Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.


or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black
 
 

Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black [Paperback]

John Feinstein
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 17.99
Price: CDN$ 13.13 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details
You Save: CDN$ 4.86 (27%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.
Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).
Want it delivered Tuesday, May 29? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback CDN $13.13  
Audio, CD, Abridged, Audiobook --  

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Majors CDN$ 13.13

Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black + The Majors
Price For Both: CDN$ 26.26

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details

  • The Majors

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 25. Details


Product Details


Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

Feinstein (A Good Walk Spoiled) chronicles the years spent renovating "chewed-up" Bethpage (N.Y.) Black for the first-ever U.S. Open held on a municipal course-and the biggest ever net profit, at $13 million. Many of the behind-the-scenes people he describes (such as former U.S.G.A. president David Fay), though colorful-and colorfully drawn-don't quite pull readers into the 2002 event. Feinstein swings for significance, too, complete with references to September 11, which seldom land near the flag of portent. But unlike his earlier golf bestseller, crossover appeal fades fast. His account is impeccably researched and written with you-are-there clarity, yet the buildup stretches over three-quarters of the text, leaving the best for last but not rewarding readers' patience. Successive chapters-"Countdown," "Last Rehearsal," "Final Preparations," "D-Day"-keep putting off the moment until late in the book when Feinstein writes, "It was time to start playing golf." The skirmishes over which network gets broadcast rights or how 42,000 spectators can be accommodated just don't excite the way a neck-and-neck round does. With so many anecdotes devoted to politics and economics, even devotees may skip ahead to the later chapters centering on Tiger Woods, as the narrative fails to generate much game of its own.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* It's almost inconceivable that the administrators of a large organization could ever be cast as heroes in the modern world, but that's exactly how best-selling sports reporter Feinstein portrays the employees of the United States Golf Association in this remarkably compelling portrait of how the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black came to be. What made Bethpage special was its humble status as a state-owned municipal golf course, the first ever to host a U.S. Open. The idea of playing the Open at the Black course, as it's called by the Long Islanders who arrive before dawn to stand in line for starting times, was the dream of USGA president David Fay. Feinstein tells the story from the points of view of those men and women who made Fay's dream a reality: Dave Catalano, manager of Bethpage Park, home to five golf courses, including the Black; Craig Currier, course superintendent at the Black, who managed the multimillion-dollar refurbishing necessary to make the course suitable for the Open; Tom Meeks, who ran the Open "inside the ropes"; and a cast of hundreds who did the advance work, handled security in the post-September 11 era, and oversaw thousands of other nitty-gritty tasks. Amazingly, Feinstein turns the day-to-day operations of the USGA into the stuff of high drama. It works because the Black was such a dramatic venue; never before had the Open been staged at the home course of the cops and the maintenance workers who labored at the site. And, yes, Tiger Woods--who grew up on public courses--won the Open, but the real winner was the course itself: only Tiger finished under par. Feinstein does the impossible here: he writes a blue-collar tearjerker about a purportedly blue-blood sport. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
AS SOON AS he saw the policeman standing in the middle of the road, waving him to a stop, Scott McCarron knew he had made a mistake. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

32 Reviews
5 star:
 (10)
4 star:
 (9)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (5)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.5 out of 5 stars (32 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Way too much extra crap, July 10 2004
By 
Phoenix Maximus (Tiffin, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
He writes with a lot of descriptive detail, to a fualt. Every person he mentions gets their biography put in. Way too much extra junk about people no one would ever here of. Chapters start out with the continuing story and quickly break down into the life story of some high ranking account for the PGA, and so on. Read only if you need to get some sleep.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3.0 out of 5 stars Nuts And Bolts On Bethpage's Open Debut, Jun 10 2004
By 
Bill Slocum (Norwalk, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black (Paperback)
John Feinstein finds a lot more interesting things about the preparations for the 2002 U.S. Open than I would. He writes about parking pressures and vendor pilfering the way Cornelius Ryan wrote about D-Day.

Those expecting a play-by-play on the golf played during those four days in June, which saw Tiger Woods break away the first day and never look back, may be disappointed. Even when the book's narrative finally reaches the event itself, after some 260 pages, the focus remains on the behind-the-scenes organizers, the USGA, NBC, and state officials. It's a unique situation, Feinstein reminds us, to have used a municipal course to host the U.S. Open, but maybe it's not worth writing a book about.

That said, Feinstein's book is an interesting read, especially for those who care about things like event management, sports broadcasting, or professional golf. As an author, Feinstein is much more engaged than he was when he wrote "The Majors," his style coming up to that of his classic "A Good Walk Spoiled."

Some of his wit is back in evidence. When a volunteer realizes Tiger used the Porta-John he helped set up, he calls a friend to share the good news. "Yes, Woods thrilled people in many different ways," Feinstein concludes.

I also liked the fact he doesn't hold back with the players, something I noticed and minded with "The Majors" after his no-holds-barred approach in "Good Walk Spoiled." Woods still won't shake a TV reporter's hand 18 months after that reporter said Woods was in a "slump." Sergio Garcia has his star moments, while Jeff Maggert comes across as totally unpleasant. At least Feinstein whipping boy John Daly's on his best behavior this time around.

The portraits of the organizers and staff that center this book are smoother, and maybe Feinstein finds more of interest about them than you will. It's an interesting tack to take, though, writing not about the game's stars but those who help to make such marquee events happen. Feinstein is in uncharted territory here, and maybe reclaiming some lost ground as golf's most original working writer.

That said, "The Open" is still a bore in parts, and lacks a strategic or historical overview of what makes Bethpage's Black Course so special. What did course designer A.W. Tillinghast do with the track that was so unique, and how did it preserve that notoriety over the decades as an overused Long Island muni? There's a splendid tale about golf course architecture waiting to get out here that never quite does.

All the same, "The Open" is good for what it is, an appreciation of a very underappreciated aspect of sport. Too bad it isn't a little more interesting, but for those who care (and there are many, given golf's popularity), it will probably be worth your while to check it out.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


4.0 out of 5 stars Another great Feinstein golf book, Jun 8 2004
By 
Kahoutek (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black (Paperback)
Probably my favorite sports writer, Feinstein takes a different tack in The Open versus his previous golf books, A Good Walk Spoiled and The Majors. Instead of stories about the players on the tour, this story focuses on the people behind the transformation of the worn-out municipal golf course Bethpage Black into the great course that hosted the 2002 U.S. Open championship. I found I couldn't stop reading, as Feinstein's prose is once again funny, heartwarming, and flowing. My only critique is that I wished for more detail on Rees Jones' changes to A.G. Tillinghast's design, with illustrations. For a book about the transformation of the golf course, there isn't enough about the physical changes that were done. The book does a great job portraying the enormity of the project that was undertaken, so the satisfaction that is felt with the success of the championship seems to be well deserved.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
 Go to Amazon.com to see all 42 reviews  3.5 out of 5 stars 
 
 
Most recent customer reviews











Only search this product's reviews



Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category


Look for similar items by subject


Feedback


Amazon.ca Privacy Statement Amazon.ca Shipping Information Amazon.ca Returns & Exchanges