Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar
- Downloads：6145
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-01 11:21:42
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Alan Shipnuck
- ISBN：1797144049
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Andrew Langert
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A very interesting biography of one of the most enigmatic athletes in our time， a guy who played golf in a daring style。 And he has lived his life the same way， living on the edge。This book has gained plenty of advanced notoriety for Phil’s quotes about the Saudi Golf League， and I was wary that this book might be an unbalanced takedown of Phil。 But I thought the author was fair， sharing much of the good about Phil but not withholding any of the bad。 Lots of juicy details are included about the A very interesting biography of one of the most enigmatic athletes in our time， a guy who played golf in a daring style。 And he has lived his life the same way， living on the edge。This book has gained plenty of advanced notoriety for Phil’s quotes about the Saudi Golf League， and I was wary that this book might be an unbalanced takedown of Phil。 But I thought the author was fair， sharing much of the good about Phil but not withholding any of the bad。 Lots of juicy details are included about the numerous controversies that have been a constant in Phil’s career。 Gambling。 Alleged insider trading。 Trash talk about Tiger’s clubs。 Run-ins with the PGA and USGA。 The termination of a long-term relation with his caddy， Bones Mackay。 The author knows his subject well and authored a very entertaining biography。 。。。more
John Schorg
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As an adherent of George Carlin's credo about the general worthlessness of golf， I approached this book primarily as a chance to look at the career of an elite athlete。 This covers the career in a very simple， year-by-year fashion， and it does a good job of showing the wide range of reactions Phil Mickelson inspires。 Two things dragged it down: the tedious recitations of tournament action and the author's constant need to insert himself in the narrative。 A quick read， but an unmemorable one。 As an adherent of George Carlin's credo about the general worthlessness of golf， I approached this book primarily as a chance to look at the career of an elite athlete。 This covers the career in a very simple， year-by-year fashion， and it does a good job of showing the wide range of reactions Phil Mickelson inspires。 Two things dragged it down: the tedious recitations of tournament action and the author's constant need to insert himself in the narrative。 A quick read， but an unmemorable one。 。。。more
Chris Ahrens
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Really fun read if you enjoy behind the scenes stories。 Phil is an interesting dude。 Flawed but entertaining。
Mike
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I had the thought going in that because of the "unauthorized" in the title， this would be a hatchet job on old Phil。 It isn't at all。 It presents Phil as a real person with many good points and a few bad points。 I came away with a lot more respect and affection for the man。 I had the thought going in that because of the "unauthorized" in the title， this would be a hatchet job on old Phil。 It isn't at all。 It presents Phil as a real person with many good points and a few bad points。 I came away with a lot more respect and affection for the man。 。。。more
Jake Preston
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Fascinating biography of an enigmatic， unpredictable athlete。 At moments laugh-out-loud funny and at others， shocked， this is a complete， unbiased profile of Phil Mickelson。 A fun read for anyone curious about the true identity of "lefty。" Fascinating biography of an enigmatic， unpredictable athlete。 At moments laugh-out-loud funny and at others， shocked， this is a complete， unbiased profile of Phil Mickelson。 A fun read for anyone curious about the true identity of "lefty。" 。。。more
Christian Dibblee
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Lots to possibly say， but I enjoyed the walk through Phil’s history。 Definitely a complicated guy， I’m not sure if this book made me think better or worse of him。 But he’s an interesting subject， so well worth the read if you’re a sports person。
James T。 Hannan
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excellent Must read for golf fans。 Details abound in this crisp breakdown of the life and times of Phil。 Really well done。
Matthew Fitch
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One of the rare instances I’ll purchase a book before it officially “drops”。 It’s a very entertaining look at Phil’s life and even handed as well。 By no means a love letter but also isn’t a hatchet job as is being portrayed on Golf Twitter。 I think that book comes later this fall when Billy Walters book is published。
James Agger
