Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography… by Alan Shipnuck

[iacas]

I think Shipnuck is a doink.

Phil Mickelson biographer explains his decision to scoop himself on the comments that set the golf world on fire

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Alan Shipnuck set the golf world ablaze by publishing Phil Mickelson's comments on the Saudi Golf League three months before his book came out.

[GolfLug]

One thing I agree with Shipnuck - I will never understand why Phil talked to Shipnuck of all people. He broke his lever. Baffling. 

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, GolfLug said:

One thing I agree with Shipnuck - I will never understand why Phil talked to Shipnuck of all people. He broke his lever. Baffling. 

You don’t understand the mind of FIGJAM. He needs to talk. That’s the JAM part.

[Vinsk]

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

You don’t understand the mind of FIGJAM. He needs to talk. That’s the JAM part.

I agree. Just as FIGJAM can’t walk passed a roulette wheel or drop coin on an NBA game, he’s gonna tell a sports journalist some big secrets. He loves the suspense and the risk.

[GolfLug]

2 hours ago, boogielicious said:

You don’t understand the mind of FIGJAM. He needs to talk. That’s the JAM part.

Hmm, I guess I underestimate how influential narcissism can be over common sense.  

"Vanity", the devil said.... "is my favorite sin". 

[TourSpoon]

 

13 hours ago, iacas said:

I think Shipnuck is a doink.

I think his timing definitely was to capitalize on his 15 minutes. With Walter's book coming out with an apparent axe to grind, he probably wanted to maximize his window of opportunity. He timed the release for the PGA and teased it up because he knows his thunder is short lived and not really that salacious as this was all previously known information except for the Saudi comments.

 

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

You don’t understand the mind of FIGJAM. He needs to talk. That’s the JAM part.

So there is some truth to this and it furthers my point that the information contained in the book is not solely responsible for Phil's withdrawal from the PGA.  From what we know about Phil, he would have relished the defending champion role and would love to see how many under 50s he could have lapped (and would probably had some over/under action on that). There is more at play than what we know. 

[iacas]

So I finished the book a few days ago.

Most of the "tales" are in the first chapter, and if you've listened to the podcasts with Alan Shipnuck and/or been paying attention to golf for the last 15 years or so… you've heard them.

There's too much golf. Also, you've already heard/seen that stuff.

There's more positive Phil stuff than negative Phil stuff. The negative stuff is just bigger.

Just a big ol' "meh" from me, dawg.

[Chris Brooks]

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

Just a big ol' "meh" from me, dawg.

Same here. Reading narratives of how a golf round played out just doesn't work for me.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, Chris Brooks said:

Same here. Reading narratives of how a golf round played out just doesn't work for me.

Yeah. Someone else's summary is also good (though I disagree a bit about the "Phil being awesome" saved the book):

"That book stunk and the only thing that saved it was the stories of Phil being awesome. Other than the first chapter with the Phil stories it read like a Wikipedia article with a bunch of creepy comments about women thrown in by Shipnuck."

[Darkfrog]

I'm about half way though the audiobook. I find it pretty uninteresting to be honest, and I have been having trouble getting through it, even though I have about 2 hours a day dedicated to listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

I don't really like Phil at all, but in my opinion, there seems to be some bias added in by the author with phrases like "Phil just couldn't help himself..." describing a dumb thing Phil did.

[iacas]

12 minutes ago, Darkfrog said:

I don't really like Phil at all, but in my opinion, there seems to be some bias added in by the author with phrases like "Phil just couldn't help himself..." describing a dumb thing Phil did.

He editorializes on the good things, too, though.

[Darkfrog]

30 minutes ago, iacas said:

He editorializes on the good things, too, though.

That's true - Shipnuck doesn't hold back praising the good things Phil has done in and out of golf.

[Missouri Swede]

1 hour ago, Darkfrog said:

I don't really like Phil at all, but in my opinion, there seems to be some bias added in by the author with phrases like "Phil just couldn't help himself..." describing a dumb thing Phil did.

I haven't read the book and don't intend to.  But one thing I do recall from the Feherty show interview with Phil, is that Phil repeatedly would say "that's just the way I roll." (So much that I found it annoying and still remember it.)

What you wrote sounds similar.

[Sandy Divot]

I borrowed the e book from the library, and, so far not very impressed. Phil just seems like a human. Some good, and some not so good. The writing is average at best. 

[mohearn]

1 hour ago, Sandy Divot said:

I borrowed the e book from the library, and, so far not very impressed. Phil just seems like a human. Some good, and some not so good. The writing is average at best. 

I listened to the book as well and I thought it was pretty tame considering really no drugs or debauchery. I liked Phil better after I read the book. I knew very little about the early years.  He's alluded to getting help for gambling, hope so.  The "Masters clubhouse guys" story was touching.

[iacas]

9 hours ago, mohearn said:

I liked Phil better after I read the book.

You think what he's doing with the Saudis is good, and doesn't negate much of the good he's done?

[Sandy Divot]

10 hours ago, iacas said:

You think what he's doing with the Saudis is good, and doesn't negate much of the good he's done?

I told my wife yesterday that all the goodwill that Phil built up over a 30+ year career went away in a matter of days.

[mohearn]

13 hours ago, iacas said:

You think what he's doing with the Saudis is good, and doesn't negate much of the good he's done?

I don't thin it negates it. Do I think it was immature to run his mouth about the saudi's, yeah sure, but that doesn't really change the big picture, in my opinion.