The Putt at the End of the World [Paperback]

Lee K. Abbott (Author), Dave Barry (Author), Richard Bausch (Author), James Crumley (Author), James W. Hall (Author), Tami Hoag (Author), Tim O'Brien (Author), Ridley Pearson (Author), Les Standiford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

The richest man in the world invites a trio of mediocre golfers to play at a secret course in Scotland. The result of their efforts will somehow affect the fate of the world. Can golf save the world?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

There's a great tradition of golf fiction, stretching from P.G. Wodehouse's Edwardian follies to John Updike's narrative birdies and chip shots. The Putt at the End of the World is a worthy addition to the canon, in spite of the fact (or because of the fact) that it's a team effort. Nine authors, including such worthies as Dave Barry, Tami Hoag, Tim O'Brien, Lee K. Abbott, and Les Standiford, have contributed chapters to this farcical thriller. The premise, which is less wacky than it initially seems, involves a software tycoon named Phillip Bates, who's built a deluxe golf course north of Edinburgh. To kick things off he convenes a celebrity invitational, and draws not only a clutch of world-class hackers but several terrorists, counterterrorists, and what appear to be counter-counterterrorists. Clearly there's more at stake here than a mere 18 holes.

Slapped together by one author after another, the crazy plot is surprisingly consistent. Yet the contributors have made no effort to disguise their individual styles, which range from Barry's potty-mouthed slapstick to Richard Bausch's tonier stuff to James Crumley's pulp fiction. Indeed, this shift in tone is one of the book's great pleasures. So is the sex and satire, if not necessarily in that order. Still, the ultimate reason to read The Putt at the End of the World is for its strange-but-true evocation of the game itself. Here's Tim O'Brien's take on a ball with a mind of its own:

For the first thirty feet, the old Titlist did not touch the earth, heading for orbit, engines roaring, but then suddenly the rain and wind and fog forced a scrubbed mission. Gravity reasserted itself. By pure chance--a miracle, some would call it--the ball dropped heavily onto the green, not five feet from the cup.... It caught a sidehill slope. It wobbled off line for a second, then straightened out and continued its erratic pilgrimage toward destiny.

Fictionally speaking, at least, that's what we call a hole in one. --William Davies --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Regrouping a few of Standiford's Naked Came the Manatee gang, this outrageously funny, multi-authored novel by (in order of tee times) Standiford, Ridley Pearson, Tami Hoag, Lee K. Abbott, Tim O'Brien, Richard Bausch, Dave Barry, James W. Hall and James Crumley is a treasure. The world's richest man, computer czar Phillip Bates, invites three exceptional but going-downhill golfers to play a celebrity pro-am on his brand-new course at ancient Rathgarve castle in Scotland. Lured by the serious cash Bates delivers, aging, vision-impaired senior tour member Alfonso Zamora; the incorrigible Rita Shaughnessy, a debauched, long-driving amazon from the LPGA; and Billy Sprague, an amateur champ with a gambling problem all fly to Scotland. Joining the trio is an impressive assortment of world leaders, celebrities and hotshots, but only Bates knows the reason for the decadent, mysterious tournament. Add to the mix an FBI agent who joins operatives in London to stop a terrorist with 20 kilos of Semtex explosive, and all manner of zany things start to happen. The plot to save the world meshes with the plan to party like crazy at the Bates castle, where Fidel Castro, Augusto Pinochet, Tony Blair, Al Gore, Mu'ammar Qaddafi, Brad Pitt, Jane Fonda, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, Barbara Walters, Hugh Downs, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Madonna, Bob Hope, the pope, Sean Connery, Dan Quayle and other celebs are on hand to witness an exhibition of carnal swing mechanics unrivaled since the orgy scene from Caligula. This droll, absurd fable is just mainstream enough to keep even the nongolfing masses, who don't know a mashie from a niblick, guffawing out loud.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446676993
• ISBN-13: 978-0446676991
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #190,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 1/2 stars, May 30, 2000

By 

Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Putt at the End of the World (Hardcover)

The talented Authors that put this book together combined to make a story that was very entertaining. Fast paced, non-stop readability! Sometimes erotic, sometimes violent, often darkly humorous. This is the rare gem that you'll likely read in a day, whether your a golfer or not. Unique characters along with a great story and locale bring this very original book together nicely.

Highly recommended

20 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fun thriller, May 10, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Putt at the End of the World (Hardcover)

Computer mogul Phillip Bates proves he is the richest person in the world when he invites three former golf greats to play a round at his new course. If Senior pro legend Alfonso Zamora, women's great Rita Shaugnessy, and amateur champion Billy Sprague comes to his course at Rathgave Castle, Scotland, Phillip will pay them several hundred thousand dollars each. Alfonso may be losing his eyesight, Rita may be turning into an alcoholic has-been, and Billy may have gambled away his future, but each agrees to join the pro-am event along with many world leaders and celebrities.

However, an uninvited guest sees this tournament as an opportunity to cause massive destruction by blowing up a list of who's who. An anti-terrorist law enforcement team hopes to thwart the activist before the planned explosion makes a deep divot that wrecks havoc on the world scene. However, their bumbling reactions seem to only encourage the enemy whose goal is a special hole in one.

THE PUTT AT THE END OF THE WORLD is more than a golf thriller. The story line is a crazy eighteen holes punctuated by a group of weird charcaters with different agendas. Nine highly regarded authors contribute chapters to the novel. Though their styles vary, not one of them wavers from the main plot. In other words, readers gain a satirical anthology within a novel environment that is fun to read.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bagger Vance Meets Monty Python, June 4, 2002

By 

John W. Bates "jaydubyah" (Americus, Georgia USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Putt at the End of the World (Hardcover)

It is said that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Since a camel is very efficient doing what camels are intended to do, then the remark must mean that a camel is a very funny looking horse. Well, in The Putt at the End of the World, a committee of nine individually popular writers has turned out a very funny golf story.
The Putt at the End of the World is apparently the brainchild of last-listed author Les Standiford, shown as editor and compiler. It also seems to be a salute, at least in part, to recently deceased British writer Douglas Adams, author of the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy series which includes The Restaurant at the End of the Universe. It is certainly reminiscent of Adam's work, with zany characters interacting amidst nefarious schemes, all centered around a golf tournament. But not just any golf tournament. Computer zillionaire Philip Bates has bought a Scottish castle and cleared original growth timber to construct the ultimate golf course-as well as rehabbing the castle into an exotic hideaway retreat. This infuriates both environmental terrorists and the last of the MacLout clan, who claims that the MacGregor sellers usurped his family's claim to the property and he should have gotten the money. Then Bates (no relation to this reviewer) scheduled a conference and golf tournament inviting all of the world's political leaders and top golf players.
One of the invitees is Billy Sprague, club pro from Squat Possum Golf Club in rural Ohio. Billy is a magnificent golfer, unless there is money involved in which case he can't even get the ball of the tee. Billy's mentor is the old retired family doctor whose life is golf, who build the Squat Possum Club and who dies immediately after giving Billy his invitation and telling him that he has to go to Scotland and play in order to lift the curse and "...save the world as we know it..." Then FBI and British Secret Service refugees from the Keystone Kops get involved because of the terrorist threat, and the rest is-not history, but hilarious.
Each of the nine authors wrote one of the chapters. They did a good job matching styles, and/or Standiford did a great job of editing, because the novel is seamless. It is a farce, but at the same time has a "Bagger Vance" note of paean to the wonder of golf. It reads fast, and it reads great.