Rating: 
Summary: The Majors, seperating the good from the great
Review: John Feinstein has written a great piece of golf nonfiction with his new book "The Majors." The stories told in the book recount the four major tournaments of 1998, and how the players got there. Feinstein has done lots of research and this shows in his stories of golf's hardest tournaments. Feinstein also adds comments on some of golf's top players other than Tiger Woods. As an aspiring young golfer, I found their struggles to be very familier. I would recomend this book to anyone who is in love with golf. The facts in the book were amazing and reliving the unique moments of the 1998 majors helped me realize how truely special golf is.
Rating: 
Summary: Not his best work, but enjoyable for the golf addict
Review: John Feinstein is a fantastic writer, and while this book is great, it is not without some flaws. He does show a lack of courage by not taking enough players to task. We're all aware that there are head cases and spoiled brats on the tour. Unfortunately Feinstein focuses on the upsides and glamorous aspects of the tour players. That being said there is no one, bar none, that gives the armchair coach a better sense of what goes on behind the scenes of collegiate and professional sports. No, it's not Tiger throwing childish temper-tantrums or players cheating on their wives, but that's ok. The book should be appreciated for what it is, not what it's not. With regards to Feinstein's other books I place this one ahead of A March to Madness, but behind the gems A Civil War, Good Walk Spoiled, and A Season On the Brink. Five stars yes, but not on a scale of 1-to-Feinstein.
Rating:
Summary: A leisurly and delightful tour of the Major championships
Review: John Feinstein reports the stories of the 1998 major golf championships through the lives of several players who were contending for one or more of them that year. The Majors are, of course, The Masters, The US Open, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship. Saying that Mark O'Meara won The Masters and the British Open, Lee Janzen the US Open, and Vijay Singh the PGA Championship says almost nothing about the character, history, and the dynamic nature of life and competition on the PGA tour. Mr. Feinstein helps us get to know some of these players as people. We learn some things about their health, how the got to the PGA tour, how qualifying for the various majors is done (and other tournaments, for that matter). Of course, the author reports actual competitions and how the leaders changed position and finally emerged victorious. All of this is told in a rather meandering and leisurely style. If you want crisp, concise, and beginning to end reporting this book really isn't for you. However, if love golfing anecdotes and enjoy reading about golfing events, I think you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I learned about players I didn't know and learned more about some that I did know. Certainly, I learned more about these events we call the Majors and my enjoyment of them has been enhanced because I have read this book. Thanks to Mr. Feinstein for that favor.
Rating:
Summary: A leisurly and delightful tour of the Major championships
Review: John Feinstein reports the stories of the 1998 major golf championships through the lives of several players who were contending for one or more of them that year. The Majors are, of course, The Masters, The US Open, The Open Championship (British Open), and the PGA Championship. Saying that Mark O'Meara won The Masters and the British Open, Lee Janzen the US Open, and Vijay Singh the PGA Championship says almost nothing about the character, history, and the dynamic nature of life and competition on the PGA tour. Mr. Feinstein helps us get to know some of these players as people. We learn some things about their health, how the got to the PGA tour, how qualifying for the various majors is done (and other tournaments, for that matter). Of course, the author reports actual competitions and how the leaders changed position and finally emerged victorious. All of this is told in a rather meandering and leisurely style. If you want crisp, concise, and beginning to end reporting this book really isn't for you. However, if love golfing anecdotes and enjoy reading about golfing events, I think you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I learned about players I didn't know and learned more about some that I did know. Certainly, I learned more about these events we call the Majors and my enjoyment of them has been enhanced because I have read this book. Thanks to Mr. Feinstein for that favor.
