I Call the Shots: Straight Talk About the Game of Golf Today (Hardcover)

by Johnny Miller (Author)
Key Phrases: iron player, long putter, good putter, British Open, Ryder Cup, Jack Nicklaus (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Miller, former golfer and golf analyst for NBC Sports, and Yocom, a senior writer for Golf Digest, offer commentary on acclaimed players; observations on the game, the players and the future of the sport; and discuss strategies, great courses and changes in the game. Perhaps most importantly, Miller speaks his mind, especially about poor sportsmanship. The first chapter is entitled "Welcome to Smackdown Golf : The decline of etiquette in today's game" and starts, "The best U.S. Open performance of all time was by Tiger Woods at Pebble Beach in 2000. The worst performance at a U.S. Open was also provided by Woods that year." Miller explains that Tiger Woods pulled off to the side after the second round and loudly cursed. Miller acknowledges that the microphones should not have been so close, but says that Woods should have restrained himself. In Miller's view, this incident is another example of how some of the unpleasant behavior of players in the NBA and NFL is now evident in golf. There's more than observations, here, though. Miller has strategies on form and technique that will benefit serious golfers. Fans of Miller, golf addicts and even weekend duffers will enjoy this lively book.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Miller, former U.S and British Open champion and currently golf's most outspoken television commentator, proves equally unbuttoned in print. He gets right to it in the book's first chapter, on the "dreaded C word," choking. Golfers despise talk of choking, but Miller refuses to avoid the topic, not only detailing instances of his own collapses but also analyzing notorious cases of gracelessness under pressure from such top pros as Greg Norman, Jay Haas, and Mark Calcavecchia. The text proceeds in anecdotal fashion, through the obligatory chapter on Tiger Woods (Miller doesn't think he'll break Jack Nicklaus' record for most major tournament victories) to musings on favorite courses and stupid rules. (Weekend golfers will enjoy the rant on the absurd length of modern courses.) Throughout, the tone is chatty but frank. Along with his willingness to criticize, Miller isn't shy about handing out compliments when he feels they are deserved: his tribute to Nicklaus is notable for both its insight and its affection. Most golf commentary is overly sanitized and lacking in substance. Miller reverses the formula. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Gotham; 1ST edition (May 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592400655
• ISBN-13: 978-1592400652
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #937,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, But Shockingly Sloppy, August 17, 2004

By	Kove Michaels (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

An interesting read, and precislely the kind of from-the-hip commentary you would expect from Miller. But the book is also an editorial mess. Sloppy, sloppy sloppy. Aside from a variety of sentences with missing words, the book at one point reports that Hal Sutton played a Ryder Cup match against himself! Mickelson's career earnings are variously reported at "$23 million" and "roughly $25 million" and the citations come only 10 pages apart from each other. How hard is that to get right?

Miller also repeatedly contradicts himself. In an early chapter he calls Woods "the best player the world has ever seen." Later he says of Nicklaus, "I remain firm in my belief that he is the best who ever lived." Which is it? By the way, still later Miller lists "the five greatest players who ever lived," and Woods is not included.

It's fine to shoot from the hip, but in the context of a book, where you have time go back and edit, there is no excuse for such a shoddy display. Plus, how much credence can you give to a writer who thoughtlessly contradicts his own strongly-stated opinions and doesn't take the care to fix sloppy errors prior to publication? It shows a lack of the regard for the reader.

I can only imagine the harsh criticism Miller would dish out to a golfer who conducted himself in such an unprofessional manner. It seems the sign of an unhealthily inflated ego to take pride in doling out no-holds-barred criticism of others, while holding oneself to the most meager standards.

He labels his "friend" Jay Don Blake a "mediocre" player and suggests he really isn't trying hard and is taking advantage of the Tour's exemption system at the expense of hungier, more deserving players. He no doubt considers that admirable straight talking. But he takes huge offense to minor comments made at his own expense. Miller relates how Azinger once called him a big "moron," and then later playfully recanted, saying he had been misquoted and had really called Miller a big "Mormon." Miller is greatly offended by this, calling it "blasphemy" and a "joke about my religion." How is playfully refering to a Mormon as a Mormon either blasphemy or degrading to Mormonism?

Miller has tons of interesting things to say about golf and golfers, but giving your readers a book with numerous errors and irreconcilable contradictions is arrogant and shoddy. One can't help but wonder whether there may be lots of other unstated errors underlying the opinions he offers. Does his ego get in the way of his ability to hold his own work up to the same strict standards he unhesitatingly (and insensitively) applies to his own peers?

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The editor should be fired!, June 19, 2004

By A Customer

This is an interesting book, because Johnny Miller is an interesting guy. But MY GOD whoever edited this thing should be fired immediately! I have never seen so many mistakes and contradictions in a book in my life.

Here is just a small sampling:

1. When Miller talks about the "Tiger Slam," he gets the tournaments wrong AND the years wrong.
2. On one page he states that Tiger is "a very good putter, but not a great putter." Then, on a later page he states that "Tiger is a fabulous putter." Well, which is it, Johnny, very good, not great, or fabulous?
3. Miller states that Tom Watson won six British Opens, when in fact he won five. He states that Hale Irwin won two U.S. Opens, when in fact he won three.
4. Here is my favorite one of all: Miller exalts in the fact that his U.S. Open record score of 63 at Oakmont in 1973 "has stood up for more than 40 years." That's mighty impressive, Johnny, especially considering the fact that 1973 was only 31 years ago.

Now, any one or two of these mistakes could be easily forgiven, but there are literally dozens of them - so many, in fact, that it becomes distracting. The only thing that saves the book is that Miller is so opinionated on so many subjects that it actually does make an interesting read, despite the embarrassing lack of editing.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Par for Miller, DQ for the Editor and Publisher, July 12, 2004

By	Al Ely (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX USA) - See all my reviews

Miller rates a par for the book (if that's damning by faint praise, so be it) but the ghost writer, editor, and publisher should get a DQ (disqualified) for the effort. The misprints, factual errors, bad grammar, and typos detract to the point of cancelling out anything good Miller says. I wanted to like this book because Miller himself is so likeable and his TV commentary is so good,but thanks to the poor production value it's as hard to enjoy as a triple bogey. For instance,two questions: did Seve win three times on the PGA tour(pg 202)or six times(pg 203)? And how do you hit a ball with the clubshaft perpendicular to the ground? To do that, it would have to be dangling from your hands like a plumb bob. Maybe Johnny can demonstrate that during the rain delay at the British Open.