Raising the Bar: The Championship Years of Tiger Woods

Tim Rosaforte's book gives a solid overview of Tiger's career and some strong insight into his life and sport. It covers everything about the Year 2000 including the incredible 6 iron at the Canadian Open. A very solid book.

Raising the Bar was an excellent and easy read, but I didn't expect anything less from Tim Rosaforte.People who follow the game of golf extremely closely may not find out much more about Woods than they already know by reading Raising the Bar. However, Rosaforte takes a different approach to his work, which makes it very enjoyable. Rather than spit out strictly facts about Woods, Rosaforte's book goes in-depth with people, besides himself, who have chronicled Woods' career by sharing anecdotes with people like Mark Steinberg (Woods' agent), Butch Harmon (Woods' coach), Scott Van Pelt (The Golf Channel field reporter and Golf Central anchor), Jeff Rude (Golf Week columnist) and various touring professionals, including Mark O'Meara.Perhaps my favorite anecdote involved the Golf Channel's Peter Kessler, a noted golf historian. At the beginning of the book, Kessler talked about what it was like to follow Tiger around Pebble Beach during the 2000 U.S. Open:"I was just keenly aware of what I was witnessing," he said. "I missed Bobby Jones in his prime, and I never saw Hogan, but I did see Arnie, Gary, Jack, Lee, Tom, Seve, Greg, Nick and Nick. It was my sense after following him 50 holes in the U.S. Open, that this was the best that anybody had ever played golf, and I got to see it. I felt so lucky and honored, and because I had an appreciation for what it meant historically, I started to cry. His mom hugged me and comforted me like I was two years old and then Joanna started crying because I was crying, then Kultida started crying because Joanna was crying, and then Tiger emerges from the scoring tent. Tiger looks at both of them and looks at me and says, `It's Peter's fault, he was crying first,' as we were sharing my handkerchief. Tiger hugged the girls and hugged me, and laughed at me, and went out to get his U.S. Open trophy."The entire book was enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the sport of golf at any level and is mesmerized by the unparalleled success of Woods. For those who haven't followed Tiger's career closely, don't worry; you'll be at the edge of your seat. Rosaforte makes Raising the Bar an easy and interesting read, by catching the golf-novice up to date. For those avid golf followers who already know about Tiger's career, Rosaforte's use of anecdotes will leave you unable to put the book down.

Rosaforte's book provides an excellent perspective on the Tiger Woods phenomenon as the maturing child prodigy reinvented himself and began his domination of the contemporary golf scene. Because Woods is a highly publicized and celebrated figure, who has retained a curtain of privacy and mystery, Rosaforte performs a valuable service by providing a glimpse not only "inside the ropes" of the PGA Tour, but also inside the curtain of Team Tiger.

As a fan, with a son dedicated to the sport, I find Mr. Rosaforte's latest book "Raising the Bar" a perfect follow up to his 1997 book, "Tiger Woods, the Makings of a Champion". Mr. Rosaforte's continuing biography of Tiger Woods gave me both exceptional reading enjoyment and volumes of examples and experiences of this role model to highlight to my son as he plays and grows in the game of golf.Detailing Tiger's most recent years, after the Masters win, is most interesting reading for us advid golfers and followers of the sport. Insight into this sports greatest achiever is not only interesting reading but a helpful teaching tool as well. Being able to sight examples from Mr. Rosaforte's book has served as great inspiration.

"Raising the Bar" is another wonderful contribution to the golfing world by Tim Rosaforte. Tim has a magnetic style that draws you in and holds your attention. His extensive knowledge base fills the voids and explains the angles. Tiger is a big story and "Raising the Bar" lays out the details of the last few years with great insight and analysis. Anyone with an interest in golf would enjoy this book.