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Meticulously sourced look at complicated player Enjoyed reading this look at the man called Phil。 It was fun to read about events that I knew about， but had not thought about in awhile。 Thanks to YouTube， I recommend watching many of the events Mr。 Shipnuck talks about， as his play-by-play doesn’t always convey the drama。 Not his fault， just visuals work better than writing sometimes。 I came away from the book knowing more about Phil-the-person-versus-Phil-the-player than I did before。 I think u Meticulously sourced look at complicated player Enjoyed reading this look at the man called Phil。 It was fun to read about events that I knew about， but had not thought about in awhile。 Thanks to YouTube， I recommend watching many of the events Mr。 Shipnuck talks about， as his play-by-play doesn’t always convey the drama。 Not his fault， just visuals work better than writing sometimes。 I came away from the book knowing more about Phil-the-person-versus-Phil-the-player than I did before。 I think ultimately that the challenges of covering someone like Phil is that you’re never going to get into his inner circle。 So you just have to rely on anecdotes to make a compelling and entertaining story。 I still prefer Shipnuck’s Bud Sweat & Tees （rich beem） and his collaboration with Christina Kim （swinging from my heels）。That being said， “Phil” would be a fun book to gift the dad/golf fan in your life as it can be read while watching the Phil-less （？？？） US Open。 。。。more
Luke Walker
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Really good biography of Phil Mickelson。 Much of the publicity about this book was about Phil’s comments about the Saudi Golf League， but this book was much more than that。 Phil is a larger than life figure and has been a favorite of mine for a long time。 This book shows how complicated of a figure he is。 Worth the read。
Bob Mcbobson
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I don’t normally read Shipnuck because his writing is pedestrian and his favourite word is “I”。 It seems like he always wants to insert himself into his stories。 I set those reservations aside for this book because I was （past tense） a huge Phil fan。 I was looking forward to reading some behind-the-scenes insights and some juicy stories。 What I got was pretty “meh”。 About 90% of this book is just a chronological telling of Phil’s career that I could have read on Wikipedia。 The juicy stories were I don’t normally read Shipnuck because his writing is pedestrian and his favourite word is “I”。 It seems like he always wants to insert himself into his stories。 I set those reservations aside for this book because I was （past tense） a huge Phil fan。 I was looking forward to reading some behind-the-scenes insights and some juicy stories。 What I got was pretty “meh”。 About 90% of this book is just a chronological telling of Phil’s career that I could have read on Wikipedia。 The juicy stories were few and far between。 It seems like the author couldn’t get enough insiders to go on the record （or maybe Phil just doesn’t have a lot of insiders）。 I don’t want to sound like I’m damning with faint praise; there’s nothing wrong with the book。 It’s just very， very OK and I was hoping for more。 It’s also a quick read so I’m glad I bought the Kindle edition because I would have been more disappointed if I had sprung for the full price of the hardcover。 。。。more
Sarah Hayes
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Side by side with Tiger’s bio， the detailed game play was a little bit too overdone— literally swing by swing for all his biggest matches。 You could tell he was a sports columnist。 Definitely less interviews of people really close to him， so I still felt confused about Phil as a person…。 The author also should have waited at least a year for the Saudi Golf League drama to play out。
Alan
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A well written， fun read。 The notion that this is a hit piece is bs。 Rather it’s an interesting look at one of the game’s greatest and most colorful golfers。 I’ve observed Phil casually as a member of the same golf club for some twenty years。 He’s always been friendly and gracious。 Many years ago I was hosting my brother in law who was visiting from the east coast。 As we walked up to the 17th tee Phil was walking off with a guest。 He says: “Hi， I’m Phil （as if he didn’t know）， why don’t you play A well written， fun read。 The notion that this is a hit piece is bs。 Rather it’s an interesting look at one of the game’s greatest and most colorful golfers。 I’ve observed Phil casually as a member of the same golf club for some twenty years。 He’s always been friendly and gracious。 Many years ago I was hosting my brother in law who was visiting from the east coast。 As we walked up to the 17th tee Phil was walking off with a guest。 He says: “Hi， I’m Phil （as if he didn’t know）， why don’t you play the last two holes with us？” We we’re stunned and tried to beg off as we were both high handicaps but he insisted and we did。 I never forgot that。 So the idea that Phil is a phony is contrary my experience。 Shipnuck has done an excellent job of presenting Phil in all his complexity without being salacious。 。。。more
SteveM_OD
