Customer Reviews

Bud, Sweat and Tees : A Walk on the Wild Side of the PGA Tour

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Entertaining, bawdy but sometimes poignant look at two very complicated lives that intersect on the golf course. The serious, introspective side of the book is balanced by the off-the-course exploits of drinking in the clubhouse and partying in strip bars. Alan Shipnuck expands on the humorous themes in golf that he writes about in his...column. His youthful, energetic style is perfect for a holiday read.

If you follow the game of professional golf, this is the best book ever writtten about The PGA Tour. John Winestein wishes he had written this book. It chronicles what it is like as a bottom feeder in experience, as well as how that all gets changed around through "blood, sweat and tears." The two principals of the book, Rich Beem, aspiring PGA Pro and Steve Duplantis, his caddie are real people with real problems and real answers,... sometimes. Beem has burst even further onto the PGA scene since this was written by winning The International and the PGA Championship in back to back outings in 2002. That will no doubt be the subject of another book, but it cannot surpass the brutal honesty and interest of this first effort. You must not pass this by, if golf is a part of your life.

I have the feeling that the author of this book wasn't entirely thrilled by the artwork used on the this book's cover. The artwork suggests that the book is chock full of racy details about the lives of PGA professional golfers and their caddies. This book is not. If that is what you are looking for, don't buy it.

However, if you are looking for a fascinating look inside one summer's events following a rookie on the PGA Tour and his eccentric caddy, then you will love this book. I couldn't put it down. You don't have to be a golfer or even a great golf fan to find yourself captivated by this story. I'll never watch golf the same way again.

I learned some incredible details about the business of golf that floored me. I had no idea so much money was circulating out there and that so many people were just looking for the hottest new player to throw it at.

For a book that advertises itself as a look at the wild side of the PGA Tour, I was disappointed that there weren't more of the frat party type stories in the book. I'm fairly certain they occured and either the author wasn't privey to such information, or he chose not to include it. More of that would had made this book more "Ball Fouresque" and would have earned the fifth star from me.

There is an ancient story of a man and his journey, this is the modern equivalent. In this book you get the story of Rich Beem [before he won a major] and his caddy Steve Duplantis. This has to be the most entertaining story Ive seen in a long time, and its all true. We see the Rich Beem, former cell phone salesman and well-traveled golfer, shoot for his dream. In his quest he finds a companion in the form of Steve Duplantis, a love torn caddy that has problems in his personal life.

This is a great book first and foremost because it is superbly written. Alan Shipnuck has a relaxed and well-organized structure to his writing. Shipnuck, who writes for Sports Illustrated, took a gamble on writing this book, at the time Rich Beem hadnt won a major, and stories of colorful, yet still second rate professional golfers dont float amongst the bestseller lists all that often.

At a PG-13 level we see Rich and Steve live their lives in tour, under the microscope, and learn about events that neither would be proud of. Theres an intimacy here you dont normally get in biographies. Rich wins a PGA tour event in his rookie year on the tour, Steve Duplantis has a good job with Rich, but do they hold it together for an entire season? The book will leave you interested in finding out more about Beem and Co. Maybe a sequel Mr. Shipnuck?

Its a need to read for those interested in golf, and its an quick and entertaining story for those who really dont care about golf.

Alan Shipnuck is the man! Great subjects plus a young 'with it' writer equals a great read! For years I've read John Feinstein's work and while he tells a good story, I identify with Shipnuck's style much more. I don't know if it's generational or not, but the words he uses and the quotes and stories he chose to include were perfect.

If you even have a casual interest in golf read this book.

I am a junior in high school and dream of playing on the PGA Tour. Last year my parents began buying me books about the PGA TOur, so I could could learn about the lifestyle out there. The only two books I had read werer by John Feinstein. Both were pretty good but a little boring. There were too many players to keep track of, and a lot of their stories were very similar, so it was confusing. This book was way more fun to read. I laughed a lot, but I also learned about how things really are on teh PGA Tour. It seemed more real to me to read about guys who have really struggled. There was also a lot of juicey stuff about girls, and drinking, which was fun to read to. Everybody knows pro golfers like to have fun, but you never get to read about it. So, I really learned a lot from this book, and you will too if you buy it.

after reading this. Shipnuck picked the right guys at the right time to follow and write about. Beem's rookie year was sensational to say the least. The pairing of a self described "Army Brat" and his dysfunctional caddie provide just the right combination for a book of this sort. Besides the look at these two and their wild life, the book does a wonderful job giving insight into how the Tour ticks. Beem does a great job describing how there are basically two tours, the one for the superstars and one for the up-and-comers and also-rans and the difficulty in overcoming the odds to become one of those upper eschelon types. One of the most entertaining and enthralling aspects of the book is the look at how rookies put together sponsership deals and also how endorsment deals work once on tour. Shipnuck gives you all the monetary details of how it all works. That he hooked up with two such interesting characters at such a pivotal time in both of their careers is akin to catching the proverbial lightning in a bottle. Oh yeah, lets not forget the travel, partying, gambling and womanizing.

Bud, Sweat, and Tees is a great book, entertaining, endearing, and full of the humorous turns we've come to expect from Alan Shipnuck. More that just the Inside Scoop on the PGA Tour--though it certainly is that, and revealingly so--the book exposes a pair of leading men straight out of central casting. There is the Salty Caddie, young but wise from experience, equipped with just enough game to know how golf works between the ropes, and plagued by personal struggles off the course. And there is the Young Gun, loaded with potential, shining in the bright light of a breakthrough moment, scratching to turn that flash of brilliance into the sustained glow of a Tour career. The obvious affection and inevitable tension between Beem and Dupantis anchors Shipnuck's book in the human dimensions of a compelling storyline. In the end, you should know that any book capable of invoking the epochal figure Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High on the first page will deliver in a big way. Oh by the way, contrary to certain claims, Shipnuck uses the word "comprise" in exactly the right way. "Beginning" writers may think that the parts comprise the whole, but careful scribes know that the whole comprises--or includes--the parts. The Point: This book comprises a number of compelling tales. Try it; you'll like it.

This is the best sports book I've ever read, hands down. I kid you not. It is so good I'm reading it a second time right now, and it's even better than the first read. I've been a fan of Alan Shipnuck going back at least five years, having read his stuff in a certain national sports magazine, and in his hilarious column on their website. He is the best, funniest, coolest sportswriter around. He just tells it like it is, which is rare these days. This book is so funny I actually hurt one of my ribs laughing out loud, but it is also kind of sad when it deals with the lives of Rich Beem and Steve Duplantis, the player and caddie who are the stars of the book. It's a tough balance but the book pulls it off beautifully. There is also a ton of info in here for the casual fan about life on the PGA Tour, and what it's really like. If you buy this book you won't be sorry.

This is not the typical golf book such as an uncritical biography of a wooden tour pro or a rhapsodic elegy to the history and beauty of the sport. Alan Shipnuck's "Bud, Sweat and Tees" gets below the shiny veneer of the PGA tour. Although the title implies that the book is simply about the raucous off-the-course antics of the golfers, the author insightfully examines what it takes to break into and succeed on the tour. Most authors can only gain a reader's interest by writing about the tour's most famous golfers but Alan Shipnuck cleverly tells his story through the exploits of a journeyman golfer, Rich Beem, and his caddie, Steve Duplantis. His youthful, energetic style makes "Bud, Sweat and Tees" a great read.