The riotously funny story of one weekend golfer who lived the dream—devoting a full year to nothing but the quixotic quest to qualify at the PGA Q-School A lifelong golfer and former caddy, Tom Coyne could drive the ball 300 yards but always struggled against stiff competition; he had often wondered whether the pros won because they were more innately talented or just because they were more obsessed. On the cusp of turning thirty, overweight, and saddled with a 14 handicap, Coyne embarked on a yearlong quest to do everything he could to lift his game—and find out if he could make it through the PGA Tour Qualifying School. Paper Tigertakes you on a rollicking ride into the beer-gutted underbelly of semipro golf, into a world of crash diets, punishing workout regimens, high-flying sports shrinks, cutting-edge club technology, and obscure tournaments. With his girlfriend as caddy, Coyne traverses from Miami to Chicago to Toronto to see how he stacks up against the competition. Ultimately he takes his game to a new level—or at least a new continent—on the links of Australian Q-School, where amidst forty-mile-an-hour winds he must choose between the love of a fickle game and the love of the long-suffering woman who has stood by him throughout all the shanks, hooks, yips, and chili dips. Brimming with humor and insight about the world’s most beautiful and maddening game, Paper Tigerwill delight golfers and the sane people who love them. BACKCOVER: Praise for Paper Tiger: “For anyone who's ever suffered the delusion they have enough game to go up against the professional killers who play golf for a living, here's the cold, hard, hilarious truth.” —MARK FROST, AUTHOR OF THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYEDAND THE GRAND SLAM "Tom Coyne is a standout among the next generation of talented young golf writers.

His personal quest to make it in the brave new world of tournament golf with the help of Dr. Jim Suttie (one of golf's great unheralded teachers) is refreshingly candid and heartbreakingly funny—a brilliant new take on the secret ambition of millions. The unexpected payoff makes the pain of his journey all the more special, this memoir of golf obsession nigh unforgettable.” —JAMES DODSON, AUTHOR OF FINAL ROUNDS, THE DEWSWEEPERS, AND BEN HOGAN: AN AMERICAN LIFE “In the tradition of George Plimpton, Tom Coyne takes us through the tiers and tears of competitive golf, with all the laughs and gaffes that accompany it. But he’s no dilettante—Coyne commits, strives, and gets damn good. He emerges from the journey as one of our best golf writers. Astute and funny, Paper Tigercasts a critical eye at the golfer’s Grail. This book is a double fist pump.

” —BRIAN DOYLE-MURRAY, CO-CREATOR OF “CADDYSHACK” “ Paper Tigerraces along with humor, suspense, and behind-the-scenes stories that will grab any golfer's heart.” —BUD SHRAKE, COAUTHOR OF HARVEY PENICK’S LITTLE RED BOOK.