Up and Down: Victories and Struggles in the Course of Life

by Bubba Watson, Don Yaeger (With)

Overview

Now available in trade paper!

He was a small-town boy who burst onto the international golf scene with a dramatic hook shot from deep in the woods to win the Masters— before the game he loved almost killed him. Opening up about the toll that chasing and achieving his dream of being a champion golfer took on his mental health, Bubba Watson shares his powerful story of the breaking point that gave him clarity.

Bubba Watson is known as the big-hitting left-handed golfer who plays with the pink driver—the small-town kid who grew up as a child golf prodigy before going on to win two Masters Tournaments, competing in the Olympics, and rising to be the number two golfer in the world.

But every dream comes with a price. Feeling that he was never good enough, Bubba began to let the constant criticism from fans and commentators haunt his thoughts. Success in the game he loved was killing him.

In Up and Down, Bubba opens up about his debilitating anxiety attacks, the death of his father and namesake, adopting his children, and how reaching a breaking point professionally and personally drew him closer to his family and God.

Golf is what Bubba Watson does, but it is not who he is. Through his story, you'll learn how Bubba:

• Overcame his anxiety and feelings of inadequacy
• Found his true identity not in the standards of the world, but in the God who already knows he is enough
• Learned to trust God with his gifts, family, and biggest dreams
• Became the husband, father, friend, and mentor he was called to be

Life, like golf, is filled with ups and downs. Up and Down is the inspiring story of an imperfect man striving to become the best person he can be—wherever the course may take him.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780785292029
Publisher:	Nelson, Thomas, Inc.
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	145,785
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Growing up in the small-town of Bagdad outside of Pensacola, Florida, Bubba Watson dreamed of being a champion golfer, and he has more than fulfilled that dream with twelve wins on the PGA Tour, including two Masters. A man of faith, he loves spending time with his wife, Angie, their two children, Caleb and Dakota, and his friends. Bubba is also a big supporter of his hometown, where he is part owner of the AA Pensacola Blue Wahoos baseball team, a car dealership, a candy store, and a driving range. But his family’s support of the Studer Family Children’s Hospital and the opportunity to help improve the community provides him the greatest satisfaction.

Don Yaeger is an eleven-time New York Times bestselling author, longtime associate editor at Sports Illustrated, and today is one of the most in-demand public speakers on the corporate circuit. He delivers an average of seventy speeches a year to an average annual audience of almost one hundred thousand. He and his wife, Jeanette, live in Tallahassee, Florida, with their two children.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Chapter 1 Rock Bottom 1

Chapter 2 62 & the Start of an Obsession 9

Chapter 3 Mom & Dad-Simple Wisdom from Complex People 21

Chapter 4 A Youth in Golf 33

Chapter 5 "Go Dawgs!" 41

Chapter 6 Angie-the One 55

Chapter 7 Chasing the Professional Dream 67

Chapter 8 Playing with the Big Boys 77

Chapter 9 Tough Love from Teddy 99

Chapter 10 My Best Year and My Worst Year 109

Chapter 11 Our First Adoption 119

Chapter 12 The First Green Jacket 129

Chapter 13 Expectations-a New Experience 139

Chapter 14 My Year of Rejoicing-Winning a Second Masters 151

Chapter 15 Will I Ever Be Good Enough? 161

Chapter 16 Our Second Adoption 169

Chapter 17 Coming Home 177

Chapter 18 Back to the Basics-Having Fun 191

Chapter 19 Reflections on the Ryder Cup 199

Chapter 20 What's Next? 209

Acknowledgments 219

About the Author 221

Editorial Reviews

10/18/2021

Olympian and Masters Tournament–winning golfer Watson chronicles his experiences with anxiety, feelings of inadequacy, and the compulsion to succeed in this chatty and openhearted account that he emphasizes from the outset is “not a typical golf book.” Instead, Watson works through pivotal points of his unconventional path to going pro, including “triumphs and humiliations” beginning with struggles he encountered as a child prodigy living in the small town of Bagdad, Fla.; learning from mistakes to become a team player; and the impact of his father’s terminal throat cancer diagnosis. It was his father—who waited at Watson’s training and early games with beer and cigarette in hand—who taught him to “be a leader and not a follower,” but intrusive negative thoughts, panic attacks, and a fear of crowds almost derailed Watson’s career. Eventually he was drawn into a closer relationship to God (after he “fell down on... knees” to ask for help), and discovered tactics to regain control of his negative thoughts by focusing on the joy of playing, and spending more time with his wife and their two adopted children. Lighter notes include a stint as an underwear model and fun times with buddies filming viral “Golf Boys” boy band–style videos for charity. For the faithful who are also golf fans, this gabby, frank account about becoming the best version of one’s self, in sports and life, is a hole in one. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly