Whether you are a golf fan or not, you will love Bill Flynn's The Feathery.

Golf is more than a sport to a lot of folks, whether they play, or love history, golf is a passion. In the origins of the sport, the golf ball was stuffed feathers held in a leather casing and sewn shut. The golf clubs were also hand crafted. They were surprisingly accurate and a source of pride. One man, Hugh McNair, used the feathery he made in 1849 and won the British Open with an astounding score of 78. That would be the equivalent of a score there of in the 50's today - quite an accomplishment!

Needless to say, golf memorabilia from the past are in demand. Many feathery balls are in collections, but the famous ball Hugh McNair used to make history had not been found.

The Beckman men loved to play golf. Scott, the son, loved to play with his Dad, to the consternation of the mom - she wanted them to play tennis like her a more 'civilized' sport. When Scott's Dad is killed in Iraq, Scott and his best friend, Matt Kemp, start getting into trouble and seem destined for juvie - until a very wise cop takes them to a country club and delivers them to a mentor, Sandy McNair (last name sound familiar?). Sandy's mentoring teaming with the boys' inate passion for golf molds them to fine young men who have futures in professional golf.

The two young men grow and start out for the professional circuit. They are struggling young pros, Scott the golfer, Matt the pro caddy. Scott receives word that Sandy has passed away. Since Sandy didn't have family, Scott plans a fitting memorial service for him at the golf course. After the ceremony the lawyer tells Scott that Sandy has bequeathed Scott his entire golf memorabilia - when they look at this memorabilia, they find a most unusual golf statue, and most amazingly, Hugh McNair's famous feathery that he won the Open with! It is literally priceless by itself!

Since Scott and Matt are stuggling on the pro circuit, Scott decides to auction the memorablila off so he can have enough money to live on until things kick in and he starts to earn money on the pro circuit. Needless to say, every collector wants the feathery ball!! Scott changes his mind about auctioning the feathery and the statue, but the rest can be auctioned at a considerable price that will keep him playing.

The withdrawal of the feathery and statue is not well received by the collectors. They want the feathery whatever it takes.

So starts the exciting chase for the ownership, by hook or by crook, of this amazing piece of golf history. The collectors will not stop using theft, murder, and kidnapping to get the prize.

Scott's career kicks in and with Matt as his caddy, they qualify for the British Open. Going to the place where the little feathery was part of history.

The sports action is amazing. It puts the reader in the action with the golfers. You feel the winds and rain at St. Andrews and you wish you had sweaters like Scott to keep you warm! The characters are believable, and you really admire Scott, Matt, and the team of police on both sides of the Atlantic for their actions.

The scenes described for St. Andrews and at the Masters puts you right there with them. And the synchronicity of the actions of Hugh McNair and Scott are fantastic.

If you are a terrible golfer like me, or way into the game, you will have a ball with The Feathery. Bill Flynn's writing is crisp, fast and furious.

A wonderful read!

ellen george

The Feathery by Bill Flynn, ISBN-13:978-1419675713, BookSurge, review by ellen george