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Summer 2004 Golf Book Reviews Golfer's Library is an appropriate way to
begin this installment. Daniel Wexler previously published The
Missing Links and Lost Links, about lost courses and holes of
America. It is fitting that this volume should treat something
found,not lost: a compendium of golfing literature. Wexler
very precisely divides the history of golf-related literature into ten
chapters, including such expected foci as history, architecture, and
instruction, and some unexpected gems like course and club histories,
ancient volumes, and biographies. Each book "review"
includes the complete title, author/editor and publishing house
information, and a cost estimate for purchase. Wexler makes an
effort to illuminate the contents of each tome with a two or
three-paragraph summary. Golfer's Library will not keep you
on the edge of your favorite reading seat, nor should it. What it
will do is direct you toward the books that you need to build a golfing
library.
Spring 2004 Golf Book Reviews This Spring we have six books to review.
Two are from our great mystery writer, Peter Jamesson.
The first, a novella, is titled The Case Of The Dying Foursome,
and resolves the recent passing of the curmudgeonly John Carruthers.
In an expert way, we are unable to get close to any of the
characters in this novella. They
are either intentionally vague, or outright offensive.
Forced to focus our attention on the actions and reactions, we
readers are much more acutely attuned to the sequential exploration of
the murder. The second, Stymie,
is a full-length novel that brings Chief Inspector Bynum St. George to
the windy city of Chicago. At
the mercy of the new world, St. George is forcibly introduced to a cast
of unexpected elements, and forced to solve two mysteries, at the risk
of his own life. The first book reviewed on Buff-Golf.Com was Forbidden
Fairways, the historical treatment of the black golfing experience
in America. Untouched in
the treatise was the most visible, until 1983, black representation in
the golfing world: the
Augusta National caddie. Men
On The Bag serves to rectify this misstep.
Each April brought the vision of the itinerant professional
golfer navigating the piney fairways of Georgia, with his man Friday at
his side. The nicknames of
these men commemorated their exploits, furthered their reputations, and
inscribed them in the annals of the game.
Both saints and sinners, these men called Stovepipe, Cemetery,
Willie, Carl, and Pappy, and their predecessors, peers, and descendants
were responsible for the success and failings of Masters competitors,
club members and their guests. Although
they lost their Masters bags forever with the arrival of professional
touring caddies, they will be forever preserved in film and video
footage of the tournament. Swing Machine Golf is potentially the most
important golf instruction book to hit the stands since Ben Hogan’s Five
Lessons. In fact, what
Hogan did for the power fade, Paul Wilson does for the draw.
Noting that the large majority of amateur golfers are doomed to
slicing, Wilson and Ken Steven set out to build a consistent, drawing
swing based on the simple motion of the “Iron Byron” testing
machine. The swing that
they build is geared toward releasing the club and hitting straight,
powerful shots.
Their driving point is the need for extra distance for most
amateur golfers, and it is a logical one.
From the grip to address position to swing path, SMG
brings a faithful student to swing fruition. Golf Rules & Etiquette Crystal Clear is the most recent attempt by a writer to explain the rules of golf in a more direct fashion. It is appropriate to draw a parallel with the style of the well-known (late) teaching professional Harvey Penick. Mr. Penick was famous for instructing his students on one topic each lesson. Any more, and the student would lose track and focus. To return to the rule book, if we consider these 35 rules and their corollaries will take more than one sitting to comprehend, then we have hope. It is in our best interest as law-abiding golfers to come to know the most common rules and their violations, and to anticipate which we will encounter most often. Hazards (water and sand), out of bounds, and lost balls make up the large portion of common rules questions/violations. Learn these first, then move on to the more esoteric situations and applications. December,
2003 Isleib gives Cassie the young voice and attitude so desperately needed to fulfill her character. She creates a vulnerable character, whose vulnerability is the basis for her strength. Although still susceptible to emotional attacks, Miss Burdette has determined that life's experiences will not stay her attempt to move forward, in both golf and living. The author also provides two sounding boards for the fledgling swing artist, as well as a series of love interests. The golf aspect of the novels is fully researched, and the situations, emotions, and results, completely realistic and believeable. Cassie bounces in and out of "the zone" with regularity, struggling to find the rhythm and perspective necessary to success on the circuit. The sleuthing angle is determined by the objective elimination of both likeable and unlikeable characters. Isleib does this throughout the two tomes, often with regret, always responsibly. The result is the edginess and frayed nerves that one would expect from murder investigations. As I read these two episodes well into the darkness of night, at no time did I look over my shoulder, nor did I investigate an unexplained bump in the night. Six Strokes Under and A Buried Lie are not edge-of-your-seat mysteries. They are compelling, and you will have a hard time putting them down. Choose from the following options: Cassie's love life, Cassie's tour life, Cassie's investigations. Any of them will keep your eyes on the prize. The proof in the pudding is the desire for the novel to continue, for the next story to be told. I think that you'll feel that way. Visit Roberta Isleib's truly
entertaining and wonderfully designed web site at www.robertaisleib.com,
you can purchase these books there, read the first chapter of the next
episode, Putt To Death, and browse other aspects of her writing life. Golfing books come in all shapes and sizes, from all sorts of publishing houses, and from all varieties of creative minds. I had the great opportunity to dive into three unique literary tomes, plus a fourth dedicated solely to golfing artwork. The first triumvirate proudly take their place on my shelf of honor, while the fourth occupies a visible spot on the living room coffee table.
