Originally drawn to the game by his father Carl Hiaasen wisely quit golfing in But some ambitions refuse to die and as the yearsndashand memories of shanked -irons faded it dawned on Carl that there might be one thing in life he could do better in middle age than he could as a youth So gradually he ventured back to the dreaded driving range this time as the father of a five-year-old sonndashand also as a grandfather ldquoWhat possesses a man to return in midlife to a game at which hersquod never excelled in his prime and which in fact had dealt him mostly failure angst and exasperation Herersquos why I did it Irsquom one sick bastardrdquo And thus we have Carlrsquos foray into a world of baffling titanium technology high-priced golf gurus bizarre infomercial gimmicks and the mind-bending phenomenon of Tiger Woods a maddening universe of hooks and slices where Carl ultimatelyndashand foolishlyndashagrees to compete in a country-club tournament against players who can actually hit the ball ldquoThatrsquos the secret of the sportrsquos infernal seductionrdquo he writes ldquoIt surrenders just enough good shots to let you talk yourself out of quittingrdquo Hiaasenrsquos chronicle of his shaky return to this bedeviling pastime and the ensuing demolition of his self-esteemndashculminating with the savage -hole tournamentndashwill have you rolling with laughter Yet the bittersweet memories of playing with his own father and the glow he feels when watching his own young son belt the ball down the fairway will also touch your heart Forget Tiger Phil and Ernie If you want to understand the true lure of golf turn to Carl Hiaasen who offers an extraordinary audiobook for the ordinary hacker BONUS This edition includes an excerpt from Carl HiaasensBad Monkey.
