In 1999, the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament--known to many as Q School--found itself sitting on 35 years of unique history. Q School Confidential chronicles this tournament's deep, dense story of heartbreak, black humor, backroom politics and magnificent golf under dire circumstances.
Using the 1998 PGA TOUR Qualifying School finals as his backdrop, golf writer David Gould recounts for the first time ever the history of the pro tour's annual qualifier, with revealing anecdotes about raw rookies, aging veterans and every dreamer in between. The vintage stories in the Q School's near and distant past tell of emotional and physical breakdown---and courage, as well---under pressure: Jim Carter's self-confessed choke stories of 1990 and 1992; Mark McCumber's recurring lost-scorecard nightmare; Peter Jacobsen's ordeal with a cheater on the Mexican border; Jim McLean's bizarre arrest on the qualifier's eve; and Mac O'Grady's violent celebration of his long-awaited Q School success. The players captured in these pages turn white with panic, vomit their breakfast, sleep in their cars, practice on interstate ranges, lose golf shoes, forget contact lenses and make fateful decisions based on faulty information.
Sifting back through several eras, Gould explains the innocent aims of the first Q Schools and uncovers the tournament's pivotal role in the momentous split-up of the PGA and the PGA TOUR. He examines the difficult question of how professional golf should go about bringing in new players and letting former players regain their privileges. In the voices of forgotten or never-known tour pros from the 1970s, he narrates the frustrating rabbit era that Q School helped create, and revisits the infamous breakaway Q School of 1968. In notes that accompany this book's exclusive year-by-year scoring records, the author picks out hidden turning points, bits of trivia and strange coincidences in the lives of tour players past and present.
These profiles and snapshots of the earliest Q School survivors and the most recent graduates, as well, are woven together in a warm, engaging and insightful narrative. Q School Confidential, sometimes bleak, sometimes triumphant, provides the first and only inside look at a cruel and unusual tournament that many consider golf's toughest test of all.
Show moreIn 1999, the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament--known to many as Q School--found itself sitting on 35 years of unique history. Q School Confidential chronicles this tournament's deep, dense story of heartbreak, black humor, backroom politics and magnificent golf under dire circumstances.
Using the 1998 PGA TOUR Qualifying School finals as his backdrop, golf writer David Gould recounts for the first time ever the history of the pro tour's annual qualifier, with revealing anecdotes about raw rookies, aging veterans and every dreamer in between. The vintage stories in the Q School's near and distant past tell of emotional and physical breakdown---and courage, as well---under pressure: Jim Carter's self-confessed choke stories of 1990 and 1992; Mark McCumber's recurring lost-scorecard nightmare; Peter Jacobsen's ordeal with a cheater on the Mexican border; Jim McLean's bizarre arrest on the qualifier's eve; and Mac O'Grady's violent celebration of his long-awaited Q School success. The players captured in these pages turn white with panic, vomit their breakfast, sleep in their cars, practice on interstate ranges, lose golf shoes, forget contact lenses and make fateful decisions based on faulty information.
Sifting back through several eras, Gould explains the innocent aims of the first Q Schools and uncovers the tournament's pivotal role in the momentous split-up of the PGA and the PGA TOUR. He examines the difficult question of how professional golf should go about bringing in new players and letting former players regain their privileges. In the voices of forgotten or never-known tour pros from the 1970s, he narrates the frustrating rabbit era that Q School helped create, and revisits the infamous breakaway Q School of 1968. In notes that accompany this book's exclusive year-by-year scoring records, the author picks out hidden turning points, bits of trivia and strange coincidences in the lives of tour players past and present.
These profiles and snapshots of the earliest Q School survivors and the most recent graduates, as well, are woven together in a warm, engaging and insightful narrative. Q School Confidential, sometimes bleak, sometimes triumphant, provides the first and only inside look at a cruel and unusual tournament that many consider golf's toughest test of all.
Show moreDavid Gould, is the former executive editor for Golf Illustrated and an award-winning contributor to such publications as Golf Magazine, the USGA's Golf Journal, Men Health, and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of The Golfer's Code, a humorous treatise on golf etiquette and manners, and a co-author of several books on golf instruction. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, the novelist Rachel Basch, and their two children.
"Every once in a while, a golf book of some significance shows up on the shelves that presents the reader with a fresh perspective on some aspect of the game. Q School Confidential is just such a book." --Golf Tips "The weekend golfer will appreciate and identify with these players' stories of dogged perseverance, dramatically related in Gould's able account." --Publishers Weekly "A fine celebration of the journeyman golfer that goes a long way toward putting the game back in perspective." --Kirkus Reviews "Gould uses stories and anecdotes to paint a vivid history of Q School and its role in the evolution of professional golf." --Library Journal
Born in the era when professional golf became a big money operation, the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (commonly known as Q School) officially celebrated its 35th anniversary this year. Regional preliminary rounds are capped by a grueling 108-hole, week-long qualifying tournament where the goal is not to win but to place in the top 35, thus qualifying for a place on the PGA tour. Gould (The Golfer's Code), formerly the executive editor of Golf Illustrated, frequently compares the process of having to repeat Q School to the experience of having to repeat the same day over and over again. Gould uses stories and anecdotes to paint a vivid history of Q School and its role in the evolution of professional golf. A good choice for sport history collections.ÄTerry Jo Madden, Boise State Univ. Lib., ID Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
"Every once in a while, a golf book of some significance shows up on the shelves that presents the reader with a fresh perspective on some aspect of the game. Q School Confidential is just such a book." --Golf Tips "The weekend golfer will appreciate and identify with these players' stories of dogged perseverance, dramatically related in Gould's able account." --Publishers Weekly "A fine celebration of the journeyman golfer that goes a long way toward putting the game back in perspective." --Kirkus Reviews "Gould uses stories and anecdotes to paint a vivid history of Q School and its role in the evolution of professional golf." --Library Journal
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