Caddy-Whack!
(subtitled A kid's-eye view of golf) is written from the perspective of
a child, for adults. It is passage back to our first impressions of the
game, examining aspects from the course and rules to manners, hazards, and the
golf community. A golf glossary is included at the end for those of us
who don't/didn't get it the first time around. Andrew Murray begins his
volume with a look back at his son's growth into the game as a single-digit
human. All items receive double treatment: the first explanation
originates in the perspective of a child equating the topic to some
preconceived notion about life, the traditional doble-entendre.
The revisit typically follows, with grown-up words and ideas further defining
the notion. The less-than-stimulating concept of "Nearest Point Of
Relief" gets this treatment: "At first, I thought this rule
was about finding the closest place to pee on the golf course, but don't even
think about it. That one actually has to do with moving the ball away
from things that are obstructions on the golf course." Murray the
author(s) adeptly utilizes childish and adultish humor (nothing off-color) to
define nearly all that we love and miscomprehend about the game.
His/Their most important point is that golf is fun, is enjoyable, and should
remain that way. Bravo. When you reach the point of no return: Some emotions could not be endured with a golf club in my hand. When your partner tosses a club: You know, sometimes it's not the arrow, it's the indian. When you are on a roll: The most
dangerous time when the cords of concentration are most apt to snap is when
everything On golf, to impress your friends: On the golf
course, a man may be the dogged victim of inexorable fate, be struck down
by On the hypothetical National Golf Enquirer:
"Ernie Els Falls Asleep In His Backswing" Excerpt: The
Big Easy took things to On potential golf movies: "Crouching Caddie,
Hidden Hazard--Sensational special effects accompany a dramatic saga
that On misunderstanding between pro and student, when
describing the release of the club:
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January, 2003 It was with unanticipated glee that I cyber-stumbled, quite accidentally, onto a number of new publishing houses with an interest in golf. Among them are Burford Press, Hyperion, Warde, and Towle House. To start, Burford Press presented a singular web page (one of many on its site) with a list of golf publications seemingly the proverbial mile long. The underrated Al Barkow has a collection of essays titled That's Golf, in which he discusses his early days in the caddie yard, profiles top golfers of the 1960s to the 1990s, and sullies the names of over-hyped golf course architects, in jest of course. Barkow is as keen an observer of the sport as there is, on all its levels of capacity, and he treats the reader to a full-bodied review of golf in this volume. Another book from the Burford Collection, byTom Doak, examines the art of golf architecture (actually, that is its subtitle!) Doak is the creator of Pacific Dunes, one of two courses designed at the turn of this century along the Oregon coastline, that hearkened back to the days of Pebble Beach and Cypress Point. In other words, his pedigree is precise. Like many architects before him (Hurdzan, Ross, Thomas, MacKenzie, et al.), Doak lays down in a thoughtful, sequential pattern, his ideas for proper golf course creation and development. Following a time-honored formula, he selects examples of his own work (which is good), and compares them favorably with the work of other, esteemed architects (giving examples along the way). Every so often, Mr. Doak finds a piece of work with which to find fault. Keep in mind that this, too, is a time-honored tradition: MacKenzie, Tillinghast, And most others of the golden age of design (from 1910 to 1940) in this country found fault with each other; the competitive nature of their business demanded it. In most of Doak's cases, to be fair, it is with the well-meaning, yet erroneous, intentions of club committee chairpersons, who plant tree after tree in a beautification effort, not realizing that open spaces were (A) part of the architect's original intent and (B) that trees block sunlight, whose absence harms grass growth. Two more books from Burford are Driven To Extremes, a collection of essays about golf on the wild side, and The Way Of Golf, a spiritual examination of what golf can offer to us. In the former, the redoubtable Jeff Wallach once again sets out into golf's less-chartered territory, to examine the wilderness of golf that confronts us all. Click here for a review specific to this volume. The second volume, by Robert Brown, purports to "reconnect with the soul of the game," a lofty goal. Mr. Brown chooses his targets carefully. He works from the traditions of the game, through our own, individual pursuit of its rewards, to our