‘The Tiger Slam’ by Kevin Cook wins the 2025 Golf Book of the Year

Matt Cooper 10 May 2025

Last week, at an awards ceremony hosted by The Oval cricket ground in London, the winners of the 2025 Charles Tyrwhitt Sports Book of the Year Awards were announced.

Among those celebrating were Sir Chris Hoy for his autobiography ‘All That Matters’, Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell who won the Sports Writing Award for ‘These Heavy Black Bones’, and Khalida Popal who claimed the prestigious overall Sports Book of the Year for ‘My Beautiful Sisters’.

Among those judging the winners were the composer Sir Tim Rice, actor Rory Kinnear, comedian Miles Jupp, Olympic gold medallist Amy Williams, broadcaster Mark Chapman and also Golf365’s very own Matt Cooper.

Matt was on the golf panel and the winner was ‘The Tiger Slam – the inside story of the greatest golf ever played’ by Kevin Cook.

Why did it win and what were the other five nominees?

Here is Matt’s inside story on the judging …

“I probably read a lot (I averaged about 70 books a year) so being asked to judge this prize was among the best things I’ve ever been asked to do!

“But it quickly became apparent that it was also a heavy responsibility because to write a book is to commit a big chunk of time, energy and heart to a project – and now my judgment was going to determine if those significant efforts won a prize or not.

“I also used to be a member of a book club and the judging felt a lot like that experience in that so many different thoughts, feelings and opinions came to the six books from each and every reader. Everyone on the panel worked in golf but all in different spheres, and not all were as committed readers as I am.

“We were all agreed that the six books fell into three distinct camps.

“‘Open Links’ by Dominic Holland and ‘Golf is Hard’ by Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston were both more light-hearted in one sense (they were looking for laughs) while both also featured the harsh realities of playing golf for a living.

“Holland’s book is a novel informed by his love of the possibility of glory for the journeyman golfer. One such player finds himself unexpectedly thrust in the limelight at the Open and so, too, does a young man in need of someone else’s help. The book’s proceeds go directly to the Anthony Nolan charity and the panel were charmed by the book.

“Johnston’s book weaves tales of his early years in golf, his entertaining frustration with some of golf’s stuffier aspects, and also provides insight into the difficulties of life on tour.

LIV books short-listed

“‘Golf War$’ by Iain Carter and ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck both tell the story of what happened when the fire in Greg Norman’s belly had Saudi oil poured on it.

“The civil war that broke out was dynamite for writers, and both Carter and Shipnuck absolutely nailed it. With characters as wild as Norman and Phil Mickelson, a regime as murky as Saudi Arabia, and an incident as astounding as the news that the PGA Tour and LIV had been meeting in secret, it was impossible not to produce a frantically-paced narrative through the first two thirds of both books.

“Alas, the story, rather than the authors, then got stuck. Very little has happened in recent times except for lawyers meeting and outsiders guessing. That somewhat hampered the chances of both books despite very fine reporting and outstanding storytelling.

“The final two books were ‘Seve Ballesteros’s Touch of Class’ by Kenny Reid and ‘The Tiger Slam’ by Kevin Cook, and they both dealt with a distinct period in the lives of two of golf’s greatest players.

“Reid’s book concentrates on the 1984 Open which Ballesteros famously won ahead of even-more famously celebrating on the final green. While telling the tale of that one week he also went back and forth to tell the story of Ballesteros’s life.

“Cook’s book tells the story of the capture, by Tiger Woods, of all four major championships at the same time across two seasons – the Tiger Slam.

“Like Carter and Shipnuck, Cook had a great story to relate and did so with style. He also unearthed great sources for insider detail and gossip. As Tiger might have said: it earned him the W.”