Paper Tiger

An Obsessed Golfer's Quest to Play with the Pros

By: Tom Coyne

Narrated by: Kyle Tait

Think country-club clinic meets Navy SEALs training. I will pay any price, bear any burden, leave my home to follow the seasons, build my own swing studio in the basement, construct a practice green in my backyard.... Everything the big boys have access to, I want double.

Like most amateur golfers, Tom Coyne had often wondered whether the pros won because they were more talented or because they were more obsessed. Overweight and burdened by a 14 handicap, he decided to find out for himself what it takes to play like a pro.

Charting his journey - which included hiring top golf gurus such as Dr. Jim Suttie - Paper Tiger takes listeners from the Michelob tournament (a win for Tom) to the Australian Tour, where 40-mile-per-hour winds and a driving rain scare off his Japanese partners. With each chapter, he tracks his weight alongside his handicap, pursuing his dream with a reckless abandon that comes to involve hardcore diets, pricey technology, and even psychologists. With echoes of Dead Solid Perfect and Who's Your Caddy? Tom brings his uniquely edgy, deeply human perspective to a game that can simultaneously bring out the best and the worst in everyone who tries to master it.

©2006 Tom Coyne (P)2020 Tantor

Must Read for Every Golfer

I heard an interview with Tom on a podcast and then got the book. It was awesome! A non-golfer would probably not enjoy it but for the golf addicted, it’s fantastic.

Great Story!

Great story.. For anybody that loves golf! Tom really puts his heart and soul to this book!

Best golf book ever?

While I thoroughly enjoyed both A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland, I absolutely fell in love with Paper Tiger. Best golf book ever? Maybe not to some, but it sure is for me.

For the Serious Player

Engrossing book - Tom adeptly illustrates what every single digits handicap and lower has felt on their quest for golfing greatness

Relatable Golf Book

I can relate to the feelings of the author. Book was written many years ago but still is relevant.