Rating:
Summary: A splendid intro to the great tourneys and players
Review: John Feinstein's A Good Walk Spoiled was a double-threat treat that not only provided golf fans a rare glimpse behind both the lives of its stars and the scenes of the Ryder Cup but also coaxed the golf-averse into chancing a closer look at the sport. He succeeded by plumbing the minds of the golfers themselves as his starting point, humanizing a sport that, to the casual observer, consisted of little more than boring androids pursuing gobs of money in a boring game. In this new book, Feinstein pulls off the same feat using the same technique. The four annual golf tournaments considered "the majors" are roughly akin to the grand slam of tennis, except that no golfer in history has ever won all of them in a single year. In fact, only four golfers in history have ever won all of them in different years. No matter how many other tournaments a player wins, and no matter how high up on the money list he is or how often he's been there, no touring pro can claim a fulfilled career unless he's won at least one major. And some of the best in the game never have, including Dave Duval and Phil Mickelson. Each of the majors carry with it unique pressures, challenges and difficulties. The British Open is played under the most horrendous environmental conditions on the tour, including fierce winds, torrential downpours and course surfaces that look as if they were maintained with no piece of equipment more delicate than a bulldozer. The U.S. Open traditionally gives the impression that the course was laid out by a committee of criminally insane golf-haters whose compensation was directly correlated to the size of the scores they could force the leaders to post. The stories behind the quests of golf's top echelon players to add a major win to their career histories are by turns exhilarating, heartbreaking and maddening, but in Feinstein's capable hands they are endlessly fascinating. The ability to convincingly peel away the stoic game faces that appear on television is the author's unique gift, and you don't have to know or care a thing about golf to fully appreciate it. If you enjoy an insightful peek into the rarefied stratosphere of a field of endeavor with which you're not necessarily familiar, get your hands on this book. Golf fan or not, you won't regret it, and you may even find yourself tuning into a golf tournament or two with a whole new attitude.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Effort
Review: John Feinstein's second golf-related book, "The Majors" is not as good as his first one, "A Good Walk Spoiled" which dealt with a broader number of topics related to the PGA Tour but it still is a pretty good (and fast) read. Feinstein has picked about 12 golfers to follow for the majors of 1998 as well as small snipits about other golfers (such as club pros who make it into the PGA Championship). He doesn't really focus on any one golfer in particular, which I like because I was fully expecting this book to focus largely on Tiger Woods. This was not the case. You get to see the frustration of Mark O'Meara of not being considered one of the top players and then see him experience the joy of winning not one, but two majors in 1998. You see the frustration of David Duval who was considered the world's best player in 1998 lose a heartbreaker in the Masters and then not really contend in the other majors. And you see the much-maligned Vijay Singh survive a tough duel with Steve Stricker to win the PGA. All-in-all, this is a good book with some fine reporting by the well-respected journalist. If you haven't read Good Walk Spoiled, read that one first before picking this one up.
Rating:
Summary: A Solid Effort
Review: John Feinstein's second golf-related book, "The Majors" is not as good as his first one, "A Good Walk Spoiled" which dealt with a broader number of topics related to the PGA Tour but it still is a pretty good (and fast) read. Feinstein has picked about 12 golfers to follow for the majors of 1998 as well as small snipits about other golfers (such as club pros who make it into the PGA Championship). He doesn't really focus on any one golfer in particular, which I like because I was fully expecting this book to focus largely on Tiger Woods. This was not the case. You get to see the frustration of Mark O'Meara of not being considered one of the top players and then see him experience the joy of winning not one, but two majors in 1998. You see the frustration of David Duval who was considered the world's best player in 1998 lose a heartbreaker in the Masters and then not really contend in the other majors. And you see the much-maligned Vijay Singh survive a tough duel with Steve Stricker to win the PGA. All-in-all, this is a good book with some fine reporting by the well-respected journalist. If you haven't read Good Walk Spoiled, read that one first before picking this one up.
Rating:
Summary: Another great read by Feinstein
Review: Like A Good Walk Spoiled, Feinstein has once again captured the essence of the highest levels of professional golf. He combines good history of the four major tournaments with insights into the personal lives of the PGA Tour "Stars." Very easy read.
Rating:
Summary: this is a very good book
Review: Mr. feinstein does a fantastic job covering the macro and micro aspects of the golf culture. He gives examples of situations where the game and it's individual players were under pressure. Were the greens at olympic too slick (remember payne stewart's missed putt from a handful of feet that turned into a 25 foot second putt)? isn't the life of a golfer pretty easy? read the details in this book and you will understand the pressure that these participants place on themselves. You will also understand the pressure of trying to nail a "gimme" putt when all the cameras are focused and you have a case of the "yips". If you play golf or admire the skill of today's players or if you just enjoy books about sports, buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: STOP STALLING, YOU TOO CAN PLAY WITH THE MAJORS!
Review: Mr. Feinstein would probably agree that many golfers describe golf as the game of life and say that you get to know everything you need to know about a person by watching a person on the golf course. I feel like I have shared the thoughts of those written about in THE MAJORS. Having watched when O'Meara won the British Open and watching Tiger Woods here, make it clear how important one stroke, or being off by just the slightest angle is. Golf really is a book about life, and we are getting a glimpse at those who excel in THE MAJORS. To excel in what we do every day, I also suggest reading THE 2,000 PERCENT SOLUTION, by Mitchell, Coles and Metz. You will find an occasional tradition story of etiquette on the golf course, and, of course, Tiger Woods "mastering The Masters" in the chapter about identifying your ideal best practice for you key activities. Mr. Feinstein is to be congratulated for doing such a thorough job and for making it so easy to dream with THE MAJORS.
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