I received another request to review a golf book from Dave Andrews called Pops and Sunshine a golf novel about the struggling young golfers trying to make the LPGA. This golf tour is called the Duramed Futures Tour for young gals who show promise as a golfer. I must confess I had never heard of this tour group but I have to admit sometimes the LPGA turns me off even though I do keep up with their newsletter.

I received Dave Andrews book Pops and Sunshine on Friday and after returning from my morning round of golf found this book in my mail box. The quotes on the cover that said a “Story of love, loss, dreams and determination” with a pictures of a young golfer with long blond hair and an older gentleman as a caddy holding her golf bag. That was enough for me to be interested in reading this book.

On the back cover was more intriguing comments so I knew it was a story of a young 20 year old professional golfer Lisa Nelson on the Duramed Futures Tour. Being skeptical I thought this must be a make believe tour since the book is a novel. You see in my book club I am a non-fiction person always saying give me the facts not fiction. I have to admit and found out that the Duramed Futures Tour is for real and Dave Andrews wrote his novel to include this tour and the type of gals who are fighting to win a spot on the LPGA.

Although Lisa Nelson is fictional, the story line Dave Andrews wove through out this book kept my interest up full time. I started the book about 4:00 p.m. on Friday and read almost non-stop until 1:30 a.m. early on Saturday morning. This is a paperback book of 285 pages including the epilogue and was self published by Dave Andrews in May 2007. The story line involves a ladies golf tour coming to Concord, New Hampshire to the Oak Hill Golf Course.

The thing that created my interest was the tragedies that happened to the main character Dave Johnson losing his wife and young daughter in a car accident four years earlier and how it affected his life. Golf seemed to be the only thing that held his interest he was preparing to tee off with his nephew and a buddy for a round of golf before the Ladies tour was to start. As things happen Lisa Nelson arrived early for a practice round at Oak Hill and met nephew Bobbie who recommended Dave his uncle as a caddy for her as she was in need of one for the tournament. She agreed to play a practice round with them and she found Dave would be a great caddie as he was known for his knack of reading greens. This was very important to Lisa as she lost her last tournament by three putting.

The story line continues with meeting the friends of Dave and Robbie who could make any reader laugh at the funny remarks of golfing buddy Tinker, you will find a guy like this at every golf course. The story line and description of the lady professional golfers was typical as you will find at every golf course a woman who is arrogant and likes to let you in on her importance. This player is a spoiled rich gal from Florida Shelley Steele who is in competition with Lisa for a trip to the LPGA. Lisa also has personal problems as she came from a small town in Tennessee and had lost her father to cancer the year before.

This book covers many episodes that show Lisa and Dave working together on the course. When they find in each other a bond that grows as the tour event unfolds. The events surrounding a tour like this will keep you reading to the end. It explains the Golf Channel and crew as to how it operates on tour. There are heartaches, a love story, exciting golf, with dreams and determination on how to retain your focus on the tour.

Dave Andrews has written a screen play and is in hopes it can be made into a movie. I think it would be a tremendous boost to the Duramed Futures Tour as this is a type of movie I would like. I think it would be something the Duramed Futures Tour would want to promote as a way to get the message out to the world about these struggling golfers trying to make it big time.