All Carry

In the feel-good debut novel from sportswriter Wojciechowski (coauthor of The Bus), a middle-aged golf reporter’s magic set of clubs alters his view of the game—and life. Joe Riley is partly estranged from his college-age son, Buddy, who comes across a bag of clubs at a garage sale that were supposedly made for golf legend Jack Nicklaus, and impulsively buys them for his father. With them, Joe can hit the ball a superhuman distance of 400 yards. When disgraced caddie Max “Hard Way” Mitchell sees Joe in action, he comes up with the audacious idea of coaching Joe into qualifying for the Masters Tournament. Joe, who has just been laid off from his TV gig, agrees to the plan, but, for an amateur, the road to Masters’ victory is paved with all sorts of hazards—including prying media, suspicious tournament officials, snobbish players, and an unforgiving course. The reader will cheer on Joe as he struggles to win the coveted green jacket and re-earn the respect of his son. Though filled with colorful characters and enough hilarious one-liners for a comedy roast, the narrative is overlong and overstuffed with golf lore, and the magical elements are underdeveloped. Still, this has a ton of heart. Golf enthusiasts ought to tee it up. Agents: Mark Tavani and David Black, David Black Literary. (Mar.)