The Leaderboard: Conversations on Golf and Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Jim Nantz (Foreword), Don Wade (Contributor)
Key Phrases: Los Angeles, New York, Tiger Woods (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Every golfer has a story. And for many, sharing stories about the game's challenges and pleasures, legends and lore, is as much a joy as playing the game itself. Amy Alcott, one of golf's great personalities and an LPGA Hall of Fame member, has drawn upon her remarkable network of well-known golfing friends and gathered their stories for the first time ever.

In this entertaining and fascinating collection of candid conversations, Alcott offers a rare look at the personal lives and experiences -- both on and off the golf course -- of prominent entertainers, athletes, political leaders, and other influential figures. A fierce love of golf connects them all, but their varied anecdotes show how this magical sport has touched each of their lives in unique ways.

Some highlights: Bill Clinton reveals why Hillary encouraged him to start playing again in his late twenties; Jack Nicholson explains how he began to play golf in his forties and got good enough to shoot a sixty-five; Ben Crenshaw reminisces about his close relationship with Harvey Penick and about winning the 1995 Masters just days after serving as a pallbearer at Penick's funeral; and Jim Nantz compares his relationship to his dad with the close relationship that Tiger Woods had with his own father. And many, many more.

At times poignant, illuminating, and laugh-out-loud funny, The Leaderboard is sure to inspire and capture the imagination of golf fans everywhere.

About the Author

Amy Alcott has won thirty-two professional tournaments worldwide, including the U.S. Women's Open, and is a member of the World Golf and LPGA Halls of Fame. She has won the Kraft Nabisco Championship three times -- an accomplishment she shares with only two other women -- and five major championships. Alcott lives in Los Angeles. Visit her website at AmyAlcott.com.

Don Wade is a sportswriter for The Commercial Appeal (Memphis). A native of Kansas City and a former feature writer for The Kansas City Star, Don lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife and three sons.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Atria (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141653542X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416535423
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #388,567 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ho Hum., March 24, 2009

By	Jean Leinhauser "Rapid Reader" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Not much insight here into the golfers interviewed or into the game of golf. The brief interviews are quick to read and quick to be forgotten. Would be good to read on a long plane ride. Interviewed are a mix of entertainment celebrities (Kenny G.), to political figures (President Clinton) to stars of the LPGA (Jane Blalock) to sportscasters. Each does have a different take on golf, and their emotional investment in it. Perhaps a true
golf fanatic would enjoy this book more than I did.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Collecting Friends, July 4, 2009

By	Roger Gilman (St. Paul, MN United States) - See all my reviews

Some people collect newspapers, some people collect antiques and some people collect friends. For a highly successful female golfer from LA, such as Amy Alcott, collecting the latter naturally includes a high proportion of celebrities and corporate leaders. And as is common among people who come at the world this way, discrimination in taste is not a high priority (e.g., Kenny G. and Jim Nantz). Asking a number of these individuals about how golf fits into their lives, and a few other brief questions, is the sum total of this book.

As a LPGA golf fan, a former college player and someone who went to the same high school as the author (about 10 years earlier), I was interested enough in what Alcott and her interviewees had to say that I asked a small town library order this book. Unfortunately, the whole thing could be contained in one short sentence: playing golf teaches (or reinforces) manners, rule following and humility, and exposes those who have failings in each (did I forget anything?). It's not clear why a ghost writer was needed for so little. (As a side note, Alcott graduated from what was, at least in the 1960s, among the best public high schools academically in the country.)

Aside from that, Alcott surrounds the mostly short interviews with platitudes and occasional inanities. For example, after Lorena Ochoa describes herself as a devout Catholic, Alcott summarizes by calling her the embodiment of the phrase, "The truth will set you free." It's tempting to yell, "Earth to Amy!," but I think that would miss the point. For her generation (and since) - or is it just the personality that collects celebrity friends - words can be used any which way (e.g., right-wingers whine about McCarthyism and some liberals try to discrimination-proof the language).

All that said, there are a couple of the relatively longer interviews - none are actually longer than a few pages - that I found worth looking at: Jerry West and Don Ohlmeyer. West was a college/NBA MVP and sports executive who has uncommon insight into what differentiates champions from the rest. Ohlmeyer was a television executive and his interview is notable for how it exposes the kind of personality that makes it big in the entertainment business, which nonetheless doesn't preclude a few insights along the way.

Alcott's book is at most worthy of short-trip reading, or a passing browse in the bookstore or library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This Shot Requires a Mulligan, June 23, 2009

By	Gregg Eldred (Avon Lake, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amy Alcott joined the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in 1975 at the age of 19. During her career, she won five majors and a total of twenty-nine Tour victories. It is safe to say that she knows golf, competition, and what it takes to win on the highest levels. Even with the assistance of Don Wade, former senior editor at Golf Digest and the author or coauthor of twenty books, I am saddened to report that with The Leaderboard: Conversations on Golf and Life, Amy does not know how to craft an engaging and interesting book on golf and some of the people that play the game.

Contents: Foreword by Jim Nantz; Preface; Jane Blalock; Bill Clinton; Ben Crenshaw; Kenny G.; Dennis Hopper; Steve Kroft; Leslie Moonves; Jim Nantz; Jack Nicholson; Lorena Ochoa; Don Ohlmeyer; Donna Orender; Dottie Pepper; Kyra Phillips; Rex Pickett; Dennis Quaid; Pam Shriver; Annika Sorenstam; Ken Venturi; Robert Wagner; Karrie Webb; Sandy Weill; Jerry Weintraub; Tom Werner; Jerry West; Jack Whitaker; John Williams; Acknowledgements

Using the premise that every golfer has a story, Amy Alcott mines her Rolodex to bring you stories from her many friends; fellow golfers on the PGA and LPGA Tours, politicians, titans of industry, and celebrities. Amy introduces each with a personal note and closes with her thoughts on the individual as well as what she took away from the interview. Most of the chapters are but a few pages (roughly 10), little time to actually get to know the person or care about their inclusion. However, Amy makes it easy on the reader by closing each chapter with her personal insights into the subject and the key to their philosophy; in golf as well as in life.

It was a struggle to get through this short (224 pages) book. Never did I connect with any of the subjects or care about them. Some were hardly worth Amy's time or mine - for example Sandy Weill, former CEO of Citigroup, only gave her an hour of his time. It is evident that Amy has no time to really probe his best golf stories or life lessons. But we do get a feel for all of the pictures in his office, pictures of Sandy with heads of state, political and civic leaders, and other framed proclamations and letters. Amy put too much importance on the "ego wall" and not enough on the person behind the desk. It is an example of how I felt cheated as I read this book. And how little I cared about any of the subjects. If you are interested in a mini inventory of a wealthy person's home, or the commanding views from their corner offices, with a little conversation thrown in, this is the book for you. There is, however, a really good idea for a book in here; this one just wasn't presented properly.