Guest Review: Are You Kidding Me?

This might be a little something that you don't know about me -- I love to watch golf. I can't play golf for squat (in fact, golf was one of my lowest grades in college), but I will watch it on television for hours on the weekends. Recently, I've associated golf with Father's Day because for the past two years I've spent Father's Day watching the U.S. Open. In 2007, my husband and I were fortunate enough to attend the U.S. Open when it was held at Oakmont -- it was one of the most thrilling experiences of my life; and last year, my family was visiting my parents and we all sat by the television and watched an incredible round of golf. Because there was a tie, we actually spent all day Monday watching Rocco Mediate and Tiger Woods play an exciting (and historic) historic sudden death round.

So when I saw that Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein had written a book called ARE YOU KIDDING ME?: THE STORY OF ROCCO MEDIATES'S EXTRAORDINARY BATTLE WITH TIGER WOODS AT THE U.S. OPEN about the 2008 U.S. Open, I knew that it was the perfect book for my dad to review. Here's what Booking Pap Pap thought about it:

As a fan of all sports I looked forward to reviewing ARE YOU KIDDING ME? by Rocco Mediate and John Feinstein. The writing of the book was motivated by the exciting 2008 U.S Open in which Rocco Mediate, a 45 year-old journeyman golfer battled Tiger Woods through 72 holes of regulation golf and a 18 hole playoff before losing in the first hole of sudden death. The book not only relives these exciting 91 holes of golf but recounts the golf life of Rocco Mediate from early childhood through the 2008 Open.

The reader gets a good glimpse of Mediate’s first interest in golf, his college golf experience, his time in Qualifying School and his injury riddled professional career. Mediate left school before graduating to try his game on the pro tour. This is not uncommon and follows the path taken by such golf greats as Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Mediate’s back injuries relegated him to “middle-of-the-road” professional, often very close to losing his eligibility to remain on the professional tour. Even then, it is quite surprising how much money Mediate was able to earn as a golfer.

The book gives the reader a good idea of how the professional golfing world works but falls a little short regarding the personal life of Mediate. The authors talk about how little time Rocco had for his family and that he took up with his therapist while on tour but they never address how these issues impacted his career.

Even though Mediate is often described as easy going and talkative, the book shows another side of his personality. Mediate gave the impression that his battle with Woods entitled him to certain considerations and he was more than disappointed when he wasn’t selected to the Ryder Cup Team or invited to Tiger Woods’ pre-Christmas tournament after the 2008 season.

The reader is given a good comparison between golfers of the caliber of Mediate and golfers like Tiger Woods. These comparisons are not always the most complimentary to Woods.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? is a well written and enjoyable book and is a good read for golf-minded individuals, particularly those who want to relive the 2008 U.S. Open.

A big thanks to Miriam from Hachette Book Group for sending me a copy of this book and to Booking Pap Pap for a terrific review.