Review of Raising the Bar
Raising the Bar was an excellent and easy read, but I didn’t expect anything less from Tim Rosaforte.
People who follow the game of golf extremely closely may not find out much more about Woods than they already know by reading Raising the Bar. However, Rosaforte takes a different approach to his work, which makes it very enjoyable. Rather than spit out strictly facts about Woods, Rosaforte’s book goes in-depth with people, besides himself, who have chronicled Woods’ career by sharing anecdotes with people like Mark Steinberg (Woods’ agent), Butch Harmon (Woods’ coach), Scott Van Pelt (The Golf Channel field reporter and Golf Central anchor), Jeff Rude (Golf Week columnist) and various touring professionals, including Mark O’Meara.
Perhaps my favorite anecdote involved the Golf Channel’s Peter Kessler, a noted golf historian. At the beginning of the book, Kessler talked about what it was like to follow Tiger around Pebble Beach during the 2000 U.S. Open:
“I was just keenly aware of what I was witnessing,” he said. “I missed Bobby Jones in his prime, and I never saw Hogan, but I did see Arnie, Gary, Jack, Lee, Tom, Seve, Greg, Nick and Nick. It was my sense after following him 50 holes in the U.S. Open, that this was the best that anybody had ever played golf, and I got to see it. I felt so lucky and honored, and because I had an appreciation for what it meant historically, I started to cry. His mom hugged me and comforted me like I was two years old and then Joanna started crying because I was crying, then Kultida started crying because Joanna was crying, and then Tiger emerges from the scoring tent. Tiger looks at both of them and looks at me and says, `It’s Peter’s fault, he was crying first,’ as we were sharing my handkerchief. Tiger hugged the girls and hugged me, and laughed at me, and went out to get his U.S. Open trophy.”
The entire book was enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys the sport of golf at any level and is mesmerized by the unparalleled success of Woods. For those who haven’t followed Tiger’s career closely, don’t worry; you’ll be at the edge of your seat. Rosaforte makes Raising the Bar an easy and interesting read, by catching the golf-novice up to date. For those avid golf followers who already know about Tiger’s career, Rosaforte’s use of anecdotes will leave you unable to put the book down.
Product Description
The Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, the PGA Championship.
The Career Grand Slam.
At age 24.
He could very well be the greatest golfer to ever play the game.
Raising the Bar is the story of how Tiger Woods changed his life, his game, and the way America views golf.There have been many biographies written about Tiger’s life and early days with the PGA, but each ends with his triumphant victory in the 1997 Masters Championship.In the last few years Tiger has endured a lifetime of experiences, including his growing pains, his perceived slump in 1998, his incredible winning streak from 1999–2000, culminating in his career grand slam.Critically acclaimed golf writer and commentator Tim Rosaforte has watched Tiger since he burst onto the golfing scene and been an up-close observer of the Tiger’s life both on and off the course.Totally revised and updated, Raising the Bar includes Tiger’s latest victories-including his historic 2001 Masters victory that completed the Tiger slam-and provides intense insight into his amazing career.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Raising the Bar: The Championship Years of Tiger Woods (Paperback)
