Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects

(Editor's Note: Originally published December 13, 2008)

I would imagine most golfers think that the life of a golf course architect is essentially all drawing boards, draft paper and Golf Channel interviews. Few would suspect that there is the possibility of an encounter with angry Mexican squatters. Some enlightened golfers might realize that an occasional, unplanned appointment with a wild animal, whether it walks on four legs or slithers on its belly, is a sure thing. Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects confirms all this and more.

The “Secrets” are short, pithy tales from the lives of 118 golf course architects. Don’t think you’re going to be let in on a myriad of confidential information that details the thought process of developing a golf course. Rather you will read about some unusual, some oddball, and some unavoidable incidents that have occurred during the work hours of these architects. Some of the tales are interesting, some funny, and, unfortunately, a few are flat boring.

This compilation was put together by radio host and author Michael Patrick Shiels with the assistance of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Outwardly the book is visually appealing and physically challenging – it’s heavy and obviously designed to be place on the coffee table. The volume is beautifully illustrated with over 150 full-color photographs, blueprints and drawings, drawings that are fascinating and put you into the mind of the architect. You will read of incidents from the highly visible architects – Nicklaus, Palmer, Fazio, the Dye’s, and the Jones boys, but you will also hear from a host of talented, but less well-known architects who provide their adventures as well.

One of my personal favorites is from Jack Nicklaus II, the son of THE Jack Nicklaus. Jack II gives us just a glimpse of what it is like to be the son of perhaps the greatest golfer to have played the game to date. [On a personal note over twenty years ago I had the pleasure of playing a round of golf with Jack II. He is a true gentleman of the game.]

Then there is a heart-tugging incident revealed by Rick Robbins. Robbins was scheduled to be on the ill-fated plane flight with Payne Stewart in October 1999, but scheduling conflicts prevented him from making the flight. It is a memoir that is a bit painful to read but worth absorbing.

If you are an ardent golfer who enjoys discovering more about the game, you should be in possession of this revealing literary work.

Or, if you are looking for a special gift for the golfer in your life, Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects will do the job.

Golf's Dream 18s

All of us who love to play the game of golf have a number of favorite holes that we have played. Our fantasy is to transplant those holes to a mythical course that we could play forever. It would be a place where we could visit to get a small taste of golf utopia. Alas, these courses that we build in our hearts and minds are a daydream, a mental image that we conjure up as we envision a life with nothing but the greatest game of all to occupy our time.

Fortunately, we now have been provided some visual and written assistance to serve as guidance along the paths of our fantasies. David Barrett's newest volume, Golf's Dream 18s, has taken the daydreaming to a new level. Recently published by Abrams Press, the leader in dynamic, visually appealing golf volumes, Barrett takes the fantasy course scenario to the ultimate extreme. Golf's Dream 18s is a collection of fantasy courses, 18 to be exact, that teases the golfer's mind and pleases his visual senses.

Barrett is well equipped for the job. He has served as a senior editor at Golf Magazine and he also produced a similar volume from Abrams Golf Courses of the U.S. Open.

Barrett's organizational structure of this volume provides us with a fun look at over 300 holes from around the world. He starts us off with a short introduction and then guides us through 18 holes on 18 individual fantasy courses with each “course” having a specific theme. We get to tour courses with Scenic Holes, Historic Holes, Exclusive Holes (ed. op., holes virtually no one can play), Holes Anyone Can Play (ed. op., which is more like it), Modern Holes, Classic Holes, and twelve other themed, fantasy courses culminating in The Ultimate Dream 18, an all-star team of the holes in the book.

What really makes Golf's Dream 18s really enjoyable is that each hole is accompanied by a first-class picture (This is what Abrams does quite well.) and informative text. We learn a little about each and every hole. Unfortunately, there are no diagrams of each hole which at times left us wondering how the entire hole looks.

This book is a heavyweight, literally and figuratively. It comprises 324 full-color photographs and 304 pages. Together with the hardcover and the eye-catching jacket, it tips the scales at approximately four pounds. But its content is also fascinating.

To date this is our second favorite book of the season, ranking right behind SI's The Golf Book. (But that may be because we are slightly more interested in golf history than course architecture.) You can't go wrong with this volume for your favorite golfer who loves golf courses (and a little bit of fantasy).

Pete Dye Golf Courses: Fifty Years of Visionary Design

(Editor's Note: Originally published December 13, 2008)

It truly is the the Christmas season. There are always a few clues to give us a hint. Whether or not we look at the calendar, there are always a few certain indicators: Walmart changes its home & garden section into a Christmas Wonderland the day after Halloween; green fees quadruple in the Valley of the Sun; and “coffee table” books pop up quicker than a case of the shanks. So, in the spirit of Christmas past, here’s another coffee table offering – Pete Dye Golf Courses: Fifty Years of Visionary Design by Joel Zuckerman.

Last year I reviewed Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects, a book with similar subject matter and volume and weight. The difference, however, is that Zuckerman’s offering is a tribute to the architectural work of one man – Pete Dye. In a massive volume of three hundred plus pages Zuckerman and photographer Ken May present us with 75 of Dye’s gems. Zuckerman does the text in his unique style and May lays out before us a visual feast of golf photography.

The arrangement of the book is not unique or original. From golf course to golf course the format is identical. You receive the name of the course, 600 to 800 words by Zuckerman and elegant photography by May. Zuckerman does a workman-like job in maintaining the text from page to page providing entertaining and insightful historical information on each course. If you are familiar with any of Dye’s work, it is fascinating to be privy to some inside understanding on the development of the course.

This prose and photographic splendor present us with an easy choice for the proper Christmas present for the golfer in our lives. Anyone’s favorite golfer will be well-pleased to receive this volume under the tree.

Welcome to Golf Book Review

Golf Book Review has been established to provide a vehicle for golf writers and golf enthusiasts to evaluate the myriad of golf books that have been published over the past 400+ years.
Golf and the written word just seem to go together. It is certain that no one has a precise figure concerning the quantity of golf books that have been written through the years. And we certainly don not want to contemplate any mathematical computation as to the quantity of periodicals and the like. Any guess at such numbers would be strictly in keeping with the most rigorous sense of the word – total speculation.

The game of golf lends itself to a wide variety of subject matter: History, Biography, Reference, Instruction, Fiction, Architecture, Inspiration, Humor, Travel, and Anthology. (There are perhaps more.) Within this wide array of subject matter, golf scribes fervently produce an astonishing volume of golf literature each year.

One of the most endearing aspects of golf books is that they do not have to be freshly published in hardcover volumes with the dust-jackets perfectly in tact. In fact the most beloved volumes are those that are dogeared with soft bindings and thumbed though hundreds of times. It's the constant wear and tear that makes each and every volume so special. Let's fact it, there is nothing quite so exhilarating as finding a hidden gem in a used bookstore and then claiming it for your own. (Well, except maybe draining a twenty-footer to win the weekend nassau.)

Golf books take us on a journey traveling the complicated network of literary highways through time and space. We cannot get lost but it is sometimes difficult to stay on the right thoroughfare. There are an infinite number of highways in the world of golf journalism all intersecting at some point. The world of golf literature is like a wagon wheel with the game itself as the hub.

It is with this appreciation of golf literature that we have conceived Golf Book Review.
Anyone wishing to contribute to this site may do so by providing a review to golfbookreviews@yahoo.com. Please include text and a photo of the front of the book if possible. Also helpful would be the reviewers name and a one-two sentence bio. Unfortunately, there is no compensation for anyone contributing to this effort.

Join us on this literary journey.