Shanks for Nothing: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: human stain, competitive golf, tee box, Two Down, Blind Bob, Resource Jones (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this madcap sequel to Reilly's golf farce Missing Links, little has changed at Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Links and Deli (a.k.a. Ponky)-arguably America's worst golf course. Boston-area legend Ray Hart, groomed by his father for golf greatness, continues to ply his trade as a greeting card writer while hanging out with his pals at Ponky. Ray's "collection of no-account friends" includes "half-man, half-cappuccino" Two Down, Hoover (so named because he "sucks" at golf), Dom, the "World's Most Sexual Man," and Ray's spitfire five-handicap wife Dannie. The thin plot centers on the proposed sale of Ponky to the adjacent, upscale Mayflower Club for use as a parking lot. Ponky's regulars can't imagine life without their wretched refuge and hatch a plot to save the course that includes Ray flying to England to try qualifying for the British Open. The outcome is predictable, and Reilly never relents on the puns, sports and celebrity metaphors and double-entendres, occasionally crossing the line from irreverence to poor taste. The usually reliable Reilly shanks too many shots here to make par, but his fans-and they are legion-likely won't mind.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The "chops" from Ponky (Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Course and Deli) are in trouble. A little backstory is required: Raymond "Stick" Hart and his regular fivesome, the chops (Missing Links, 1996), enjoy the occasional, somewhat unconventional wager (Ray, for example, gives Leonard "Two-Down" Petrovitz a half-shot a hole, plus a 100-yard head start, plus one throw a side). Now, however, their freewheeling approach to the gentlemanly game is at risk: the owner wants to sell Ponky, renowned as "America's worst golf links," to the blue-blood country club next door, whose members intend to turn it into a parking lot. It's up to the chops to save Ponky, but their first scheme, pitting scratch-golfer Ray against a mobbed-up con man in a big-money match, goes bad, prompting the gang to devise ever-more outlandish schemes to save their hides and their course. No one (except perhaps Dan Jenkins in his prime) does the comic golf novel better than Reilly, and if he loads a few too many subplots into this one, who's counting? After all, at Ponky you can carry as many clubs in your bag as you like. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (May 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767906640
• ISBN-13: 978-0767906647
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #126,896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reilly's Ponkaquogue as inspired by Canton, MA's Ponkapoag, June 11, 2006

By	Andy Orrock (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Shanks for Nothing: A Novel (Hardcover)

Although Rick Reilly's "Shanks for Nothing" is a billed as a sequel to his earlier hit "Missing Links," you can start right in on page one here without missing a beat or feeling lost. This book stands on its own.

Reilly's two completed works about Ponkaquogue Municipal Golf Links and Deli draw their inspiration from an article he wrote in Sports Illustrated about a trip he took to Canton, Massachusetts to the Ponkapoag Golf Course. I met Mr. Reilly on his book tour and asked him about that article and he said that his editors at SI asked him to "go out and identify the worst course in America." And, while 'Ponky' isn't the course of the greatest character, it does have great characters. Reilly was smitten by the host of regulars there, real working-class Bostonians with no airs or pretensions. The camaraderie he saw there is reflected in care he shows in writing about *his* Ponky regulars Ray, Two Down, Cementhead, Hoover, Dom and Blind Bob.

'Shanks' isn't going to win a Pulitzer (whatever, the dude's basically retired the Sportswriter of the Year award), but it's an enjoyable read. You don't even have to be a golf nut to appreciate the obvious relish with which Reilly builds his tale. The book reads like it was written by a guy who's been cribbing all the great golf jokes he's heard over the last decade.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Brilliant, May 11, 2006

By	William S. Byrne "Billy Byrne" (Littleton, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Shanks for Nothing: A Novel (Hardcover)

Reilly's sequel to Missing Links exceeded my expectations. As soon as I was finshed I wanted to start it all over again. I laughed so hard my stomach felt like I did 1,000 sit ups. Hilarious! Way to go Rick!!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shanks For Nothing, July 18, 2006

By	B. Hansen "Breck" (Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shanks for Nothing: A Novel (Hardcover)

Highly recomended. Must read Missing Links prior to get the history. I liked it a lot. ( 3 handicap )

Fiction YES. But, these situations could very much be daily happenings.