Swinging from My Heels
Confessions of an LPGA Star
By Alan Shipnuck and Christina Kim
May 2010
$25.00
240 pp
6.125 x 9.25 in
Hardcover
By Alan Shipnuck and Christina Kim
The Ball Four of the LPGA -a funny, bold memoir of life on the women's golf circuit, from one of its most unique and memorable players.
Christina Kim is the brashest, bawdiest, funniest player on the Ladies Professional Golf Association tour. Golf fans know her for her colorful wardrobe, even more colorful on-course antics, and an explosive game. But in this rollicking account of the 2009 season, Kim invites readers deep into her life, providing an intimate diary of a young woman's struggles on and off the golf course, and revealing the glory and heartbreak of life on the tour.
Once known as a prodigy who shot a 62 in her first LPGA event some six years ago, Kim has newly rededicated herself to realizing her potential, and she takes readers between the ropes for all the action, including her nail-biting near misses at two major championships. She also goes inside the team room at the Solheim Cup, revealing the hijinks and late-night gab sessions that bonded the victorious U.S. team. Along the way we get intimate portraits of her close friends on tour, including tour leaders such as Michelle Wie, Lorena Ochoa, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel, and Natalie Gulbis.
In this courageous telling, no topic is out-of-bounds, as Kim dishes about the LPGA's sexual mores, the culture clash of an American-based tour increasingly dominated by Koreans, the tumultuous economic forces squeezing the players, and her own battles with body image and her traditional upbringing. Winsome and good-natured, but never afraid of a laugh line or choice profanity, Christina Kim provides a must-read for anyone who loves golf or has wondered about the inner self of a professional athlete.
Advance Praise for Swinging from My Heels:
“Both riotous and poignant, Swinging from My Heels reveals why Christina Kim is the most engaging (and impish) player in professional golf. As bold as her wardrobe, she pulls out a driver on every topic - whether addressing her own insecurities or tour controversies. With Alan Shipnuck's deft storytelling touch, Christina provides an unvarnished peek through the looking glass of a tour season full of humor and humanity.”—Selena Roberts
“OMG! Swinging from My Heels is A Good Walk Spoiled meets Sex in the City. Christina Kim and Alan Shipnuck must have been separated at birth: the tell-it-all athlete and the tell-it-all writer. What a book.”—Michael Bamberger
Reviews for Swinging from My Heels:
“Swinging from My Heels takes you inside that world with dozens of funny, sincere and insightful tales…a poignant, comical and revealing look at the L.P.G.A., where there is an authentic love-of-the-game spirit. It doesn’t hurt that Kim is such an entertaining tour guide.” —Bill Pennington, New York Times
Great feature in Saturday's Wall Street Journal.
“Christina Kim, one of the LPGA's most charismatic players, produced a predictably entertaining book in "Swinging from My Heels," her account of the 2009 season and the many fascinating issues in women's golf.” — San Francisco Chronicle. Read full review.
“A short-skirted, high-heeled companion to Jim Bouton’s ageless Ball Four. Both shine a light on the egos and sex drives, frailties and insecurities of athletes previously portrayed as one-dimensional. Like any good guidebook, Swinging From My Heels makes the L.P.G.A. seem worthy of a closer look.”—New York Times blog “On Par”
The Golf Magazine excerpt in the May 2010 issue is now on stands - it looks great. It's four pages with short excerpts from different sections of the books. Many pictures too.
Read review of Kim's new book in the Sports Illustrated May 3 issue – which hits stands on April 27.
Read the review on Golf.com
Nice feature on Christina, Alan, and the party in today’s Newark's Star Ledger
A column on the book from a few days ago in the Bergen Record
Three very funny blog posts as well, on Golf Digest, Wei Under Par and Golf’s Girl’s Diary
"SWINGING FROM MY HEELS is the LPGA version through the eyes, heart and motoring mouth of Kim during her 2009 season. An intimate diary that not only dissects Kim's season, but pulls the curtain back on LPGA Tour. It's a thoughtful and insightful look into many of the myths, rumors and issues surrounding the LPGA Tour, while also showcasing many of the game's premier players through their friendships with Kim."—Monterey County Herald. Read full review.
"Kim takes the reader on an unforgettable romp down the fairway and into the rough of her 2009 campaign, and you'll thank her for inviting you along!"—The Californian. Read full review.
Read the feature on Christina in the State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL)
You can read an excerpt on Swinging from My Heels Yahoo Sports.
Here's a piece on Christina on Yahoo sports blog Devil Ball.
Swinging from My Heelsis featured on golf365!
Swinging from my Heels gets some attention from the —San Diego Union Tribune.
"... a Korean American, she speaks frankly about the ascendance of native Koreans on the LPGA tour and offers criticism both of the Koreans’ insularity and of the American media’s tendency to overplay the issue. The book hits its stride, though, in tracking Kim’s disappointing 2009 season and revealing, in intimate terms, just how frustrating a game golf can be, even for elite players.—Bill Ott, Booklist
