BOOK REVIEWS
Autobiography
The Real Monty
Colin Montgomerie
We Rate:
BOOK SYNOPSIS
The autobiography of Colin Montgomerie, the triumphant Ryder Cup captain and one of Britain's most successful golfers. Colin Montgomerie is a golfing legend. Ranked Europe's No. 1 for an unparalleled seven years in a row, he is equally renowned as a player of great passion. The son of a keen Scottish golfing family, Colin was already showing his prodigious talent as a young boy. After completing his education in America, where he benefited from a golf scholarship, Colin turned professional in 1987, beginning a truly remarkable career. Montgomerie's autobiography is the story of both a fantastic talent and a complex personality, and of a golfer who remains determined to add to his already impressive achievements. It is a book about one of the greatest golfing characters in the world trying to achieve a personal and professional balance. And it is about a true hero of the Ryder Cup.
OUR REVIEW
With a distinguished career that had a bit of everything except that Major title that eluded him across his career, the stories that Monty has to tell are both insightful and fascinating and bring together a really decent golf book that fans of the gentleman's game will really enjoy. The book begins with his upbringing in the game and how it captured his interest as a youngster playing in the homeland of the game, honing his craft, before he went across to the US College system to ply his trade and learn the game before entering into the professional ranks on his quest to become one of the greatest players in the game.
The way the book is written is where it comes under scrutiny but it comes down to preferences and this is where at times I found it hard to follow. Rather than a timeline through his career, Monty's book focuses on different aspects of golf and certain tournaments and sticking to talking about singular subjects and then going backwards and forwards, makes it a struggle to follow. No doubt some will like the way the book is structured but for others, me included, this made it a struggle at times and has certainly had an effect on the way I enjoyed the book and ultimately ranked it.
There is little doubt that getting an insight into what goes on behind the scenes at tournaments and in particular the Ryder Cup is very interesting and it is brilliant to see the evolution of the game in such a short space of time as well as the difference between the role as a player and as a captain. Another area that is heavily covered is the amazing feat of winning seven straight Order of Merit titles. Of course as much as the career of Monty on the course is fun, the personal side is equally fascinating but tinged with sadness at the effect it had on his career that ultimately began its slump in line with the relationship/marriage problems that engulfed his life when he probably had more to give and a possible tilt at a Major title.
An enjoyable read that at times needed a strong dose of resolve to follow, but nevertheless a must for any golf fans!
