THE GREEN
PGA Book of the Year
The Ryder Cup. A biennial tournament considered the premier event in the golfing world, pitting the twelve best players in the United States against the twelve best of Europe in a contest so pressure-filled it can paralyze even the most battle-scarred tour veterans. United States captain Alan Bellamy makes a desperate decision in his attempt to preserve America's golfing honor: He selects as his twelfth man one Eddie Caminetti, a low-life, two bit hustler from a municipal course in South Florida.
THE CAMINETTI CUP is an annual golf tournament pitting the United States against Puerto Rico. It is named after the lead character in The Green, and participants are required to have read the book and must pass a test to prove it.
The most prestigious tournament in golf will never be the same. As the unforeseen consequences of hustler Eddie Caminetti's participation on the Ryder team unfold riotously, Troon McAllister takes us into the minds and souls of elite professional athletes and attempts to shed some light on a question as old as golf itself: Why would God create a game even He can't play?
But where many previous novels have elevated the game of golf to a near-mystical religion, McAllister crashes it firmly back to earth where it belongs, in the hands and hearts of real people in all their devotion, profanity, enthusiasm, exasperation and sheer joy. Even if the closest you've ever been to a round of golf was trying to putt past a windmill into a clown's nose, you'll find yourself totally enthralled as these fascinating characters fight the course, their personal demons and especially each other in their pursuit of the most fiendishly frustrating sport ever created.
Publisher Name | Date | ISBN | Pages |
---|---|---|---|
Doubleday | 1999 | 0-385-49460-2 | 387 |
No one appreciates how difficult it is to write credible fiction about golf more than someone who's tried. Think about it. How do you make a reader, particularly a knowledgeable golf reader, believe in and care about a match that never happened between players whom he knows are purely the products of a writer's imagination, and, on top of that, make him believe in events and twists of fate that never happened and never will? But Troon McAllister pulls this stunt off and does it so seamlessly that you're completely nailed to your chair, turning pages to find out what happens next. He has achieved a minor miracle of fiction, not only to make the golf itself ring so true, but to do the same for the tale, the moral and the wisdom. Inevitably, because of its dash and humor and subject matter, THE GREEN will be called "Jenkinsian" and measured alongside the best of Dan Jenkins. That's a helluva tough test, but Mr. McAllister's style and story-telling gifts are up to it. Completely convincing, wise, funny, THE GREEN stands on its own not just as outstanding golf fiction but as fiction period.
— Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Bagger Vance
[ A "Best Book of 1999"] - Troon McAllister's first novel remains the most entertaining piece of golf fiction to come along in a long time. [He] spins a blistering yarn that culminates in a fictional Ryder Cup rivaled only by [last] year's real-life pandemonium."
— The PGA Tour
A laugh-out-loud take on big-time golfing, as a small-time hustler more than holds his own against the egos, bank balances, blood feuds, and beer guts of international pros. Newcomer McAllister makes the intricacies of the game exciting, even thrilling, asking whether it's skill or personality that ultimately wins the game [...and what is] the point of winning in pro sports: Is it about the money, the fame, or the quiet satisfaction of hoodwinking your opponent? A breezy clubhouse yarn that works as a meditation on competition and intense insiderdom: rollicking fun.
— Kirkus Reviews
Troon McAllister has captured a sizable gallery...the great golf hustler Eddie Caminetti is drawn in bold and unforgettable strokes.
— Hemispheres (United Airlines in-flight magazine)
The best novel about golf since The Rub of the Green. Eddie [Caminetti] is an unforgettable character, and the golf is vividly described. Golfers will love this book but so may nongolfers who have never understood how hard it is to play the game well.
— Library Journal
A hilarious and loving look at golf generally and the Ryder Cup in particular.
— USA Today (Harry Blauvelt)
The Green is a fine follow-up to a weekend of The Masters, featuring the best golfers fighting the wind and nerves to win one of the four majors. I definitely see this as a major motion picture. Everything Caminetti says is right — about playing for pleasure, about practicing, about avoiding golf gurus and gimmicks and, especially, about the mental aspects of the game. Reading this book, which is filled with course management and mental strategies, will surely help your game about a dozen times more than a bushel basket full of videos and self-help books.
— USA Today (Carol Herwig)
[Audio Edition] A golf novel! Ugh! While understandable, that preconception of THE GREEN is wrong. This novel is marvelously entertaining from the outset, and Christopher McDonald's narration fits perfectly. On its face, this is the story of Eddie Caminetti, a golf hustler recruited to the U.S. Ryder Cup team. But it is also a subtle look into human nature from the perspective of Caminetti, who plays every angle, and a few that most of his fellow golfers never contemplate. This book requires a tongue-in-cheek approach, and McDonald pulls it off. The way he portrays Caminetti's smooth confidence adds immeasurably to the story and demonstrates the difference a skilled reading makes. Some books are pure fun, funny, and insightful. This is one.
— Audio File
Engrossing insights into everything from the physics to the philosophy of the sport and several scenes that highlight its infamous and recondite set of rules. Golfers will surely appreciate this entertaining read.
— Publishers Weekly
Almost sure to bring a smile to the face of the golfer on your list is The Green by Troon McAllister. It is the story of an American Ryder Cup captain in crisis and how he selects as his pick an unknown hustler who’d rather play for money than bring cheers to flag-waving fans. It pokes some good-natured fun at PGA commercialism and the usual golf cliches. Anyone wondering what this book is all about need only look long and hard at its title.
— Golf Today
Order refreshments and fasten your seatbelts. The Green is a rollicking tale full of raucously rococo characters. It just has to be read.
— The San Bernardino Sun
Great golf fiction is rare. This is it. A very well written, very engaging story about a Florida hustler who, through a series of events all too believable, plays his way onto the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Funny, insightful, down to earth and just plain entertaining.
— Golf.com
As unforgettable as the best round of golf you've ever played. How good was it? I missed my tee time because I couldn't put the damn thing down.
— Bob Babbitt, Publisher,
Competitor and CitySports Magazines
Founder of XTreme Golf
To think that The Green is just about golf would be missing the essence of this great story. It is a very real look at the complexities of elite level competition, bound into a captivating 'can't put down' plot around one of the greatest tournaments in the world.
— Paula Newby-Fraser
8-time Ironman World Champion
If you think it's just about golf, you're missing half the fun. The richly drawn characters populating THE GREEN are stand-ins for all of us and the lessons to be learned beneath all of the humor and intrigue will stay with you long after the final page.
— Stewart Cink
1997 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year