Book Description
The New York Times and Booksense bestselling author of A Nasty Bit of Rough and Somewhere in Ireland, a Village Is Missing an Idiot teams with golf uber-editor James A. Frank to concoct the most potent elixir of narrative history and behind-the-scenes drama of the Ryder Cup.

"As hard-bitten as we all get, the Ryder Cup is still the measure of intestinal fortitude."
-David Feherty, 1991

What began in 1927 as a friendly competition between the best golfers from the United States and Great Britain has evolved into the most action-packed, gut-wrenching, and nail-biting event in the game-and possibly in all of sport. For three days every two years, twenty-four of the world's best battle both as partners and as individuals, vying not for prize money but for national pride. It is an experience that makes them weak in the knees, and more than one grizzled veteran has admitted to spending the moments before teeing off exorcising his demons into the toilet.

This "history" of the game's most exciting tournament looks beyond the team lineups and final scores to uncover the personalities and stories that made every playing of the biennial matches a war of wits. From the practical jokes in the locker rooms to the strategic decisions that won (and lost) crucial matches, Feherty-who played on the 1991 Ryder Cup team for Europe-provides an insight and an outlook that no one else can match. Or would dare try.



From the Inside Flap
"As hard-bitten as we all get, the Ryder Cup is still the measure of intestinal fortitude." -- David Feherty, 1991
What began in 1927 as a friendly competition between best golfers from the United States and Great Britain has evolved into the most action- packed, gut-wrenching, and nail-biting event in the game-- and possibly in all of sports. For three days every two years, twenty-four of the world's best battle both as partners and as individuals, vying not for prize money but for national pride. It is an experience that makes them weak in the knees, and more than one grizzled veteran has admitted to spending the moments before teeing off exorcising his demons into the toilet.
This "history" of the game's most exciting tournament looks beyond the team lineups and final scores to uncover the personalities and stories that made every playing of the biennial matches a war of wits. From the practical jokes in the locker rooms to the strategic decisions that won (and lost) crucial matches, Feherty-- who played on the 1991 Ryder Cup team for Europe-- provides an insight and an outlook that no one else can match. Or would dare try.


About the Author
Upon his retirement from professional golf in 1997, David Feherty has been a mainstay throughout the PGA golf season on CBS Sports as on-course personality and commentator. In addition to penning Golf Magazine's back-of-the-book column, Feherty writes a biweekly column for Golfonline.com, the most popular golf website. Feherty enjoyed a very successful professional career with ten victories on the European Tour, over $3 million won in prize money, and an appearance on the European Ryder Cup team in 1991. He lives in Dallas, Texas, with his wife, Anita, and their five children, Erin, Rory, Shey, Karl, and Fred, and is the author of A Nasty Bit of Rough and Somewhere in Ireland, a Village Is Missing an Idiot.

James A. Frank is the former editor of Golf Magazine. Coauthor of the mega-New York Times bestselling books Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible, Dave Pelz's Putting Bible, and most recently Dave Pelz's 10 Minutes A Day to Better Putting, Jim swears that he has other interests that don't require an intimate understanding of the Vardon grip. He lives in New Jersey.



Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
At Kaiwah, the Europeans were all crammed together in the ladies' locker room, which was so small, you had to go outside to change your mind. But inside, it was great because there were players you'd admired your entire career, and essentially they were hanging in your every movement. Normally players are secretly delighted when someone drops a shot, but in the Ryder Cup you genuinely want someone else to do fantastically well. Golf is definitely not a team game-- you're in charge of your own head-- but the Ryder Cup offers a different dimension. Inside the team room things happen that don't at any other time. The players-- even the stars-- are willing for once to let their vulnerability show. You can say, "Anyone else feel awful?" and there'll be "yeahs" from all around the room.

FROM THE PUBLISHER