responsibility to pass it on to subsequent generations. We are all keepers of the game, and in an era that sees unknown salvos of marketing, technology, and finances targeted toward golf, equipment, tournaments and course development, we must be especially astute in order to preserve what might be lost. Mr. Brown has done his homework. I would venture to say that he has read from the works of Bagger Vance and Shivas Irons, that he knows other texts of this ilk. However, never before has one set forth to blindside us with this mission (the aforementioned titles do it with greater subtlety). Mr. Brown succeeds with his high-hard one, and we are forced to re-examine our own role in the game. Is it time to put down the tools of club-thrower, score-erase, and lie-improver, and take up the arms of keeper of the game? I think so. Hyperion Books gives us The Greatest Game Ever Played, a hefty tome about Francis Ouimet, Harry Vardon, and the birth of modern golf (again, its subtitle). Mark Frost has a style that is one-part nightclub comedian, one part golfing traditionalist. He successfully balances them. One of my favorite quotes refers to the champion of the 1911 and 1912 Open championships, John McDermott: ". . . it appears McDermott required extreme psychological kick-starting just to drag a brittle psyche out of bed in the morning. His taut fury concealed a fragile, frightened soul . . . ran around like a steroidal jockey with Tourette's syndrome and continually violated the one tenet the gatekeepers of the game simply wouldn't then and won't now tolerate: bad manners." Frost takes us through the complete playing of the 1913 Open championship, inside the heads and hearts of Ouimet and the others, constructing dialogue from smatterings left to history, in a way that no other compiler has to date. The Greatest Game is entertaining history, bolstered by Frost's writing and producing experience on the television series Hill Street Blues and Twin Peaks. Healthy at 475 pages, it is rich and rewarding as well. Visit the author's personal web site at www.greatestgameeverplayed.com. Warde Publishers contributes one fine volume to this year's bender. Understanding The Golf Swing is a tome by Manuel de la Torre, former head professional (and current instructor) at Milwaukee Country Club, and exponent of Ernest Jones' Swing The Clubhead swing principles. Jones was a between-the-wars professional in England, who had lost a leg to battle. He determined that proper golf could still be played if the work was left to the club. de la Torre's volume, however, is not about Jones (although it does pay some homage to him). Instead, this work is the result of 107 combined years of teaching of Manuel and his father, Angel. Manuel compiled an impressive playing record as an amateur and touring pro, before settling down to the job of teaching. He continued to compete through the 1980s, winning the Wisconsin State Senior PGA championship in 1987, at the young age of 66. One of his students, Scott Vidimos, reveals much about the humility and simplicity of Manuel de lat Torre's teaching style and philosophy in this statement: "Manuel's teachings reinforce my father's belief that common sense is not that common." You will need fairly wide pockets to accommodate the offerings from the TowleHouse GOOD GOLF! series. There are currently four volumes in the series, with more expected: Fluffs, muffs, and really deep rough, a collection of golf-related poetry and limericks; Golf (containing practical hints, with rules of the game), by J. McCullough, turn of the 19th/20th century writer in England; Birdies eternal, a collection of tips and tales from Harry Vardon; and Gentlemen only, a timely retelling of life as an Augusta National member's wife. Each volume runs some 100-150 pages (which are 1/3 the size of normal pages). In other words, you do not have to dedicate months on end to their reading. The first interesting one is Gentlemen only, as it came along as Martha versus Hootie bloomed. In it, a self-proclaimed "trophy wife," many years younger than her husband, discusses her relationship with her husband, the club, and Clifford Roberts, the man who made The National. She reveals that Augusta's policy toward guests has always been surprisingly equitable, with women and men making up a fairly equal proportion. The champion of publishing houses devoted to Golf, however, remains Sleeping Bear Press. Whoops, make that Clocktower Press. Having sold its name and part of its publishing empire, the Michigan icon took on the new appellation, but kept its devotion to the sport of giants. In fact, one of the most beautiful, oversized books of time came out last year: The Evangelist Of Golf-The story of Charles Blair MacDonald. George Bahto brings to our eyes the majestic tale of the man who brought golf to America: champion player, architect, and writer C. B. MacDonald. From the Chicago