ALL CARRY

Golf takes on magic in this tale of a down-on-his-game golf reporter who’s gifted with a set of old clubs that enable him to drive the ball an astounding 400 yards.

Based in Chicago, the reporter, Joe Riley, dedicated himself to covering the sport at the cost of being away from home frequently, to the increasing disappointment of his son Buddy. When Joe is laid off, there is no guarantee he’ll be able to reconnect with Buddy. But their relationship, and the father’s life, change dramatically after Buddy gives him a set of clubs acquired at a garage sale from an old man who promises they are special. In fact, the clubs have an immediate impact not only on father and son but also a man named Max “Hard Way” Mitchell. A onetime popular caddie on the PGA Tour who got bounced from that career after a fling with a golf pro’s wife, Hard Way has staked his future on a beat-up driving range. But when Joe makes a big noise on the tour with the clubs, which were made for—though never used by—the golf great Jack Nicklaus, Hard Way is at his side. It’s only natural (as in The Natural) that troubles befall Joe. But humbled by the game, he will do anything it takes to get invited to—and even win—the Masters. A longtime ESPN reporter making his fiction debut, Wojciechowski fills the book with inside terms, expertise, trivia, lore, and an appearance by Nicklaus that golf fans with enjoy. It takes a while for the novel, which is better marching down fairways than dealing with domestic life, to find its stroke. But once it does, it treats its readers well.

An enjoyable modern fable for players and fans alike.