundred pages. I felt there was...more
I'm fascinated by golf, as you'll see if you browse my book list. I don't play much and never played well, but in my teens I worked at driving ranges, par threes, and golf clubs, both around the clubhouses and on greens crews. Golf, like poker, has social aspects but is ultimately a game/sport/endeavor in which you play yourself. It also has plenty of larger than life characters, hustlers and caddy-shack denizens.
Feinstein writes about golf intelligently. He and Dan Jenkins are the greatest chr...more
Feinstein writes about golf intelligently. He and Dan Jenkins are the greatest chr...more
I don't play golf very much. I NEVER watch it on TV. I love listening to my Dad tell golf stories, but it is not one of my four favorite sports. That being said, I love reading about it, and John Feinstein may be the best about writing about the game. Mark Frost is a close second.
This book is the best-selling sports book of all time, just a tad better than Feinstein's A Season on the Brink about the 1985 Indiana Hoosiers. This book is interesting because it tells the story about life on the PGA...more
This book is the best-selling sports book of all time, just a tad better than Feinstein's A Season on the Brink about the 1985 Indiana Hoosiers. This book is interesting because it tells the story about life on the PGA...more
Many people don't realize this, but there was a professional golf tour BEFORE Tiger Woods appeared in 1997. This book covers a great deal of that era. I've always enjoyed John Feinstein's writing style, so I was able to tear through this volume, even though my relationship with golf was casual, at best, at the time. I would love to see an updated edition of this book, which would take place during the "post-Tiger Renaissance" of 1997-2009. I'm sure portions of this book will seem quaint these da...more
This book intensely describes a year on the Professional Golf Tour. It gives information on most of the players on the tour at the time and highlights about twenty individuals. One of the dissapointments for me has nothing to do with the quality of the book, but in the fleeting nature of sports icons. Almost all of the players discussed have now either retired, play the senior tour or have just moved on. This book was published just before the Tiger Woods era. The book has changed from a look at...more
Apr 26, 2012
Robert Premeaux
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
golf,
non-fiction
Solid but not spectacular ... in fairness to Feinstein, I arrived at this one way too late and have read a handful of other good golf books (including one of Feinstein's) before reading this one, which is kind of the godfather of modern PGA Tour nonfiction.
If you're not a golfer, you're wasting your time with this one. Unfortunately if you ARE a golfer, you're not going to learn much that you didn't already know. Like most media coverage of the PGA Tour, there is very little insight into the det...more
If you're not a golfer, you're wasting your time with this one. Unfortunately if you ARE a golfer, you're not going to learn much that you didn't already know. Like most media coverage of the PGA Tour, there is very little insight into the det...more
Probably my favourite of Feinstein's golf books, mostly because he focuses on two non-stars on the PGA tour, and how tough the game really is. The elite in golf make a ton of money, have their private jets and major endorsements. The rest battle to make the cut every week, and those who don't are "trunk slammers". (as they drive off to the Doral or Byron Nelson trying to make a paycheck).
This book was great for anyone who loves golf. The title says it all for us golfers so when someone writes a book about actual players and the things they do on a daily basis and how they live on the road was greatness for the public who wished they could be there with them. Golf can be such a private society that nothing like this had ever been released to the public at this time.
Golf and baseball seem to be the two sports that bring out quality writing. This book is no exception. The book covered the 1994 year on the PGA tour and did it extremely well. The 2005 update added a lot to the book, but even without it, the daily insights on the golfers, their problems, and the grind of the tour made for a great story. This man is a great writer.
Perhaps the seminal work on the PGA tour from one of sport's most engaging writers. Nothing particularly nuanced here - it's a straightforward telling of the stories of a handful of PGA tour players from the 90s.
As such it appeals to me personally as this was the era in golf I followed most closely.
Feinstein is an excellent, accomplished writer. Some quibble with his delivery but to me he gives the reader an insight into various sporting fields and gives some clues as to what he thinks persona...more
As such it appeals to me personally as this was the era in golf I followed most closely.
Feinstein is an excellent, accomplished writer. Some quibble with his delivery but to me he gives the reader an insight into various sporting fields and gives some clues as to what he thinks persona...more
If you're not a golfer, you won't like the book. While I enjoyed most chapters, like the ones about Q school and the Masters, others left me looking forward to finishing the book and moving on to a different subject.
Simply, if you're a golfer, you'll find much of the book entertaining, but I believe you would need to be familiar with the characters to enjoy.
Simply, if you're a golfer, you'll find much of the book entertaining, but I believe you would need to be familiar with the characters to enjoy.
A behind the scenes look at the people, the pressures, and the drama of professional golf. Chronicling an unusually turbulent year on the PGA tour, sportswriter John Feinstein delivers extraordinary close-up portraits of 17 golfers, including Nick Price, Tom Watson, Greg Norman, and Paul Azinger
Aug 24, 2008
Bill Varon
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Bill by:
dennis walsh
After reading this book, you will:
1. no longer shake your head and wonder how someone can sit on the couch and watch a golf tournament all day long on a perfect Sunday afternoon, especially each of the 4 "Majors"
2. look forward with great anticipation to watching the Ryder Cup every two years
3. yearn to attend a golf tournament in person and follow one of the unknown fringe players from hole to hole
John Feinstein lived with, dined with, traveled with, caddied for, and spent 100% of his time with...more
1. no longer shake your head and wonder how someone can sit on the couch and watch a golf tournament all day long on a perfect Sunday afternoon, especially each of the 4 "Majors"
2. look forward with great anticipation to watching the Ryder Cup every two years
3. yearn to attend a golf tournament in person and follow one of the unknown fringe players from hole to hole
John Feinstein lived with, dined with, traveled with, caddied for, and spent 100% of his time with...more
The book was enjoyable if you are of an older generation and remember golf from 20 years ago. I thought that the author rambled back and forth a bit but overall I enjoyed all of the behind the scenes info and insights. Easy read and ok to put down for a few days and go back later.
I read this book during my sportswriting days, which is also when I took up and retired (many times) from golf. This may have been the first Feinstein book I read (no, I never read his classic "A Season on the Brink").
Loved This Book-Feinsiein takes you up close and personal-Feels like he's in the locker room and privy to the player's intimate life-Could Not put it down-for golf fans-but all can appreciate!!
Gives unbelievable perspective into the everyday pressures of the pro golfer. Forget about Tiger and Phil, this highlights the guys that struggle to stay on the tour year after year. Awesome
I just read this and it is pretty outdated. It has a few interesting stories about life on the tour, but beyond that not the greatest sports book or golf book, not one of Feinstein's best.
Offers an inside look into the lives and experiences of the PGA Tour and it's players over the course of a season. Dragged at times, but very informative and overall a solid read.
Few write as well as Feinstein. If you don't enjoy golf, then skip this book. If you do like to frustrate yourself in verdant fields, then this is a must read.
A decent book about the PGA tour, and some of the backstory that those of us in the general public don't get to see.
if you really like golf you can tolerate it. As a cohesive work of writing, this guy should stick to shorter works.
Was a decent read but i think things in the golf world are a little different now
A must read for anybody into golf. Great insight into what life is like on the PGA tour.
A good inside look at the pressure of playing on the PGA tour.
Great book about the PGA tour and the characters who compete.
A cool look at the PGA Tour and what it takes to make it.
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John Feinstein is one of the nation’s most successful and prolific sports authors who has written 24 books to date. His most recent work Are You Kidding Me? , written with Rocco Mediate, was released on May 18, 2009, and is presently on the shelf at bookstores everywhere. In addition, he is an award-winning columnist and regular contributor in both radio and television.
His works include the two t...more
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