Synopsis
Day-to-day life on the professional golf circuit from the perspective of a moderately successful golfer.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-03-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 262 pages | | Height: | 9.8 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 16.0 oz |
Publisher's Note
An unforgettable look inside the maddening, marvelous heart of the game of golf, "Rookie on Tour" is the story of one of the best players struggling to make it to the PGA Tour. From budget travel and dinner at Shoney's to the inevitable first Tour victory, this book details the heartbreak and exhilaration of a rookie's life in the PGA circuit.
Life on the PGA Tour is usually seen through the eyes of its stars. But for every Norman, Watson, Pavin, and Couples, there are a hundred young men who can hit world-class shots, yet who are struggling every day to make it on to the PGA Tour. Rookie on Tour is the story of one of the best of those men, Carl Paulson. If he was not a "cant miss" junior-a Johnny Miller or Tiger Woods phenom-Carl Paulson still had talent, and he had it early. With practice and determination, with a supportive family and an uncompromising coach, he rose from high school to college star and became the kind of player who could crack the top 125. But once there, the life he found was not easy. Q-School creates unbearable anxiety and indescribable joy. The competition is constant and unrelenting. For every one day you win, you will probably lose in the next dozen. You are out to beat every player every day, and on courses that are tougher than any youve ever played. It is a world in which the quality of your life depends on the confidence of your swing. It is budget travel, dinners at Shoney's, pay-per-view motel movies, and beer with the boys-but with the conviction that the first Tour victory is just around the corner. Rookie on Tour is an unforgettable look inside the maddening, marvelous heart of the game.
Industry Reviews
Paulson succinctly sums up his book, written with Virginia psychologist Janda, when he declares, "My story may be more typical than exciting." This account of a golfer's first two years on the pro tour shows how difficult it is for a very good golfer to raise his game to the level at which it is genuinely excellent, and how a positive attitude is essential for a young athlete to triumph over the discouragements that are almost certain to occur. Paulson, who started to play at age 11 and won the Virginia Junior Championship in high school and the Metro Conference Championship at the University of South Carolina, achieved his pro card in 1994 and in his first year won $64,500, finishing 183d on the money list. The following year he garnered first place in the qualifying school tourney but finished 155th on the money list. This detailed catalogue of more than 50 events Paulson entered, good and bad shots he made and purses he won makes for monotonous reading after a while. For only the most avid linksters. (Mar.)
Lopate
YA-A book that will inform and inspire young golfers with dreams of competing professionally. Paulson is not a star, nor does he aim to join the ranks of those who are. He is a gifted athlete nonetheless, and ranks among the top 125 players in the country. Reading this book is like enjoying a personal conversation with the author, who comes across as a sincere "nice guy." The appeal of his story lies at least partly in his honesty. He has had to make major changes in his attitude and golf swing, and is open about sharing the stress he feels when he plays poorly and the various challenges of life on the PGA tour. Avid golfers will learn from and enjoy his views on the rigors and joys of the game.-Catherine Charvat, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Fredrickson
All weekend golfers will wonder what the world of a PGA player is like. Paulson can tell them, because before he fell back to the nether-world of the Nike Tour, he traveled the PGA circuit in 1995 and 1996. This golf book has the usual shot-by-shot fare, but Paulson's distinguishing theme is the unglamorous nuts and bolts of tour life. It is an expensive, nomadic one built on airports, fast-food joints, motels, and stark dread of the PGA's qualifying tournament. A relaxing, illuminating view of the battles at the bottom of the leader board.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Taylor
This book chronicles how Paulson rose to be one of the best rookies on the Professional Golfers Association Tour. . . . [It] offers a common perspective on what it is like to crack the tour. The reader learns about the circuit, the sponsors, travel, and rankings and comes to appreciate the author's place on the tour, poised somewhere between anonymity and the glamour that surrounds Tiger Woods or Greg Norman. One man's dream of becoming a professional golfer is good reading and will fit in larger golf collections.
Annotation copyright H.W. Wilson Company.
Little
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