Author:Norman Dabell
Norman Dabell, journalist, broadcaster and notorious jinx, has been covering the European golf circuit for over 20 years, though after reading this hilarious account of his mishaps, you may well come to wonder how he has managed to survive for so long.
Join Norman as he retraces his pursuit of the travelling circus of the golf world from St Andrews to Sun City, Malaga to Morocco, encountering all the great faces of the modern game. Woods, Ballesteros, Faldo, Montgomerie, Westwood, Lyle, Woosnam, Langer, Olazabal, Garcia... they have all made the headlines. Dabell is there to make sure they do - while also trying to survive another day.
Golf isn't really meant to be fun, they say, and sometimes it can be toture. But Danbell's rib-tickling (and his have been more than tickled) account will have even the most serious enthusiast in stitches. Fate has caused him many a tumble, broken bone and on-air gaffe, and Dabell's presence inside the ropes has been known to make even the toughest tour professional blanche. However, he is a favourite of Major-winner Vijay Singh, who might have never have got his career on the road if his ball had plummeted out of bounds instead of ricocheting onto the fairway off Dabell's head in Spain in 1990. Singh made a birdie instead of a possible double-bogey, won the tournament and ten years later went on to beat the world at Augusta. Just one of a thousand escapades which happened to a living, breathing Natural Hazard.
The book will be an inspiration to all the thousands of youngsters starting in the sport
—— Daily ExpressAn absorbing story of a man whose life has already thrilled millions
—— Sporting CyclistTakes off like an F-16...After the first chapter I was starving for more and had trouble putting the book down
—— WanderlustPeter's cautionary tale of success, stardom and the pressures of fame transcends continents and sport . . . stark and honest, it paints a bleak picture of drug addiction but offers salvation in the way he finally turned his life around
—— News of the WorldImmensely powerful, beautiful, addictive and, yes, incredibly thrilling... Like a surfer who is happily hooked, the reader simply won't be able to get enough of it
—— San Francisco ChronicleAn astounding story
—— The IndependentA remarkable story
—— SportA grimly compelling account
—— The ObserverJones has unearthed and told quite brilliantly the tragic story of a man condemned not only be authority but also by his own stubbornness
—— Sunday TimesMoving
—— Sunday ExpressMade me chuckle
—— Mark CavendishHilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes
—— Glasgow HeraldAn irreverent and funny take on cycling’s biggest race from a man who has seen it up close every year since 2003
—— Lesley McDowell , Glasgow HeraldI found his behind-the-scenes look at the famous race both highly amusing and telling in equal measure
—— Johann Lamont , Scotland on SundayCycling at its best is fiercely cosmopolitan and internationalist, Boulting provides the kind of commentary the sport deserves, and will need if it is to fulfil its undoubted potential to reach out and grow
—— Mark Perryman , The Huffington Post