The Swinger: Review

A certain former world number one golfer won't be far from your mind when you read this new golf novel. David Tindall reviews.

Dave Tindall interviews joint author Alan Shipnuck

"The most famous athlete in the world has gotten himself into a bit of trouble. "Maybe you heard." So says the inside cover of the new book - 'The Swinger' - by senior Sports Illustrated writers Alan Shipnuck and Michael Bamberger. In (deliberately?) tiny writing on the book's front cover are the words 'a novel' but it doesn't take long to work out that there are huge similarities between the book's subject and a certain former world number one golfer. His name, Tree Tremont, isn't quite Cougar Forest obvious (anyway, Scooby Doo used that in an episode about a mini golf champ) but let's face it Tree begins with a T and is made out of wood. Almost certainly you'll have Tiger's image in your head as you turn the pages but despite the frequently familiar terms of reference the fascination is that we don't really know what is fact or fiction. I spoke to one of the book's co-authors to find out more. Dave Tindall (skysports.com): Initially, I thought making the book a novel was a clever way of telling Tiger's spectacular fall from grace story without getting sued. I presumed you knew the inside track on his private life but couldn't reveal it in the conventional way. But I heard you say in a radio interview that his extra-marital activity - certainly the scale of it - came as a shock to you too. Alan Shipnuck: The PGA Tour is like high school with money. It's the same couple hundred people hanging out day after day in a very cloistered environment, and so rumormongering is a popular pastime. I had heard some whispers about Tiger fooling around but never had any solid information, and, to be honest, never really pursued it, because I'm not sure that's the responsibility of a sportswriter. So, yes, the scope of it was a surprise. DT: I've got a book called The Great Beatle Death Clues. The famous cover of Sgt. Pepper's is crammed full of riddles which supposedly back up the conspiracy theory that Paul McCartney was killed in a car accident on November 9th 1969. I had this in mind whilst reading The Swinger. The book is planted with numerous Tiger references which vary in degree of obviousness. So, okay, Tree's wife is Belinda (knock off the 'B' and the 'da' at the end and you're left with 'elin'). I think playing 'spot the reference' is one of the fun elements of the book. Did someone keep tally of how many there were and maybe you could offer a prize to the reader who gets the most?! AS: Dave, I wish we had hired you as our publicist - that's a bloody brilliant idea. Certainly that's one of the fun things about this kind of book: trying to spot the various clues and references and allusions, trying to sort out fact from fiction, trying to guess which characters in the book are based on real people. But the only prize we're offering is, hopefully, a little amusement and edification. DT: You appear to have got Tiger's humour and language off to perfection. He's a smart guy so surely he'd find it a hoot if he read it. Phil Mickelson too. Have you had any feedback from Tiger/Phil or others mentioned directly or indirectly in the book? AS: A while ago we got some flame-mail from Tiger's p.r. guy. Interestingly, at that time he hadn't read the book - he simply objected to its very existence. We hope Tiger has read it, or will. You're right, he's an ideal reader, as he'd get all the jokes and understand the historical allusions. He would also see that our protagonist, Tree Tremont, is treated with more empathy and understanding than Tiger has ever gotten. Tree makes plenty of mistakes but we're rooting for him all the way, and I think his redemption will be satisfying to many readers who are often disappointed by the lack of contrition and growth when athletes get caught in scandals in the real world. DT: I'm interested in how the book was written. Was it a Lennon-McCartney thing? Did someone write a chapter (song) and then (maybe whilst sat on wooden stools), read (play) it to the other to offer corrections/improvements? Or did you have your specialist areas e.g. you wrote all the dirty bits?! AS: I would never be so presumptuous as to compare ourselves to two gods of songwriting, but Michael and I did have a true collaboration. We spent a good amount of time planning out the arc of the story but once it was time to write we'd just kind of go with the flow. If one of us was on a roll he'd just keep writing until the muse departed. There were times when we did it rapid-fire, trading shortish chunks of text back and forth a bunch of times in a compressed period. Certainly we brought different areas of expertise and interest to the writing. I don't want to give too much away, but Michael is a bit of a Thornton Wilder buff, while I have some bachelor friends who have enjoyed some wild experiences that proved useful. DT: Whilst reading the book, I kept thinking this must have been great fun to write. True? AS: Absolutely! We basically wrote the thing in two months, and I think this energy comes out in the story. Typing a novel can be a lonely experience, but we had a built-in cheering section. And the feeling of not wanting to let down the other guy certainly helped propel us along. DT: Was using a journalist, Josh Dutra, just a prop to tell the story? Or was there a little moral in there saying that taking a promotion/pay rise isn't always the smart play? AS: Well, maybe it was just laziness, since journalism is a racket we know pretty well. But Michael and I both have the quaint belief that being a reporter is still a noble calling, and Josh is a good-hearted guy who almost always does the right thing. He is certainly a useful prop. I had initially thought the way to tell this story was in the voice of the player, but it would've been hard for this fallen hero to have much self-awareness. Employing a narrator with a well-trained eye allowed us to make observations about every other character, and through the magic of fiction we could still know Tree's every thought and emotion. DT: Did you worry that the ending was a little cute and all a bit too Hollywood? Or was it done that way as a sort of open letter to Tiger, saying here's what could happen if he went about things a different way? AS: I guess Michael and I are optimists. Maybe we're even romantics. We wanted to see Tree redeemed. We wanted a happy ending for pretty much all of these characters. We didn't write this book for Tiger but I do think he could learn a few things from Tree's comeback. Why does the public embrace Tree? Not only because he's contrite but because he's open and honest and determined to live his life with authenticity. He sheds himself of all the artifice and really gives the public a chance to connect with this new, better version of himself. DT: Was there a fear that writing the book might put you on a blacklist and deny you access to Tiger in the future? AS: What access? Pre-scandal nobody could get close to Tiger, and since Thanksgiving 2009 the people around him have cultivated an even stronger bunker mentality. The last thing we were worried about was not getting the long unfiltered, uncensored 1-on-1 that is never going to come. DT: Will you write 'The Swinger: 2'? AS: Michael and I haven't discussed this but I could definitely see it happening, because we're both so fond of these characters. Tree's nemesis and, in the end, his good friend is a bloke named Will Martinensen, who some readers think is based on Phil Mickelson, although I don't see how this could be since Will isn't left-handed. Anyway, we could have a lot of fun burrowing deep into his world, while also following the adventure of Tree and Josh and the various other colourful characters.

DT: Finally, so what does the X stand for in Tree's middle name? If this was the Great Beatle Death Clues, X would mean deceased, or maybe career over. Is there a hidden riddle or am I reading too much into this?! AS: Clearly you're reading too much into this. Or maybe you're not. I guess you're gonna have to wait for that sequel... Verdict: The French would call The Swinger a 'Roman a clef', a novel which supposedly tells of real life behind a facade of fiction. The hit TV series Absolutely Fabulous, believed to based on PR guru Lynne Franks, is a good example and shows there is great potential for humour if done well. This, for me, is where Shipnuck and Bamberger have excelled. I read 'The Swinger' travelling on the dirt road home from Royal St. George's and burst out laughing numerous times - unusual for me given that I'm more a smiler than a chuckler. Playful, sharp and entertaining, the more you know about Tiger and how his story played out in the media, the more you'll like this book. And if you don't beckon someone over to show them the cheeky paragraph about Tree performing in nothing but his Masters Green Jacket there's something wrong with you! A really fun addition to your golfing library.