GOLF: A DAY SPENT IN A ROUND OF STRENUOUS IDLENESS! (Miracle on the 17th Green - James Patterson)

Member Name: stuleg

Product:	Miracle on the 17th Green - James Patterson
Date:	02/06/05 (89 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Heartwarming

Disadvantages: Short

“Golf is like a love affair. If you don't take it seriously, it's no fun; if you do take it seriously, it breaks your heart”

By his own admission Travis McKinley’s life is a mess; he has drifted apart from his wife while his children don’t understand him, add to the mix the fact that his job as an advertising executive is going nowhere fast and things are really quite miserable. Thank heavens Travis has Golf to keep him sane, although he’s not the greatest driver or putter around he relishes the chance to get on the course and whack a few balls to sate his frustrations. And so it was that Travis finds himself on the 17th tee at the Creekview Country club in Winnetka, Illinois on a balmy Christmas day morning, originally there to avoid his family a strange thing starts to happen to Travis` game. His drive goes further and truer than the course record and is followed by a sublime chip to the green and a clean and solid long putt for a birdie like no other, thinking this is just a fluke Travis races to the next hole and proceeds to birdie again, and so the next few hours are spent in a manic frenzy of birdies and pars with eighteen holes played, then another nine, and then a final nine to even things up, all of which were completed with scores no higher than 33 per nine holes.

“Golf is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic”

Of course this fervent golfing took a lot of time, so when Travis noticed that he was nearly two and a half hours late for his own Christmas dinner he ran from the course like a madman. Sarah – his wife – was rather less than impressed with Travis` tardiness and signalled that this latest atrocity could well be the final nail in the coffin that had become their marriage. A marriage that was put under still more strain with Travis’s sacking two weeks into the new year and his declaration that he was going to try and make it as a professional golfer at the age of fifty. The only question is whether Travis can keep his wife and family happy and together whilst chasing his dream.

“Golf balls are attracted to water as unerringly as the eye of a middle-aged man to a female bosom”

It’s always fun when you discover a book from one of your favourite authors that has somehow dodged your radar, and Miracle on the 17th Green is just such a book for me. I had a large Amazon voucher to use and so set about checking those authors that I enjoy, I was delighted to stumble upon this book and immediately added it to my list. Now, it’s fair to say that this book is like no other James Patterson I have read thus far, the mystery and thriller style that he is famous for is missing and instead a delightful and engaging story of hope and success is delivered.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the action starts from the very first page and kept my attention throughout. The twists and turns are gloriously written and left me transfixed all of the time. James Patterson has always had a habit in his books of writing very short chapters, usually about four pages long, and I have to say I enjoy the style immensely as it moves the story on at a pace and sets up multiple end of chapter cliff hangers. Golfing terminology is used throughout the book but not too such an extent that it alienates the non player, while descriptions of courses and the surrounding scenery are delightful.

“They call it golf because all of the other four-letter words were taken”

Above all else though, Miracle on the 17th Green is just a pleasant read, at 149 pages it took me just two hours to read so those looking for a book to get engrossed in should probably go elsewhere. For my part I’m glad I discovered this early effort from Patterson, and award it four stars out of five.

ISBN: - 0-7472-5791-4
Paperback 149 pages
£5.59 at Amazon.co.uk

Summary: