John Feinstein

By Jamie Allen
CNN Interactive Senior Writer

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Ah. Can you feel the warm weather? Can you see the golfers shining their clubs, taking swings on the driving range, arcing perfect shots toward their target?

And can you see all those golf fans -- the ones who never hit their targets -- grabbing their bags of potato chips and heading for the couch to watch the Professional Golfers Association of America (PGA) season of golf's major tournaments on the tube?

Yes, golf season is in full swing. The Masters in April got everybody in the mood, and three more majors -- the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship -- will drive fans through summer and fall like an easy ride on a golf cart.

Fans this year have a sort of read-along manual to go with their viewing: John Feinstein's aptly titled, somewhat gossipy, behind-the-scenes look at the biggest events on the PGA Tour, "The Majors" (Little, Brown and Company).

This is the same sports-reporting Feinstein who received acclaim for his best-selling golf book, "A Good Walk Spoiled" with its sympathetic look at life in the tour. Now he's focusing on the four tournaments every golfer wants to win.

He followed the tour in 1998, hoofing alongside players on sunny days, having dinner with them after a round, talking about what it takes to win a major championship. This book is the result.

MULTIMEDIA

Feinstein on why golf is so popular [355k WAV] or [2.1Mb QuickTime] Feinstein on the private lives of players [415k WAV] or [2.4Mb QuickTime]

Feinstein -- who's also written sports books on Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight, Tiger Woods, and the Army-Navy football game -- says writing about golf is enjoyable work.

"I love writing about golf, particularly in the book format, because golfers as a group are older and more mature than most professional athletes that you deal with," Feinstein said during a recent book tour stop in Atlanta.

"They don't become millionaires like tennis players when they're 16. They're not recruited by hundreds of colleges when they're 16. Tiger Woods is an exception to all of this, but most of them don't start to make the big money until mid-20s, late-20s, 30s even. And as a result, I think they have a greater appreciation for their fame and for their fortune."

They're also more willing to open up with Feinstein, he says, discussing exactly what they're feeling when they're standing over a putt, heart racing, sports history on the line. In fact, reading Feinstein's work, readers are reminded just how human golfers are.

They get just as nervous as anybody, they have personal problems like anybody.

For instance, the book contains stories about the personal struggles of David Duval, whose brother died when he was 9, and Fred Couples, who lost both parents to cancer before he had to deal with his wife's cancer battle.

There's also the story of Brad Faxon, talking openly about how his divorce adversely affected his game.

The book includes plenty of the humor from the tour -- like the time Jeff Sluman imitated young innocent Matt Kuchar on the driving range, cracking up every player in earshot. And there's the tongue-in-cheek reaction many players give to the presence of Tiger and his entourage.

"I try to have a balance between the humorous side and the difficult side," Feinstein says of his book.

But "The Majors" focuses on its title -- the golf majors and what it takes to win one.

"I think it takes amazing mental toughness because all of the players have the ability to hit the shots or they wouldn't be out there," Feinstein says.

"The other weeks on tour you play for money. Four weeks a year you play for history ... and when you get to that back nine, when you realize that you have a chance to do it if you can hit a few more good shots, you have to keep everything in check -- your emotions, your adrenaline, your nerves -- and you have to go one shot at a time. That's much easier said than done."