My Life In And Out Of The Rough [Hardcover]

The sports autobiography may be one of the few genres in which the publishing industry has realized strong growth as there is no shortage of new releases concerning the athletes that so many of us admire. Golfer John Daly is the latest to tempt readers with an autobiography. Just after it was issued, it received considerable media attention, mostly due to its admission that the author gambled away, in the course of his career, over 50 to 60 million dollars.

My Life in and Out of the Rough: The Truth Behind All that Bull**** You Think You Know About Me promises to be a wild and "shocking" ride, but, strangely enough, it isn't as John Daly is one of the few people on this earth whose personality and essence closely correspond with his physical appearance. Simply due to repeated observation, readers will not be surprised to learn that he is impulsive, undisciplined, gluttonous, financially reckless, extremely emotional, friendly, kind, prone to bad habits, and a complete "Razorback Redneck" (in his own words). Golf is the only thing in life that he's ever been really good at, and the links were the only place he felt comfortable during his troubled childhood. We can sum him up by saying that he is the epitome of a southern good old boy who happens to be plagued by, in the vernacular of our day, some serious issues.

His daily behaviors exemplify that he is not one to idly chat about personal philosophy. Daly follows his mantra and is what he is which means he has little interest in self-improvement. "The Lion," the nickname he most prefers, will smoke, drink beer, and eat at McDonalds until one of the habits kill him. Intentional exercise also is not something to which he can relate. All of this leads us to the one aspect about the "Big `Un" not readily detectable via observation which is his toxic level of masochism.

John Daly is a thoroughly self-destructive man. When he becomes upset, and this does not appear to be an infrequent occurrence, he responds by hurting himself as opposed to hurting others. He has trashed numerous hotel rooms, and even, after a fight with one of his wives, wrecked his own house. What these damages ended up costing him I cannot fathom.

It is in this interpersonal area where his masochism is irrefutable. We know that he is perfectly aware of the pathology behind his matrimonial unions as he named one of his chapters, "All My Exes Wear Rolexes," but his cognizance has not altered his behavior. He is ripped off time and again by women who discard him as soon as they have put in the court mandated days for pension and earning vestment.

All of these blunders should not amount to our being over-sympathetic towards the author as he is an adult who has made his own willful choices. He may be nave and ignorant but he is not stupid. These recurring disasters have been inflicted and enabled by his own mind. They are psychologically satisfying to him in a way to which the rest of us cannot easily relate. He rebelled whenever friends, family, sponsors, doctors, and society tried to change him which means that he will remain uneven and unfinished forever. The only consolation is that, when the final tallies are penciled onto the scorecard, the only person he's ever really hurt is himself.

This great book chronicles one of the most important problems confronting scores of the world's population today. Untreated alcoholism and it's many manifestations. As this interesting book reveals time and time again, alcohol is the culprit behind the insanity of a very gifted but very ill man named John Daly. What little time he spent without ingesting alcohol of any kind...not just Jack Daniels...his life got better. And each and every time Mr. Daly picked up...his life got worse (as demonstrated by his performance this year on the PGA Tour). An alkee in his cups can only perform at about 30 percent of his or her ability...until all becomes impossible. Mr Daly has achieved enormous success using 30 percent of his God-given ability. Read the book...and see how King Alcohol really works. Unfortunately, John is still in denial and his life will continue to get worse. I know...I'm his sponsor waiting for the call. Uncle Jasper

Though not particuarly well written, this autobiography is nonetheless engaging and entertaining. Many of Daly's personal faults are already well known, so there is not too much in this book anyone will find shocking. Despite what another reviewer wrote, I never felt that Daly was making excuses for his behavior, giving his side of the story and providing more context to the myriad of situations he has created and found himself in over the years. He is by and large unapologetic, which in a way is refreshing. He seems mostly at peace with who he is and his take me or leave me attitude is sad in some respects. His ongoing gambling problem, poor diet, poor romantic choices, binge drinking, etc have kept him from regaining his position as a great golf player. If you like Daly buy the book. He is a definite character and overall a likable one who seems to generally appreciate his fans and those less fortunate than himself.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 50 reviews  3.9 out of 5 stars