Paper Tiger

"Think country-club clinic meets Navy Seals training. I will pay any price, bear any burden, leave my home to follow the seasons, build my own swing studio in the basement, construct a practice green in my backyard. . . . Everything the big boys have access to, I want double." Like most amateur golfers, Tom Coyne had often wondered whether the pros won because they were more talented or because they were more obsessed. Overweight and burdened by a 14 handicap, he decided to find out for himself what it takes to play like a pro.

Charting his journey, which included hiring top golf gurus such as Dr. Jim Suttie—Paper Tiger takes readers from the Michelob tournament (a win for Tom) to…