Rating: 
Summary: Pure. F-ing Pure.
Review: Like the swing of young Timmy, so is the prose of his creator. Coyne's novel is not really about gentlemen, it's not really about games. Nevertheless, if you've ever played golf, read this book. If you've never played golf, and wondered why the hell any sane person would, read this book. If you've ever been a son, read this book. If you've ever had a father, read this book. If you've never had a father, read this book. In short, if you never read anything else in your life, read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: "Paging" Jean Van de Velde
Review: The first 252 pages of his novel were as good as the first 71 holes of Van de Velde's 1999 British Open. Sadly. Van de Velde finished stronger.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable...if you approach it with reasonable expectations
Review: This book excels in several respects. While the title's reference to "Gentleman's Game" suggests the stereotypical picture of golf, the book is anything but that. It develops a diverse cast of characters and an unpredictable plot. Each time I thought that I knew what would happen next...the author was at least one step ahead of me. I loved both the dialogue and the visual images. The main weaknesses are the slow pace and the author's failure to bring together the sub-plots in an entirely satisfying way. Overall, if you approach this book with reasonable expectations, you will likely enjoy it...whether or not your are a golfer.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for anyone on your gift list
Review: This book was recommended to me by a friend and I have since passed on this recommendation to others. Though not a golfer, Coyne's descriptive narrative actually increased my desire to try to experience the magic of a game that thus far, I have not attempted to play. Golf, like life, is a just as much a battle with yourself, as it is a battle with others. A Gentleman's Game superbly depicts the personal struggles of a young boy, both on and off the golf course. I've always felt that how one acts on a playing field is a true reflection of the character of the individual, and Coyne's characters echo this sentiment. I think Coyne also presents the idea that "success" is not, or at least should not be, measured by status or skill, but by being true to oneself. Foster Pearse, Timmy, and Mr. Price all know who they are and do not try to be anything different. Perhaps one of the best facets of the book is that the characters all seem real. And in his description, the surroundings come alive and the dew on the grass and the heat of a humid August afternoon all seem tangible. The book is a great read and it made me want to wake at 7 am on a Saturday, walk down a fairway, socks soaked from the dew of the wet grass seeping through my shoes. I am looking forward to Tom Coyne's next.
Rating: 
Summary: HOLE IN ONE!!
Review: Tom Coyne got it right his first time out! He grabbed my attention in the first line and held it through his surprising conclusion. I actually lost sleep the first night reading, as I rounded the turn, and lay awake wondering what would unfold on the back nine.In "A Gentleman's Game", Coyne vividly sets an affluent Country Club as the backdrop for a cast of diverse characters. He takes you into the world of Golf in a way you've never seen it before, crossing social barriers and commenting on the struggles of each class. He uses a likeable, 13 year old, golf prodigy to delve into the lives of characters we all know and characters we've never met. Using dialogue that is real and to the point, Coyne makes you feel like you are involved in the conversation. Words are never wasted. He makes you laugh, cry, and think! "A Gentleman's Game" is entertaining, disturbing, sensitive, and soothing. It's a must read for Golfers and non-golfers alike!
Rating:
Summary: Insert Clever Golf Cliche Here
Review: Tom Coyne has turned in a wonderful debut novel. His incredible phrasing and descriptions will be sure to please both golf-lovers and prose-lovers alike. Fans of the game will smile with a tinge of longing and envy as young Timmy Price makes the seemingly unconquerable game look so easy. And fans of the written word will delight in how Coyne crafts a sentence, his words on the page acting as the different clubs as he takes us through a round of literary golf. I've never read a better sports novel, at once both a love letter to the game of golf and villification of class system and country club hypocrisy that so often accompany it. The examination of the father-son relationship, the dynamics of a middle class suburban family, and the struggles of adolescence add a universal weight to Coyne's story. If you've ever played golf, and if even once have hit a shot that made you stand back and feel proud, and ask, "Wow, where the heck did that come from?" you owe it to yourself to read A Gentleman's Game. Coyne's wonderful prose can have the same effect.
Rating:
Summary: Kid's a natural, Mr. Price. You should be proud....
Review: Tom Coyne put it right in the hole with this beautiful novel; he's as natural at writing - as loose and light and graceful - as Timmy Price is on the green. I understand there's a movie that was supposed to have come out...did I miss it...or will it be out this year? I hope so, because it would make a marvelous film. I can't wait to see who plays the caddies: Jamie; Position A, Jeffrey, Walter, Tomato Face, Lewis, Brian, Puddy...what a fabulous gang of loopers. Being a writer myself, it was a very instructional novel, much of the golf philosophy a perfect metaphor for good writing. "Balance is everything, in your game, in your head." Thanks, Tom, for the magic.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time
Review: Two factors combine to make this a really bad book - a pointless story and an annoying writing style. Save yourself the time and skip it.
Rating:
Summary: a gentleman's game
Review: Well written novel about expectations and disappointments within the hierarchy of family and the game of golf - all from the naive and honest point of view of young Timmy Price. Great read for anyone who golfs or has ever caddied.
Rating:
Summary: IT'S IN THE HOLE !!!
Review: While professional golf has descended(?) into a world where the gallery shouts the phrase above, after every putt and tee shot, Tom Coyne provides a look at the "real" world of golf. In his book, Coyne expertly mines the subtlety and culture that lie at the heart of the game of golf. His descriptions; of the course, a shot, a person, or a building are terrifically evocative, and always original. Likening the caddy's room ("hole") to the "inside of a boxer's mouth" let's the reader almost feel the heat and stench and pain. As a reviewer before me pointed out, Coyne's clever phrasing isn't limited to the action on the golf course. The relationship and interplay between father and son, and between son and father, is smart, funny, and sad all at the same time. Coyne could have easily fallen into the (sand)trap (sorry for the pun) of allowing his novel to veer too drastically in one direction, but he does not. He doesn't let his book become a diatribe against the evils of class and the prejudice begotten by privlege, nor does he wade too deep into an analysis of father and son. Instead, Coyne seems to tell it like it is, or how it could be. A Gentleman's Game is a well written book about golf and life and the sometimes tumultuous intersection of the two. Coyne ends his book with a tip of his hat to the average weekend golf hack, and as a member of that army, I'll end my review with a tip of my hat to the writer.
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