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Fun read， not really a hit piece so much as a book that portrays Phil as occasionally mean spirited show off that sometimes gets in over his head， something that is consistent with the general media coverage Phil has received。 Aside from the magnitude of Phil's betting obligations， no real revelations here for the casual golfing fan。 Fun read， not really a hit piece so much as a book that portrays Phil as occasionally mean spirited show off that sometimes gets in over his head， something that is consistent with the general media coverage Phil has received。 Aside from the magnitude of Phil's betting obligations， no real revelations here for the casual golfing fan。 。。。more
Gary Adams
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Great read about an enigmatic but talented individual。
William Padula
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Good read。 Fascinating person。
Rocky Parra
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 In the essence of full disclosure， I’m a Phil fan。 Yes， he says some regrettable things at times， but…。Ultimately he’s positively impacted the game by invigorating the fan base。 Shipnuck’s “rip-roaring” biography really does r shed much light on Phil。 There was a new tidbit here and there。 It was more of a recap of anything negative ever rumored about Phil。 Granted， the author throws in feel-good， positive anecdotes here and there。 The irony is that author suggests Phil is “greedy” or out for hi In the essence of full disclosure， I’m a Phil fan。 Yes， he says some regrettable things at times， but…。Ultimately he’s positively impacted the game by invigorating the fan base。 Shipnuck’s “rip-roaring” biography really does r shed much light on Phil。 There was a new tidbit here and there。 It was more of a recap of anything negative ever rumored about Phil。 Granted， the author throws in feel-good， positive anecdotes here and there。 The irony is that author suggests Phil is “greedy” or out for himself， looks like the author is as well trying to profit off exposing Phil’s secrets。 He is no Rick Reilly or John Feinstein。 。。。more
Tony
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I should really have a shelf for schlock journalism。 Even the title uses the the adjective rip-roaring and inserts an （and Unauthorized！）。 Still， I not only read this， I actually pre-ordered it， golf nerd that I am。Mickelson is painted as a loving husband， doting father， a curious mind with wide-ranging interests， an extreme extrovert， and of course one of the best golfers ever to play the game。 But a gambler always， a needler， manipulative， a bully。 So， a man who renders wonderful acts of chari I should really have a shelf for schlock journalism。 Even the title uses the the adjective rip-roaring and inserts an （and Unauthorized！）。 Still， I not only read this， I actually pre-ordered it， golf nerd that I am。Mickelson is painted as a loving husband， doting father， a curious mind with wide-ranging interests， an extreme extrovert， and of course one of the best golfers ever to play the game。 But a gambler always， a needler， manipulative， a bully。 So， a man who renders wonderful acts of charity yet stiffs his caddy。 Complicated， bifurcated 。 。 。 like the rest of us。The inside cover suggests "salacious rumors" but there's nothing there。 The author leaked the sensational stuff - Mickelson playing footsies with the Saudis - in advance podcasts， so that section didn't shock。 Still， it was nice to see it in a kind of record。Other golf nerds will find this kind of essential reading even while recognizing this isn't great literature or even good journalism。The author intrudes himself in the story， giving him an importance that might be unwarranted。One thing really annoyed me。 Writing about Tiger Woods， Shipnuck had this to say: He was also distracted by his October 2004 wedding to Elin Nordegren， a onetime bikini model; in the unofficial competition to romance blond babes， Tiger and Phil were now all square。 I would put money on Nordegren having a more impressive library than Shipnuck。 And blond babes？ So， I had to read this。 But it made me feel a little skanky。 。。。more
Harsha B
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More than half the stuff in this book， is already known-for example， The 'rivalry' with TIger section is covered much better elsewhere，say， Hank Haney's book。 The most controversial/damaging parts were already released/leaked as excerps。 Definitely shows Phil in a bad light，or doesn't do him any favors atleast in my opinion。 Feels like a snoozefest in certain parts。 More than half the stuff in this book， is already known-for example， The 'rivalry' with TIger section is covered much better elsewhere，say， Hank Haney's book。 The most controversial/damaging parts were already released/leaked as excerps。 Definitely shows Phil in a bad light，or doesn't do him any favors atleast in my opinion。 Feels like a snoozefest in certain parts。 。。。more
Tim Levy
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Incredible for golfers and non-golfersAbsurdly fawning Mickelson fans aside， this book is an incredible （and quick） read for anyone even moderately interested in golf。
Drew Stiling
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