A look at Tiger tops leader board of new golf books
Steve Helling, a writer whose work often appears in People magazine, did have a head start in his relationship with Tiger Woods. He was granted a limited private interview. He quickly learned that with Woods, "limited" trumps "private" every time.
"It was a shallow conversation, the equivalent of elevator small talk," Helling writes in his new book, "Tiger: The Real Story" (DeCapo Press, 234 pages, $25), one of the intriguing golf volumes of the season. Helling did gain enough favor to be granted more interview opportunities, even receiving an invitation to the big and intensely private wedding on Oct. 5, 2004. "As Tiger's face was illuminated by a spectacular fireworks display at the reception, the optimism in his eyes was unmistakable," the author writes.
Fortunately, the writing often gets better than that, such as when Helling is candid enough to admit that he knew more than he ever wrote about Woods but held back because he also knew that Woods and his people banished anyone who wrote anything remotely negative about the world's most famous golfer.
Helling's work is part of publishing's rite of spring. Golf books start pouring out in the weeks before Father's Day. The hope is that warm weather will make golfers more interested in reading about their game, and that shoppers will buy a book rather than a necktie.
Credit Helling's intricate reporting for unearthing details of that eerie scene outside the Windermere home in the early morning hours after Thanksgiving: Woods' wife Elin kneeling over him, nearly hysterical; Woods unresponsive, on the ground, snoring; his teeth covered in blood. Helling relates how officers from the Florida Highway Patrol were "irritated" by the refusal of the State Attorney's Office to issue a subpoena for access to Woods' hospital blood results.
Good stuff. Makes you wonder how different the whole story would have been if Woods had been charged. It definitely convinces you that Helling believes that the gloves are off. The threat of being exiled by the Woods camp no longer exists.
The bad part is, the best material is in the first chapter. For big stretches, the "Real Story" is an old story (although this peanut stand was amused by the take on Earl Woods coaching 3-year-old Tiger on keeping the media at bay). Also, the book ends with that awkward statement at PGA Tour Headquarters, which wasn't even the beginning of Woods' comeback. So the real "Real Story" is yet to be written, as Helling hints when he writes, "The Tiger Woods whom the world knew before November 2009 is gone forever."
Readers with an appetite for non-Tiger topics are in luck. Here are some of the best:
"Chasing Greatness: Johnny Miller, Arnold Palmer and the Miracle at Oakmont" by Adam Lazarus and Steve Schlossman (350 pages, New American Library, $24.95). The authors raise the question, was Johnny Miller's 63 in the final round of the 1973 U.S. Open the greatest round of all time? Hard to say. The book does a good job of pointing out what a seminal moment it was, especially considering all the characters involved. Not least of them was Arnie, who was making his last great salvo in a major in front of all his Pennsylvania neighbors.
People around here will be most taken with the section on Gene Borek, then the pro at Pine Hollow in East Norwich, who shot what was considered an amazing 65 on Friday. The book goes into rewarding detail about Borek's family life and career. He is quoted, telling reporters at Oakmont, "I called home a few weeks ago to tell my wife I won the Long Island Open, all she said, was, 'Don't forget the milk.' "
"Don't Choke: A Champion's Guide to Winning Under Pressure" by Gary Player with Michael Vlismas (181 pages, Skyhorse Publishing, $19.95). Player's energy and enthusiasm shine through a book that isn't nearly as harsh as its title.
"Swinging from My Heels: Confessions of an LPGA Star" by Christina Kim and Alan Shipnuck (228 pages, Bloomsbury, $25). Downside: A star? Kim isn't the kind of uber celebrity whose name sells loads of books. Upside: That allows her to be wonderfully candid, which she is in these pages.
"Golf Sonnets" by James Long Hale (48 pages, Thom Ward publisher, $18). To wit, "So take a lesson if your game is ill/Equipment is no substitute for skill."
