I first came across this book by chance on Twitter, and quite quickly pulled the trigger on Amazon, and it’s become a firm favourite on the bookshelf. Tony’s Twitter profile states he is an Englishman in the US, and this book is a great account of golf across both sides of the Atlantic.
Tony also writes for the links magazine as well as Golf World, making the book a very easy read, broken into small bitesize chapters. This is a beautiful narration of the holes and courses that have shaped the game of golf throughout time, from where it all began at places, St Andrews Prestwick and Rathbo Farm (google it), through the golden age designs, products of post war architecture such as Torrey Pines and The Belfry, and into the new age designs like Bandon Dunes.
This is superbly researched, and walks the fine line, balancing between course architecture, golf history and stories from the professional and amateur game well. It’s also really accessible, and an easy read for someone looking to learn more about course design or the history of the game.
I would highly encourage people with an appreciation for good golf courses, especially in the USA and UK & Ireland. It serves as a great entry level read for golf architecture and helps to bring to life the origins of the golf holes. Some of these are the most iconic in the game, like the 17th at The Old Course, the 16th at Cypress Point or the 18th Turnberry, to the more obscure and less famed like the 10th at Atlantic City, or 2nd at Royal Pedreña (home to the legend that is Seve Ballesteros). It helps paint the story of the evolution of golf course design, from the beginning of agronomy and founding rules of the game, through to the work of greats like Mackenzie, Colt and CB Macdonald, and how those templates have been used globally, and how thinking has evolved.
The book is complemented with some great illustrations of the holes themselves, and photos and details about the designers, key dates and past winners where applicable, making it a good coffee table book, and something to causally leaf through when the time arises, or to act as a quick reference guide before a trip or when a hole comes up in conversation.
One of the most fascinating chapters was reading about Alistair Mazkenzie’s trip to Australia and the work he did in the Melbourne sand belt, helping to design one of the world’s finest golf courses. I also really enjoyed reading about the tales and folklore along the way at other clubs, like Atlantic City and the disputes as to who was there to witness the inception of the term ‘Birdie’ in golf, with many different conflicting tales.
Hope onto Amazon and get yourself a copy of this wonderful book, put together lovingly by Tony Dear and leaf through it on a Sunday morning!
4*
