Shane RyanSlaying the Tiger: A Year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour

This book is very entertaining and provides many tidbits of background information that would normally not be available to fans. I find that this is exactly the kind of fresh book golf needs. It breaks out of the super-clean and tightly controlled journalism that normally goes with golf. The author says what he thinks and doesn't care who doesn't want to hear it. I would not be surprised if he isn't invited back to some places now that this book is out, but he seems to accept that willingly. He also makes it clear that some of the things are not just journalistic reporting, but he adds his own opinion. I find that to be a positive and it makes the book more interesting. I didn't agree with everything (although I did agree with a lot of it), but I always found it interesting.I have heard some pretty harsh criticism about this book. On the Golf Channel, a reporter found herself "disgusted" by the author digging up background information. "Why does he bring in Patrick Reed's parents?" she asks, and points out she finds it inappropriate. I beg to differ! I can watch a tournament if all I care about is the score the player is able to play. If I want to know more about a player, then I read this book, and then I want to hear the background story. I never liked Patrick Reed much, and I now understand more about him. I actually like him a little better and feel more pity than dislike. And this is the kind of info I want from a book like this. Who knew that Dustin Johnson stole bullets for a gun that then ended up killing someone that very same day? I sure didn't. And I find that interesting back-story. As long as it is only a (small) part of the book (which it is). So I find all that to be a positive that makes the book more interesting, and I don't think the author overstepped the line. So Patrick Reed's parents tweet about hating his wife? OK. Maybe this kind of dirty laundry isn't everyone's cup of tee, but if they put it on Twitter then it is public and I don't see a problem with it being used to explain someone's character in a book.I also read the other reviews here. I don't really follow the criticism of my fellow reviewers who gave low reviews. For instance, I did NOT feel that the author had trouble with golf lingo. He obviously isn't someone who has won a Major before, but I feel he does fine in terms of writing about golf and getting the vibe of the game right.I also have NO problem with the book referencing Tiger Woods. His decline is a big story, and the rise of the younger players is a big story. Perhaps the raise of the younger players is the bigger story of the two. But I also see that putting "Tiger" on the cover helps to sell the book. Plus, the things the author writes about Tiger Woods are all very interesting. I am fine with all that.

Very entertaining and insightful look at the new stars of professional golf--damn near prophetic with many of the cover boys figuring prominantly at the recent US Open. The profiles found here are accounts of the young careers of those poised to dominate major championship golf in the next decade or two. These abbreviated biographies are mostly unauthorized and supplemented with press conference Q and A's and brief one-on-one interviews the author manages to land. Ryan is sometimes a bit self-conscious and occasionally over-eager to assert himself as a maverick journalist following the 2014 PGA Tour, with the occasional trip to Europe. As such, he cuts through the routine and rote coverage golf too often gets.I believe there has been denial in some quarters about this book, but I'm buying most every word. We're certainly NOT buying the bland image the PGA Tour wants us to believe. So what if this guy has had some issues with his parents or that one likes to party maybe a bit too much or got into some trouble as a kid. These shadings create a story behind each swing and score and this book is one of the more interesting accounts.There were a few factual bloopers and I completely disagree with Ryan's take on Augusta National and the Masters, but I'm still putting this in the top tier of recent golf books.

A behind the scenes account of a year on the tour - drama, excitement, personalities, and some really funny stories framed by golf’s transition to a post-Tiger generation of new talent. It’s easy to see why passionate golf fans love it, but this book is also a treasure for us casual fans who have had a difficult time enjoying the sport when we only know the top names. Now, with Shane Ryan’s immersive and entertaining book, we can watch, root for, and develop favorites in what promises to be a really exciting generation of talent.Golf is hard to enjoy for guys like me because, as Ryan points out, golf coverage from mainstream sports media tends to have a kind of vicious cycle that goes like this: Only the top stars have enough mainstream appeal to get average sports fans to tune in. And so the big sports media outlets are not going to devote in-depth coverage to dozens of golfers when their readers only seem to care about the top stars. We hear about Bubba’s car and Tiger’s mistresses; but without any knowledge of the many up-and-coming stars, we can’t really develop a rooting interest. If the final round doesn’t feature some familiar names in a close duel …well, after a few holes I’m switching to the Cub game.I first ran across Ryan’s byline when he was blogging about the Yankees and college basketball, and it was clear he had that immersive, first-person, lively style - full of insights, passion, and inside jokes. Reading Ryan’s coverage of an ACC tournament, say, made typical coverage seem, in contrast, like reading a box score. It’s not surprising that the author moved on to write for Grantland, as Ryan shares Simmons’ ability to take his readers along with him on his stories, in a delightful and captivating way. Good job and thanks for a really fun read.

This book really pulls back the curtain on the PGA tour. The author doesn't pull any punches when talking about what some of the golfers are really like. Highly recommend for fans of the game.

A few years ago, I read and hugely enjoyed "A Good Walk Spoiled" by John Feinstein, which took the reader through a year on the PGA Tour from an "inside the ropes" perspective. That book gave me a completely new perspective on the world of professional golf and in particular on the world of pro golfers, and was generally very sympathetic to them."Slaying the Tiger" is in some ways very derivative, in that it has a very similar approach and format (and I was pleased to see that Feinstein is clearly mentioned as an inspiration in the acknowledgements). However, Shane Ryan's book is much less hagiographical than Feinstein and generally paints a less sympathetic picture of the golfers in question. Maybe this is because golfers as a "breed" have fundamentally changed over the last twenty years, and have become far more self-centred (which may be true to an extent) or maybe it is because Feinstein was more prepared to gloss over some of the more disagreeable aspects of their personalities.What comes out is that modern golfers are generally very driven, self-centred individuals, who don't appreciate the media at all, and who don't interact very well with each other or with anyone else. There are exceptions but that is the general picture that emerges, and maybe we should not be surprised at this, given how individualistic golfers need to be to succeed.The two chapters that will live in my memory are the one about Augusta and the one about the 2014 Ryder Cup.Ryan argues very convincingly that Augusta National, which owns the Masters tournament, is a very powerful organisation with its own laws, written and unwritten, and that anyone who infringes them can expect swift and unforgiving retribution. A very interesting perspective and one that is entirely different from the romantic image that we are usually presented with by the media.The chapter about the Ryder Cup is even more interesting. It focuses on the differences between the respective captains, McGinley, victorious and assured for Europe, and Watson, floundering, egotistical and losing the support of his own team. I had never really bought into the idea that the RC captain was a very decisive factor in the team's performance but Ryan makes a very convincing case for this at least in the context of the 2014 competition.All in all, if you like watching professional golf, you should read this book. You may not like it all or agree with it all, but it is a well researched, thoughtful and necessary addition to golf literature.

I have enjoyed very much all the stories Ryan wrote, I would love to read a book like this after every PGA Tour season, well done!

Really funny and you learn a lot about players. Incredible stories about reed and dubisson. Thanks for this book. It is great

Great read great insight into the PGA tour and players, very well put togeteher formatRecommened read for all golfers