Rookie on Tour [Hardcover]

Carl Paulson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 1998

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 "can't 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 you've 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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Most of life's searches tend to be more fascinating than their destinations; the quest for entry into the exclusive club made up of the best competitive golfers in the world is no exception. Every golfer faces doubt and despair--they are as much a part of the game as woods and irons. But there is something just that much more doubtful and despairing about the game for those for whom the flag is just a tantalizing, agonizing, wedge away. Paulson, a former All-American at South Carolina, has shuttled between the rarefied air of the PGA Tour and the terrifying trenches of Q-School, and he recounts his journey--the small triumphs like shooting a 62 at the 1995 Disney Golf Classic, the frustrating heartbreaks, and all those nights along the way in cheap motels wondering if it's actually worth it--with candor and equanimity. Time, he knows, is running out on him. "I have always been fortunate," he admits, "that I have never been obsessed with making it to the very top. I have always focused on making the transition to the next level." Interestingly, it's his very level-headedness that may, in the end, keep him a few club-lengths from hitting his dream in regulation. --Jeff Silverman

From Publishers Weekly

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.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 262 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult (March 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399143785
• ISBN-13: 978-0399143786
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,296,809 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A rather shallow timeline of a golfers 2 years on tour., April 7, 1998

By 

Karel Beuckelaere ([e-mail]) (Dearborn, Mi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rookie on Tour (Hardcover)

I found the book to be very shallow in its view on the inner workings or life on the tour. It seamed to be more of a quick diary of Paulson's daily play on Tour. There was a lot of "I shot 74 but if I putted it would have been 70", but very little was written of other players, caddies, agents, equiptment reps, etc., and how they played into his time on the tour. I guess I was looking for a lot more than what the book delivered.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Do you Really Wish you could Join the PGA Tour?, August 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rookie on Tour (Hardcover)

I thought it was a great book. It answered so many questions I have always wondered about. How do you really get on the Tour? How do you stay there? What kind of perks are offered to pro golfers? What is the inside life really like? If you play good golf and have always toyed with thoughts of trying to play professionally, this book is for you. Paulson provides those answers plus his own personal experiences in actually doing it all. Great reading. I wish he would write a sequel.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ever wonder what life is like on the PGA Tour?, March 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Rookie on Tour (Paperback)

I do. This book helps me answer that questions. I learned about some of the inner workings of the tour and how difficult life really is for these players. The other books I have read that say they are an inside view of the tour are written by outsiders and are mainly summaries of the year with a few extra quotes thrown in. Paulson leads us through his mood swings and difficulties as he tries to make it on tour. Worth the read.