Golf Club to the National Golf Links on Long Island, the footprint of the man extends to gigantic proportions. It was he who brought the Redan par three hole from its home in North Berwick to the shores of America. Along with prior tomes on MacKenzie, Ross, Travis and Thompson, this volume completes a quintet of five preeminent, early American architects. Clocktower brought forth four other volumes, among many others, worthy of mention. The story of Judy Bell, the only woman president of the USGA, is told with Rhonda Glenn in Breaking The Mold. Beginning with her days as an amateur competitor from Wichita, through business opportunities and captaincies of USGA teams, on to the Executive Committee of that association, culminating in her election to the Presidency, Judy Bell has seen and done a bit of everything in the world of high-profile golf. Bob Labbance and Gordon Witteveen combined efforts to produce Keepers Of The Green, a long-overdue treatise on the history of the greenkeeper/superintendent. The book covers every aspect of club upkeep throughout time, from the beginnings in Scotland in the 1400s, through the first explosion of golf in the USA, culminating in the present day. Equipment and technology, grasses and seeding, associations and research, are all examined with sensitivity and precision. It is interesting that what we take for granted when we tee up or mark our ball, is most often not the result of coincidence nor good fortune, but the culmination of years of scientific and technological research. Two more books that deserve a long shelf life are Golf Nuts and The Life Of O'Reilly. The former has its genesis in a not-so-secret society formed by rabid golf devotee Ron Garland. The Golf Nuts society has over 3000 members (I am one!) spread far and wide, whose enthusiasm for the game commences with great interest, and continues through addiction, on to "second-only-to-breathing-in-importance." Some of the records are astounding, others bizarre, and still others, quite sad. Yet all are, for the most part, entertaining. The anecdotes are compelling in their lunacy, including the most bragged-about golf nut, Michael Jordan. The second volume recounts the life of a well-known Irish caddie, John O'Reilly. Formerly the looper for Padraig Harrington, O'Reilly recalls tales from his time as a professional bag-toter on the European professional tour. From television, viewers get a sense of the teamwork that goes into a top player-caddie relationship, but none of the camaraderie that takes place away from the course. The Life Of O'Reilly will take you to that camaraderie, and leave your sides splitting. There is a link between these last two books: the co-author to O'Reilly is Ivan Morris, the 2002 Golf Nut Of The Year! Well, that's it for the Bender. Visit us again in February for the latest arrivals. Summer
2002 Bogey Golf and 1 Step To Better Golf function as a reaction to the thick volumes of instructional golfing prose that populated bookstore shelves at the turn of the millenium. While there is no doubt that the tomes of Pelz, Leadbetter, Harmon and McLean hold great instructional value for many players, the mass of information presented in their works may sometimes be a case of information overload for a variety of learning styles. Bogey Golf and 1 Step To Better Golf insist that they will restrict their teachings to one essential, pithy thought, and they do. It is ironic that the term "par" has a connotation of average in seemingly every context save one, the exception being golf. In the sport of sports, par simply means excellence. Robert Sanny, author of Bogey Golf, affirms that a score of one above par per hole is a more realistic and honorable target for 90% of golfers. By straining, rather than striving, for par, we often bring scores of +2, +3, and +4 into play on a number of holes. Instead, by reassessing each hole in a more conservative fashion, Sanny suggests that we will eliminate the big number. Many more insightful strategies and insights are presented in this book, ideal for the frustrated, on-the-verge-of-quitting, golfer. Unlike Bogey Golf, 1 Step To Better Golf presents itself as an instructional, rather than strategic, text. Author Joseph Sullivan's premise is that the simple move know as over the top, leading to an outside to inside downswing (casting in Britain), is the bane of each struggling golfer's existence, or at least of their swing and shot result. The point, then, is how to take the swing from square to inside at the top, back to square at impact, and inside again on the follow through. This is not a novel intention, as swing-theory texts have addressed the topic over the years. Too often, however, this critical point gets lost in the macro-tests of 200-400 pages in length. Its importance diminished, the importance of the trace of the swing fades in relevance, and the frustration continues. Sullivan focuses on no other point, and successfully presents a series of drills and images to utilize in the pursuit of the elimination of over the top. Neither Bogey Golf nor 1 Step To Better Golf benefits from the backing of a major publisher. Each is available on the internet, at the following web addresses: Bogey Golf: www.bogey-golf.com The
