Once called The Most Powerful Person in Golf, former PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman transformed the Tour into the success story it is today. Using never-before-seen documents and candid interviews with hundreds of players, associates, and corporate chieftains, the book offers an intimate portrait of Beman's shift from hardened competitor to an executive of change, who inherited a Tour that owned as its largest capital asset an IBM typewriter. Golf's Driving Force discloses how during his 20-year tenure Beman transformed a loosely-knit association of tournaments into the envy of the sports world. Discover how Beman survives a coup led by Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, conceives the TPC network of courses, and orchestrates deals that made the Tour one of the most successful enterprises in sports.
DEANE BEMAN GOLF'S DRIVING FORCE
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Editorial Reviews
Review
Deane Beman has had more influence on professional golf than any man in history. Among sports commissioners, he rates ahead of Landis and Rozelle. They built it; he invented it. If you care about the game, you'll want to read this book. --Jerry Tarde, Editor-in-Chief of Golf Digest
Without Deane Beman, there wouldn t be a PGA Tour, a Players Championship, or a TPC Sawgrass as we know it. This is an inside read on how it all came together where the bodies are buried, so to speak. This isn't just Deane's memoirs; the reporting and writing of Adam Schupak make it a history lesson about a pioneer and game changer. --Tim Rosaforte, Golf World/Golf Digest, Golf Channel and NBC Sports
No one can doubt that Deane Beman was a visionary. But what is too often overlooked is how much he loves the game. Beman decided a taciturn leadership style was what best served the PGA Tour when he was transforming it into a major sports league, but the public was mostly denied the best part of the man. In Golf s Driving Force, Adam Schupak brings us the Deane Beman we missed. The result is a fascinating and diligently reported narrative that reveals important history. If you care about golf and especially if you love it read this book. --Jaime Diaz, Senior Writer at Golf Digest/Golf World
Without Deane Beman, there wouldn t be a PGA Tour, a Players Championship, or a TPC Sawgrass as we know it. This is an inside read on how it all came together where the bodies are buried, so to speak. This isn't just Deane's memoirs; the reporting and writing of Adam Schupak make it a history lesson about a pioneer and game changer. --Tim Rosaforte, Golf World/Golf Digest, Golf Channel and NBC Sports
No one can doubt that Deane Beman was a visionary. But what is too often overlooked is how much he loves the game. Beman decided a taciturn leadership style was what best served the PGA Tour when he was transforming it into a major sports league, but the public was mostly denied the best part of the man. In Golf s Driving Force, Adam Schupak brings us the Deane Beman we missed. The result is a fascinating and diligently reported narrative that reveals important history. If you care about golf and especially if you love it read this book. --Jaime Diaz, Senior Writer at Golf Digest/Golf World
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More About the Author
Adam Schupak has been lugging his laptop and golf bag and following the sun to write about golf since 1997. He has worked for the PGA Tour, World Golf Hall of Fame, and won numerous golf writing awards from the Golf Writing Association of America and International Network of Golf as a senior writer at Golfweek.
Schupak graduated from Colgate University, where he played varsity golf, and holds a Master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Schupak resides in Orlando, Fla., but remains a New Yorker at heart. He proudly displays the 1999 TPC Sawgrass Club Championship trophy in his living room.
Schupak graduated from Colgate University, where he played varsity golf, and holds a Master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Schupak resides in Orlando, Fla., but remains a New Yorker at heart. He proudly displays the 1999 TPC Sawgrass Club Championship trophy in his living room.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Father's Day Gift!,
This review is from: Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force (Paperback)
Who said golf was boring? I read Adam Schupak's "Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force" and found suspense, intrigue, and power struggles in what is supposed to be "a gentleman's game." Didn't really know too much about Beman, but he was certainly a towering presence in the sports world. Schupak brings him to life here, but doesn't lionize him and doesn't sugarcoat some of his faults. As much of an historical account as it is a biography, the book runs 360 pages, but I sped through it and am recommending to my buds, and my friend's looking for a good father's day gift, as a must-read for any sports fan, history junkie, or anyone who really enjoys the intersection of business, leadership, and sports.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Fascinating Look at the Father of Today's PGA Tour,
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This review is from: Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force (Paperback)
In Deane Beman's twenty-year career as PGA Tour Commissioner, he built the modern tour. Schupak's story of Beman's achievements is detailed and interesting, full of quotes from those who worked with him and those who fought him. It is a fascinating story, whether or not you are a golfer.Because the book is organized around Beman's accomplishments -- getting more and richer tournaments, creating the developmental and senior tours, improving the television contracts, creating the TPC courses, etc -- we tend to see him as a deal maker, and to see him through the eyes of those he dealt with. Those stories are most interesting. My only regret is that the author didn't tell us more about Beman as a person, because those who know him appreciate his humor, his kindness, and a host of qualities that aren't apparent in this book. But read it! You won't regret it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must reading for golfers and golf watchers,
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This review is from: Deane Beman: Golf's Driving Force (Paperback)
Ever wonder how the PGA/PGA Tour/USGA/R&A interrelate? Ever wonder how pro golf became such a successful sports business? Ever wonder why corporate America loves pro golf and it grew to establish the enormous television reach it enjoys today? Why purses exploded even before Tiger Woods? What the "business" of pro golf is really about day-to-day? Then this is a must read for you, as it is for anyone interested in golf generally, pro golf specifically, and the business behind all the players we see every week. It also is a must for those interested in general sports business. Indeed, it should be required reading in any business school. Part biography and part history, and always personally inspiring, this is written with an insider's feel, explains how (and because of whom) pro golf has become such a successful enterprise, and what paved the way for the further explosion in pro golf "AT" (After Tiger). This "BT" (Before Tiger) story is entertaining as well as hugely informative for those who wonder how this "elite" sport grew from much more humble beginnings. Absolutely fascinating and revealing. You will never look at a golf telecast or read a golf magazine in the same way again. Great father's Day gift, and a great business school graduate gift.
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