A good book recommendation

[Rick Sides]

I am currently reading the book, Driven by Kevin Cook.  I really recommend the book to GCA ers or any other golf fans.  The book follows the life of young, aspiring golfers and how many of them get burned out very early.  The book also chronicles the parents of young golfers who are willing to shell out 100k a year to create the next Tiger at some of the golf factories.  Just goes to show you that a lot of the up and coming golfers are not really local, humble kids with a dream, rather the parents of these golfers are trying to buy their success.  One interesting story is of Julieta Grenada, the young PGA golfer from Paraguay.  When she won the million dollar tournament last season, the network tried to make her family seem like this terribly poor family from a third world country and Julieta is a miracle; however, really Julieta went to a very high priced golf school that most kids in America could never afford. Good book

[Ronald Montesano]

Funny thing:  the book bored me.  Maybe I'm jaded from years of high school coaching and golf reporting, but Driven had nothing new for me.  For an ingenue unfamiliar with Bradenton, Nick Bollettieri, Leadbetter and the rest, it is a bland (nothing scandalous) intro to their boring world.  I have had one female and one male golfer from our school consider heading down there.  I've counseled both to finish high school in WNY and then consider a Post-Grad year at a golf school.  Big Diff between a four-year sentence at age 14 and one year at age 18.

[Joel Zuckerman]

I read this book recently and enjoyed it.  Of particular interest, at least for me, was the section on Chinese whiz kid Mu Hu, who graduated, and is currently playing for Florida, if I'm not mistaken...

[Ronald Montesano]

You are correct, Joel.  Mu Hu played two of three team events for Florida this Fall, quite good for a frosh.  He was t-46 in one and t-6 in another.