A Good Walk Spoiled; Days and Nights on the PGA Tour by Feinstein, John - 1995

Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company, 1995. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. xx, 475, [1] pages. Illustrations. Index. Signed by the author with sentiment on page facing half-title. DJ has slight wear and some sticker residue on back of DJ. Noted sportswriter John Feinstein turns his skill and attention to the PGA tour, beginning with the 1993 Ryder Cup. Includes close-ups of Nick Price, Tom Watson, and Greg Norman, as well as wannabes, hangers-on, and up-and-coming stars. John Feinstein (born July 28, 1956) is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator. In 1995, he authored a best seller, A Good Walk Spoiled, about a year on the PGA Tour as told through the stories of 17 players. This book was the winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 1995. Derived from a Kirkus review: Best-selling sportswriter Feinstein turns his attention to golf with this chronicle of a year on the men's pro tour. Golf is, by its very nature, a brutally winnowing game, a mental test as well as a physical one. At the professional level, as practiced on the PGA Tour, it is the last bastion of true athletic individualism; you win or lose because of your own efforts, with no teammates or coaches to blame. Moreover, in order to make any money at all on the pro tour, you have to play well. There is a certain amount of inherent drama in the lives and games of the pros. Feinstein has chosen wisely in his subjects, a wide range of successful and not-so- successful players, from Davis Love III, who scored the decisive victory for the US in the Ryder Cup, to Paul Azinger fighting cancer. Some of the best moments in the book, however, are provided by lesser- known golfers like Brian Henninger and Paul Goydos, who are struggling just to stay on the Tour. Feinstein does better than anybody else is to make you understand the complex mix of psychology, group dynamics, and political pressures that make athletes tick. A Good Walk Spoiled (Twain's description of golf) is an insightful look at one of our best games.