ABC's Of Golf, Count On Golf, & Consider It Golf It may be somewhat difficult to write a golf book appropriate for younger children (ages 5-8), but you would never know it after reading Susan Greene's trilogy. Exhibiting a complete understanding of the sport and of children, Ms. Greene rhymes her way through images from the game of golf to present those two formidable tasks of early elementary school: ABCs and 1-2-3s. In The ABC's Of Golf, subtitled It's fun to learn your ABC's With Golf Balls, Clubs, Shoes and Tees!, the author draws upon images both abstract and concrete, such as Dogleg, Metal Wood, Quiet, and Visor, to convey the nature of the learning of the English alphabet. At the end of the text, she provides a review exercise to test her young golfers'/learners' mettle. Bravo! Count On Golf, accompanied by the subtitle The Game of Golf will help you see Just how easy counting can be!, addresses counting, a skill that many older golfers come to tearfully regret, especially as the numbers on each hole climb higher and higher. Nevertheless, it is a critical skill for a young learner/golfer, and Ms. Greene employs rhyme and alliteration to teach the numbers one to ten. As in The ABC's Of Golf, a review exercise serves to close the tome. From ball-mark repair to sunscreen, there is an enormous number of points of etiquette and common sense that the new golfer does not recognize, and that the seasoned golfer simply takes for granted. This disparity of knowledge often causes friction between the two, so Consider It Golf is a must-read for both children and their golf teachers. Moving effortlessly from divots to bunker rakes to polite behavior, the author touches on simple and complex issues for all golfers, providing logic and application to the myriad traditions of the game. After reading this text, it is no wonder that so many, both educated and not, have employed golf as a metaphor for a life lived in good form. As befits the more advanced level of this third member of the trilogy, the post-reading quiz comes in true-false form, directing the reader to tell which statements about etiquette and common sense are truthful, and which are balderdash. All three books may be purchased on the internet at www.childrensgolfbooks.com
2002 commemorates the 100th anniversary of Bobby Jones' birth, and the first playing of a USGA Men's Open Championship on a true, affordable, public golf course. Truth be told, there is no great connection between Bobby Jones and public golf; save St. Andrew's, most of the championships he won were contested on private courses, and the monument to him in Georgia, the Augusta National Golf Club, is the epitome of exclusivity. The Open Championship of the United States of America, however, recognizes Mr. Jones as a four-time champion, one of four golfers to have such credentials. In this way, then, can we find a link between Jones and the 2002 contesting of the USGA Men's Open Championship. In addition, his first Open victory took place at the Inwood Country Club on Long Island, and our link grows stronger still. To the books, then, without additional hesitation. The Boys' Life Of Bobby Jones is one of a series of Boys' Life novels commissioned over time by Harper's publishing house. The chosen scribe for this work is O.B. Keeler, the chronicler of all that Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., did from age 0 through 28, when he retired from competitive golf. This volume has been re-released by Clocktower Press, and provides a good bit of insight into the early life of Bobby Jones. As the public becomes privy to a hero's life after she or he achieves stardom, we continue to be intrigued by the paths and stepping stones that brought her or him to this stage. While Keeler, doubtless a great admirer of Jones, does not always hide his emotional support for Jones in the events he retells, he does manage to identify quite a few of Jones' errors, which gives a great ring of truth to the work. It is known to the world that the beginning and ending of Jones' life were framed by illness; it is as though fate sandwiched a good bit of triumph between two slices of suffering for the Atlanta lad. Keeler charts the many critical points that principally influenced Jones development as a growing lad, including initial competitions (both victories and defeats), acquaintances, and breakthroughs. Keeler recognizes as the most important determination in Jones' development as a champion tournament golfer, the confession that the true opponent was not a human being/fellow competitor, but rather, "old man par." When Jones finally learned to play the course and not the man, he truly became a complete tournament player. The Boys' Life of Bobby Jones
