Tales from Q School: Inside Golf's Fifth Major

Written by John Feinstein

Narrated by John Feinstein

From the author of Raise a Fist, Take a Knee and A Good Walk Spoiled, this "must-read" national bestseller takes you inside the dramatic world of the highest-pressure golf tournament in the world (Tampa Tribune).  

It is the tournament that separates champions from mortals. It is the starting point for the careers of future legends and can be the final stop on the down escalator for fading stars. The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament is one of the most grueling competitions in any sport. Every fall, veterans and talented hopefuls sweat through six rounds of hell at Q school, as the tournament is universally known, to get a shot at the PGA Tour, vying for the 30 slots available.

The grim reality: If you don't make it through Q school, you're not on the PGA tour. You're out. And those who make it to the six-day finals are the lucky ones: hundreds more players fail to get through the equally grueling first two stages of the event. John Feinstein tells the story of the players who compete for these coveted positions in the 2005 Q school as only he can. With arresting accounts from the players, established winners, rising stars, the defeated, and the endlessly hopeful, America's favorite sportswriter unearths the inside story behind the PGA Tour's brutal all-or-nothing competition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette Audio
• Release date: May 2, 2007
• ISBN: 9781594838989

John Feinstein

John Feinstein was a sports writer and bestselling author of more than forty books, including A Season on the Brink, A Good Walk Spoiled, The Ancient Eight, and Five Banners: Inside the Duke Dynasty. He was a longtime columnist for The Washington Post, Golf Digest, and was a frequent contributor to a variety of radio programs. 

Reviews for Tales from Q School

[beanstalk_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As an avid golfer, this book was interesting to me. You could feel the excitement and heartache as young (and old) players tried to get their pga tour card at the end of the 2005 season. I liked the way that the overall stages of the tournament were covered as well as individual success (and tragedy) stories were told. A good read.

[santhony_35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've read many of Feinstein's previous works and enjoyed some of them immensely. A Season on the Brink and A Good Walk Spoiled were outstanding. His last two books, however, have been disappointing.

Perhaps his style is such that over time it begins to wear and grate on you. I could swear that he wrote a similar book on Q school some years ago. Much of the story seems very familiar, though with different names. The old 40 something year old pro trying for one last shot. The former major winner relegated to Q school. The hot young junior golfer suddenly struggling to make the show. I've heard it before and to make matters worse, Feinstein seems to repeat himself throughout the book. He tells a story in the foreward and then repeats it in the body of the book, perhaps to beef up a work that can easily be read in one sitting.

If you watch the television special on Q school each year, you get the same story with video. Hold out for the TV special.