Paper Tiger: An Obsessed Golfer's Quest to Play with the Pros

This book was an entertaining read. It was great to get a glimpse of the pro golfing world from someone attempting to get in. The skill pyramid (described in the book) was really... eye opening, the wide gulf between the amateur world and the pro arena. "Scratch is sh_t"!

From Reid Sheftall, author of "Striking It Rich: Golf in the Kingdom with Generals, Patients and Pros" I can't begin to express how much I enjoyed this book. It works on every level. It is very, very funny. It is instructional. It is enlightening. It is honest. The main character (Tom Coyne, the author) is so very likable. The book is rich with love of game and girl. Perspective abounds at the end. Am I making myself clear?

As a 2 handicap and former college golfer, I likewise had thoughts of sometime playing with the "big boys." Coyne's book is at once insightful, funny, and very "real." At times, I felt as if I was going through what he went through. If you play golf (or any sport, for that matter, where you think you're good enough to make it to the "show"), you must read this book. And Tom -- if you're ever in need of a fourth, drop me a line.

Intrigued by the books premise and impressed by the esteemed critical acclaim on the cover, I picked up this book on a recent trip to the United States. I laughed, I cried, and I cried laughing as I read the book cover to cover on the 7 hour plane ride back to England. My only regret is that I didn't buy more than one copy, as my friends and the the friends of my friends are now waiting eagerly to read the book which (as yet) doesn't have a UK relese date! Tom's self disciplined, determined quest to fulfil his dream, is the keystone of the book. However, it is the obstacles he encountered and his responses to them that provide the comedy, the tragedy and ultimately a love story about golf and a girl. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has ever tried to play golf; the husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends of anyone who plays golf; and to anyone who had a dream and motivated themselves to do something about it.

If you golf with any seriousness, read this book. It will plant you firmly in reality without your express permission and give you enough instruction accidentally (in spades, if not on purpose) to improve your game VERY MUCH -- well, my game. If you golf seriously and ever said to yourself "What if?", you will be planted even more soundly in reality... and the book will give you hope -- if you survive the bare-fisted reality-check. (You probably will not.) This is also the story about how professional golf works -- and how many ways there are to do professional golf -- but mostly it's about how really hard it is and how very, very good you have to be. This is a very well-written book, well paced, fun to read, full of memorable characters, salted with the vernacular -- but only as appropriate and/or as to be expected of a Notre Dame graduate.

I am a casual golfer who enjoys the time spent on the course with friends, and more comfortably, in the club house over a few beers. Often times when discussing the round just played, the converstaion comes around to how much better we would all be if we could quit our jobs and just focus on golf. Paper Tiger puts that theory to the test. Tom Coyne's tale is one we could all only hope to one day (or one year) experience. The hilarious ups and downs Tom faces kept me turning the pages and often reading passages aloud to my wife. I'm not the biggest reader, so the fact that I finished this book in 3 weeks will tell you that it was great. I recommend this to all golf lovers, and golf "widows" alike.