Chasing Tiger

by Curt Sampson

All eat from the bowl of life. Tiger Woods just has a bigger spoon.So writes Curt Sampson in his ground-breaking account of the current state of golf. Tiger Woods has changed golf forever. His mix of power and skill combines with his extraordinary business savvy to make Woods the biggest global sports figure since Michael Jordan. Like Jordan, Woods' competitive signature is equal parts inspiration and intimidation.But what about the other guys? It's either catch up or give up for the rest of the golfing world, and in Chasing Tiger Curt Sampson exuberantly charts the state of the game as the new century unfolds. There are Duval and Mickelson and a host of other stars, of course, but there are also the junior golfers and their parents, corporate America, agents, instructors, fans, and the media.Just as he did in his controversial bestsellers Hogan and The Masters, Sampson digs deep to uncover stories that wouldn't otherwise be told. There's the golf course employee in Austin whose admiration for Woods leads him to spend every waking minute mimicking his hero (including the trademark pumping fist, only here it's on the practice green). There's the awestruck unemployed talk show host who stretches the bounds of good taste and hero worship with his Web site, Tigerwoodsisgod.com. At the other end of the scale is Charles Howell III, skinny as a 2-iron, a up-and-coming player who has been tapped by Jack Nicklaus to be the next great challenge to Woods. Howell is the a man unfailingly friendly to fans and media, recently married, opinionated, and entirely lacking in caution, yet he struggles to earn enough money to make the Tour.Curt Sampson has written an affectionate yet wary account of one extraordinary man's impact on the world of sport. By turns moving, hilarious, and eye-opening, Chasing Tiger is a wonderful addition to the golf canon.

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Curt Sampson, golf professional turned golf writer, came to golf the old-fashioned way—as a caddie. He looped for his father for a few years on summer Saturday’s, then turned pro, in a manner of speaking, at age 12, as one of the scores of disheveled boys and men in the caddie pen at Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson, Ohio. His golf game developed from sneaking on LFCC at twilight, an occasionally nerve-wracking exercise because the greens keeper intimated a readiness to call the cops on trespassers. Sampson—never caught—progressed as a player and as an employee, scoring a job as starter/cart maintenance boy at age 16 at Boston Hills CC, a public course, also in Hudson. His high water mark as a young golfer was a win in the Mid- American Junior in 1970. Sampson attended Kent State University on a golf scholarship and managed a municipal course for two years following graduation, worked a couple more as an assistant pro at clubs in South Carolina and Tennessee, then bummed around as a touring pro in Canada, New Zealand, and Florida.

In November 1988, Sampson began to write full-time, mostly about the game of his father, golf. Texas Golf Legends, his first book, was collaboration with Santa Fe-based artist Paul Milosevich. Researching TGL gained Sampson introductions with people he has written about many times since: Hogan, Nelson, Crenshaw, Trevino, and a few dozen others. His next book–The Eternal Summer, a recreation of golf’s summer of 1960, when Hogan, Palmer, and Nicklaus battled–is still selling 15 years after its debut, a rarity in the publishing world. Sampson’s biography of the enigmatic William Ben Hogan struck a chord. Both Hogan and his next book, The Masters, appeared on the New York Times bestseller lists. Subsequent books and scores of magazine articles cemented Sampson’s reputation as readable and sometimes controversial writer with an eye for humor and the telling detail.

Reviews

[Colin Grandlienard · Rating 2 out of 5]

You'd think a book called Chasing Tiger would spend at least half the book talking about.....Tiger Woods?? Wasn't expecting a biography but there's more in the book about a couple other golfers than about Tiger. Weirdly written, too, odd jumping around from subject to subject, covering things nobody could possibly care about, lots of filler. Felt like the author had an exclusive with Tiger lined up, fell through, and he went ahead with the book anyway

[A 3Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chasing Tiger is a great book that shows an inspirational story. Throughout the book it shows Tiger growing up and changing the game of golf. Tiger has some great quotes throughout the book like "Achievements on the golf course are not what matters, decency and honesty are what matter" which shows the kind of person that Tiger is. Tiger Woods has changed golf and he has inspired people across the nation to play golf. I like the way they had his Dad speak about Tiger throughout the book. Tiger is quoted saying this "I mean, as an athlete, as a competitor, you have to have that belief in yourself." which shows you how he is inspirational. Tiger has always been a competitor and he always will be I think. Growing up was hard for Tiger because he was a mix of so many races. Tiger never let this slow him down though and he says "I knew that I was a mix of different races but I didn't let it keep me back." which shows how he overcame it. Tiger is inspirational because he talks about how he overcame is struggles. This is a great book and I recommend that you read it if you get the chance.

[Mark Noonan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to say I was very disappointed with this book. I have heard good things about author Curt Sampson, and this is the first book I have read by him. That being said I was not impressed with my first read of his work. He's kind of all over the place.
I knew this book wasn't a biography on Tiger woods, but I thought it was about what it's like to chase Tiger in a tournament and compete against him. Although it does shed some light on that subject, it seemed to almost be more of a biography on Charles Howell III, and David Duval. Both of these men did have some competition with Tiger but it didn't even really go into that much detail.
And I also could care less about Earl Woods, I know that's Tiger's father but I can't stand the man (God rest his soul).
Everyone has their own opinion but I do not recommend this book. I felt the title was misleading and like I said...he just seemed to be all over the place.

[Todd]

Good book. During a Byron Nelson event I had Tiger woods sign a copy and gave it to "author" Curt as a gift.

Good times!
-TAJ

[Evan Kirby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on Tiger, especially due to the fact that this was written before he truly took over the golf world in the early 2000s.