Sequel to his much celebrated book ‘A Course Called Ireland’, Coyne takes another adventure to the shores of the British Isles with this epic journey in search of the greatest links in Scotland, the essence of Golf, and qualification to The Open among much else.
While this book sees Tom take a breather from walking between courses and electing to drive (to which no one can criticise him), the purpose of book is very different in a number of ways, with the trip culminating in a shot at qualification for The Open, requiring him to hone his skills back in Philly before heading over requiring a handicap of scratch to secure a tee time in Scotland several months later.
The adventure begins with an ethereal friend (Robert) pitching to trip to Tom, and once planning and preparation is complete they begin on the south coast at courses like Royal Cinque Ports and Royal St Georges, before moving to Cornwall, Devon, a brief stop through Wales and Lancashire before getting to the main course that is the Scottish coast.
In a similar way that the major headline and Open rota courses get airtime within A Course Called Ireland, the real stars of the show are the lesser known hidden gems like Cruden Bay, Mach Dunes, Askernish and Shiskine, with some fascinating insights on the architects, the history of the courses and the stories of the people that he plays them with. What is really clear throughout the book is that there is a strong, and particularly eclectic support group behind Tom as he is joined at various intervals by friends and family to share in the different legs of the journey, whilst his focus on his golf remains and the final round for The Open qualification draws nearer.
Having played a lot of the courses referenced in the book, I found it really interesting and it also shows a lot of the subjectivity around course reviews, where what one person enjoys the other does not. One thing we are all in agreement around is the depth and variety offered in Scotland for golfers. By his own admission, Tom considers himself a ‘soft-grader’ when it comes to golf courses, and despite playing an alarmingly large percentage of rounds in a mild-hurricane or torrential downpour (or sometimes both) he walks away from every round with a positive note from his time there. As we all know, a bad day golfing beats a good day at work, and (although that statement is largely irrelevant for Tom), his readers can learn a lot from the book!
A superb follow up to the Ireland book, and a must read for any links golf enthusiast! A personal favourite part of the book is at Trump Turnberry, where his friend walks up to the counter in the pro-shop and asks the assistant if they ‘’sold any tops without this pr1%k’s name on’’!
Looking forward to the release of his eagerly anticipated next book A Course Called America in 2021!
5*
