The Tiger Slam
The inside story of the greatest golf ever played
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- $21.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE CHARLES TYRWHITT SPORTS BOOK AWARD GOLF BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025
Twenty-five years ago, Tiger Woods achieved the greatest feat in golf history: the ‘Tiger Slam’. Now, for the first time, the award-winning author of Tommy’s Honor delivers a riveting account of Tiger at his most brilliant - dominating the game in a way we will never see again.
In 1997 Tiger Woods wins the Masters by the largest margin in history, becoming the first Black player to win a major championship. Four years later, the world watches with breathless anticipation as he returns to Augusta National, aiming for a milestone no other golfer has ever achieved: four professional Grand Slam triumphs in a row.
In The Tiger Slam, Kevin Cook delivers a gripping, inside-the-ropes account of an astonishing streak of victories. Readers will hear from many of golf’s biggest names—Tiger’s caddie, his coach, his opponents, his idols and others, all offering fresh insight into the electrifying highs of his triumphs and the obstacles on and off the course that threatened his relentless pursuit of perfection.
The Tiger Slam is the epitome of greatness in sport, a feat as exhilarating today as it was twenty-five years ago. Kevin Cook invites us to close our eyes and see a young champion at the peak of his powers: unmatched raw strength, single-minded focus, strategic genius, and utter fearlessness. The Tiger Slam takes readers behind the scenes in the thrilling months when Tiger Woods took an ancient game to new heights.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this meticulous if dry account, Cook (Waco Rising), the former editor-in-chief of Golf magazine, details the 16 months in the early 2000s when Tiger Woods won golf's four major championships in succession. Cook recounts, sometimes stroke-by-stroke, Woods's performances, describing how he navigated windy conditions to win the U.S. Open, beat Bob May in a playoff round to nab the PGA, and maintained focus in the face of immense hype to come out on top at the Masters. Presenting Woods as a consummate perfectionist constantly looking for an edge over the competition, Cook notes that he asked the manufacturer of his custom putter to make it lighter than their standard model by the "weight of a sheet of printer paper." The match recaps are immersive ("Tiger's tee shot... flew past, missing the flag by inches, then hopped and checked back to ten feet. As he and May headed to the green, waving to acknowledge the crowd, a leather-lunged fan yelled, ‘Tiger, Tiger!' "), but the well-known outcome leaves little room for suspense, and even the occasional hiccup (Tiger's caddie forgot to pack enough balls for the U.S. Open, putting Tiger at risk of incurring a two-stroke penalty if they ran out) doesn't add much excitement. The result is a lukewarm overview of one of golf's great hot streaks. Photos.
