Tom Cox's parents are worried. With good reason. At an age when most boys are doing their best to offend their elders with loud music and outrageous fashion, Tom is practising his golf swing. According to Nice Jumper Tom's universe is defined by the limits of the Cripsley Edge Golf Club, his ambitions dictated by the quest for golfing stardom. But his parents-who'd rather their son would attend protest marches than walk round in Pringle jumpers-needn't worry. Unbeknown to them, Tom is the East Midlands' enfant terrible of golf. A rebel genius, whose socks are never quite the right shade to satisfy the Captain, and whose triumphs on the fairway are matched by the wickedness of his deeds in the back room of the Golf Shop. Freak fires, dead rodents in shoes and random outbreaks of nudity are Tom's trademarks. But how long can Tom spread anarchy in this staid world before he is corrupted himself? Can he achieve the perfect shot, before his heart is claimed by more conventional pursuits, like girls and rock and roll?

This is a hugely funny, real-life tale of teenage obsession, made all the more unique for being about a subject few people can discuss without yawning. If you share even a tenth of Tom's passion for golf, you will want to preserve this book in a glass case. Unfortunately if you don't, you might come to the conclusion--rather like Tom himself--that there are better things you could be doing with your life. --Matthew Baylis

2008-04-04 Quality

This is a quality book, whether you like golf or not. Well written, easy to read and repeatedly funny. The kind of book you will read again and again.