Lawrence Donegan's hilarious account of a year spent caddying for journeyman Euro Tour player Ross Drummond.

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Product Description

Maybe It Should Have Been a Three-Iron is the funny and poignant story of one man's search for sporting glory. Lawrence Donegan had the desire but lacked the talent to be a professional golfer, so he settled for the next best thing--caddying for Ross Drummond, a little-known pro on the European PGA tour, ranking 438th in the world. With self-deprecating humor, Donegan recounts the days and endless nights he spent on the road with Drummond as they existed on a string of meager tournament checks and chased the elusive "big win" much as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza chased winmills.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #653101 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780312204228
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
The opening sentences of Donegan's delightful romp through the European golf world sets its tone: "The first thing to understand about caddying is it's not brain surgery. It's more complicated than that," and the next couple of hundred pages prove the point. Put a hapless golf fanatic like Donegan, a journalist by trade, on the bag of another hapless golf fanatic-- British pro Ross Drummond, who would probably be more successful in another line of work--and the results, no matter how hard they try to play it straight, are as wayward as a duck hook off the tee. Funnier than writer Michael Bamberger's trenchant recounting of his exploits carrying Peter Teravainen's bag in To the Linksland, Donegan's chronicle is a self-effacing romp from beginning to end, though some hard-learned lessons manage to creep in along the way: "I was an amateur, crap at it..., just like millions of others. So what? It didn't mean I couldn't have a good time making a fool of myself... What was it A.A. Milne had said about golf? It was the best game in the world to be bad at. Let that be my motto." Of course, it was Milne who also happened to create Eeyore. -- Jeff Silverman

From School Library Journal
YA-Golf's competitive spirit lightens up as Donegan shares his amusing perspectives of his year caddying for Ross Drummond, the 438th ranked linksman in the world. More than a carrier of clubs, says the author, a proficient caddy must be supporter, psychologist, and intuitive advisor. The experienced, dedicated caddy will predict a shot, know the appropriate clubs to select, sense the mood of the player, and then react in the most positive way to inspire the golfer to be on top of his or her game. Teens are often first involved in this sport through caddying, yet few books have been written from that unique point of view. YAs who love the game will learn some tips and enjoy the author's well-trod sense of humor. What fun to experience golf filtered through this author's witty observations.
Catherine Charvat, King's Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The author, a journalist for the English Guardian, recounts his experiences caddying for Ross Drummond, a journeyman pro, on the 1996 European Professional Golfers' Tour. Donegan describes tournaments and their host cities with a tone of frustration that one might naturally expect from someone exposed to the trials of finding his own ride and bed on the wages of a bag carrier for a pro who misses the tournament cut most weeks. Along the way, we meet a pastiche of great and not-so-great tour characters, including the Ballmark Kid, suspended from the tour for moving his ball marker during the qualifying round for the 1985 British Open. Although carrying clubs across Europe and parts of Africa doesn't quite do for Donegan what it did for Michael Bamberger in his turn as a caddy in To the Linksland (Viking, 1992), this amusing book is sure to find an audience on the back nine and beyond. Recommended for most public libraries.?Peter Ward, Lindenhurst Memorial Lib., West Islip, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Customer Reviews

So you want to be a European Tour caddie?
"Maybe It Should Have Been a Three-Iron" is an entertaining and teasingly funny description of the author's exploits as a sports writer turned European Tour caddie for tour veteran Ross Drummond.

It's obvious fairly early on that Donegan isn't cut out to be a caddie, and certainly not Drummond's caddie, but these are both desperate men in their own ways. Donegan is both self-deprecating and facetiously self-centered in his narrative and the resulting reading is frequently hilarious.

This book is an excellent counterpoint to Feinstein's books about the PGA Tour, and in some respects paints a more endearing picture of the European Tour by pointing out its (not really, but almost) "minor-league" aspects.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes a good golf story. Colorful personalities and rich scenery are a bonus!

Very funny book, even if you aren't 'into' golf
I read this book because I loved Donegan's other book 'No News At Throat Lake', which was both moving and hilarious.

I don't play golf but know enough about it to enjoy the humor in this book, which kept me amused while I traveled around Ireland for three weeks. Donegan has a great ability to capture well the itinerant lifestyle of the B-grade pro-golfer, the emotional ups and downs of losing more than winning, the little triumphs and pleasures of golf, and the mental stamina needed to be a pro-golfer.

I recommend this book to golfers as well as anyone who just wants a very funny read.

Hilarious, insightful, and even touching
This is a very intelligent and witty book that all of us who understand golf's struggles must surely appreciate. But beyond a golfer's perspective, this should also be enjoyed as a story about any passion in life that proves to be extremely challenging or unattainable, and the humor of brushing aside all obstacles and pressing forward no matter how ridiculous the circumstances become.

True, this isn't a book about Tiger Woods or Madonna or Bill Clinton, so if you are looking for pop culture, you'll need to look elsewhere. But if you are someone who cheers for the underdog and if you also like golf stories from an insider's point of view, I don't think you will be disappointed!