Alan Shipnuck

Alan Shipnuck is an American golf journalist and author whose books include player biographies, reporting on the professional game, and collaborative memoirs. He spent more than two decades writing for Sports Illustrated. His subjects range from the lives of touring professionals and their caddies to disputes over Augusta National’s membership and the conflict between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.

Shipnuck’s bibliography also includes a golf novel written with Michael Bamberger and memoir projects outside sports. His golf books examine both competition and the institutions surrounding it. Phil and Rory focus on individual stars, while other titles investigate the professional environment in which players, sponsors, administrators, and tournament organizers operate.

Golf Books

The Swinger: Written with Michael Bamberger, this novel follows a famous professional golfer whose private behavior becomes a public scandal. Herbert X. Tremont, known as Tree, must confront the collapse of the image that helped make him a sports celebrity. The story uses a fictional career to explore fame, professional golf, personal misconduct, and the possibility of a comeback.

Bud, Sweat, And Tees: Hootie, Martha, and the Masters of the Universe: Shipnuck follows professional golfer Rich Beem and caddie Steve Duplantis into the world of the PGA Tour. The account examines their pursuit of success alongside the less visible demands of traveling and working in professional golf. Competition, money, behavior away from tournaments, and the relationship between player and caddie are central parts of the story.

The Battle for Augusta National: Hootie, Martha, and the Masters of the Universe: This account examines the controversy over Augusta National’s exclusion of women, focusing on club chairman Hootie Johnson and activist Martha Burk. Shipnuck follows the dispute as it becomes a major public story surrounding the Masters. The book investigates the participants, the club’s authority, and the intersection of private membership policies with golf’s commercial and public importance.

Swinging from My Heels: Confessions of an LPGA Star: Christina Kim recounts her 2009 season on the LPGA Tour in this collaboration with Shipnuck. The book follows competition, preparation, and life away from the course while describing the difficulties of pursuing a professional golf career. Kim’s public personality is placed alongside her efforts to improve, manage expectations, and handle the personal demands of touring.

Phil: The Rip-Roaring (and Unauthorized!) Biography of Golf's Most Colorful Superstar: Shipnuck examines Phil Mickelson’s career and public life in an unauthorized biography. The account follows a golfer whose achievements and longevity made him a major figure while also investigating the controversies surrounding him. The book considers the relationship between competitive success, public appeal, private behavior, and the decisions that shaped Mickelson’s standing within professional golf.

LIV and Let Die: The Inside Story of the War Between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf: This reported account investigates the struggle between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Shipnuck follows the players, executives, financial interests, and personal conflicts involved in the disruption of professional golf. The book examines why golfers joined the new organization and how the dispute affected the established tour, relationships within the sport, and its public image.

Rory: The Heartache and Triumph of Golf's Most Human Superstar: Shipnuck traces Rory McIlroy’s rise from Northern Ireland to international golf prominence. The biography considers his competitive achievements and setbacks alongside the personal pressures and public responsibilities associated with stardom. McIlroy’s changing place in professional golf provides a wider setting for examining ambition, celebrity, business disputes, and the demands placed on an unusually visible athlete.

Other Books

The Best Is Yet to Come*: *and All the Things I've Learned So Far During This Crazy Life: Harriet Diamond recounts a life that begins in Brooklyn and continues through changing social settings and personal identities. Written with Shipnuck, the memoir follows her experiences across different periods of American life. It considers belonging, self-presentation, relationships, and the continuing effort to become comfortable with oneself despite an outward appearance of confidence and social ease.

Like A River To The Sea: Jack Grandcolas tells the story of his marriage to Lauren Grandcolas, who died aboard United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001, while pregnant. Written with Shipnuck, the memoir follows the grief that came afterward and his long effort to rebuild his life. The account connects personal loss, remembrance, and the possibility of forming a new relationship.