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If you love golf or want to learn about the game and the tour please read this.
It was a well written piece that shed a lot of light on a world most of us will never see. This is such a tight knit group that competitors will actually give pointers to each other during practice. Also, golfers have to work everyday to maintain that edge.
however I do enjoy the game (I am still trying to figure out why). Through reading this book you learn what a world class golfer must go through to be that good. I am a very poor golfer, if I break 100 I am a happy man.
Realize that in golf, there are no home games so that means enormous amounts of time away from family. However the only reason this book does not receive a 5 is that by page 400 I found myself thinking "If I have to read about one more chip shot, I'm gonna scream." Anyway if you have any interest in the PGA tour, or golf in general, this book is well worth your time.T This book takes you trough about a year and a half of life in the professional golf world.
Through all levels of the game, the PGA Tour, the Senior Tour, The Nike Tour and Q-School.
And you know what. Feinstein clearly developed close relationships with many of the golfers featured in the book, and that closeness comes out in the level of detail he's able to give about their backgrounds, which humanizes these preppy-clothed guys, whose lives, families, and psyches ride on their maddeningly-ephemeral abilities to hit a small white ball. Feinstein's insight into the psychology of golf also captivated me, and whether you're a sporadic golfer like myself, or an eight-handicapper, these observations are the kind that can only come from a fine writer who's spent countless hours with people who do something, or attempt to, for a living. One mark of a good writer is that he or she can get you interested in a subject that you weren't before. Now I want to hit the links. But Feinstein made it interesting, so much so that I raced through the book and will look out for other works of his in the future. In this case, it was golf--a sport I enjoy ok, but rarely play and can't bear watching on TV. One of the most illuminating things about Feinstein's book was his dramatizing the unimaginable pressure that many golfers face as they battle to stay on the tour every week.
The book may seem dated to those who began following the tour after Tiger Woods began his career, but most golf fans will find it an interesting piece of the sport's history. Other issues examined in the book include what life is like on tour, TV contracts, Q-school, and the mental aspects of golf. "A Good Walk Spoiled" is a very good look at the pre-Tiger PGA Tour. The book relates the events of the 1993 Ryder Cup and the '94 PGA Tour season and profiles many of the big stars that were then on tour.
I think some sports fanatics who do not read much spend so much effort raving about this book that it gets a bigger reputation than it deserves. Even if you are in the former category, it is overrated. If you like golf and want to see some behind the scenes stuff, read this. If not, skip.
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