is a wonderful volume for young golfers and newcomers to the legend of Bobby
Jones. It can be purchased online. The golfing world is fortunate to have access to film footage of Jones' swing from the two years that followed his greatest and last competitive season of 1930. Andrisani cites these filmstrips as providing considerable guidance in identifying the elements of Jones' swing that set him apart from golfers of his and subsequent generations, at times referring to points of which Jones himself may not have been aware. America's Linksland: A
Century Of Long Island Golf appeals to both the eye and the intellect, as
both images and words work in tandem to depict the story of the golfing
grounds on the southern lands of Long Island Sound. The early history of
golf in this country, as can be imagined by one with 20/20 hindsight, was tied
to the New York City area, as so much wealth and influence was centered in the
region. Among the immigrants and travelers who passed through its doors,
Scotsmen brought their national pastime to this country's shores by way of the
New York metropolitan area. Doubtless the finest coffee table
book for golfers of 2002.
There are many types of dreams that we associate with this sport most beloved. There are the pipe dreams that we envision in the presence of some other's great act; there are the attainable dreams that more closely resemble goals; and finally (and perhaps, most emotionally), there are those dreams that we are prevented from ever attempting, much less achieving. As any veteran will inform, it is not the dreams that we dream that matter, but what we produce from our intentions. The first of our three April book reviews examines Golf Dreams, a collection of essays from one of our greatest American writers, John Updike. His 'dreams,' as he calls them, bear little resemblance to the tales that enter our subconscious as we sleep. Instead, they represent the recollections of an average golfer, one who dreams of improving, yet chooses to not dedicate the time necessary to do so. The second text, In My Dreams, I Walk With You, is the autobiography of a promising professional aspirant, whose success was curtailed by a cart accident that resulted in paraplegia. The final tome, Around The World In 18 Holes, has all the trappings of a great, big belly laugh, until we read the socially-conscious musings of its coauthors. Throughout these book reviews, there is only one writer who truly transcends his craft. Representing are university professors, sportswriters, and professionals of varying ilks, yet there is only one John Updike. He is a writer drawn to golf, not a golfer drawn to writing; in this characterization lies the revelation. Although Updike is a scribe of indisputable elegance, a touring pro of the pen, at golf he is quite ordinary, by his own admission. This combination, combined with an appreciation of his own humble skills, as well as the more developed ones of professionals with whom he comes in contact, permits Updike to craft a series of succinct essays that develop the core of why we play this sport. In the fashion of one of advanced age, who has come to respect the unerring sequence of life's stages, the author divides his essays into three segments: learning the game, playing the game, and loving the game. Could there be a more pithy way of tracing the progression that all afficionados of the gowf undertake? I think not. Throughout the first panel, Updike writes of innumerable lessons, encouraging aunts, conceded putts, and borrowed clubs. Quite hysterical, really, is his treatise on how to properly hold a tea cup, a veiled description of the confusion that shadows the tyro first learning the game. In the second epoch, the writer, now versed in the incidental points of the sport, turns his attention to aspects great and small, from the simple tale of the immigrant golf course proprietor to the relationship of true caddie and his man. The camaraderie among men that golf potentially represents, is attended in this section as well. Finally, as Fall leads to Winter, so too does Loving the game remind us all that, as timeless as the sport is for the human race, our own timeliness has a coda. These final musings on topics as disparate as his time as a US Open marshal, golfing literature, and winter golf, join us with the golfer/liver in the final stage of an earthly tour of duty. It is with this grace that we all might hope to greet our own demise. What distinguishes John Updike from all golfing writers is, simply put, talent. While reading the verbiage he chooses, you determine that he has much in reserve. The literary equivalent of Tiger Woods choosing between a knock-down 6, a regular 7, or a hard 8, the reader concludes that Updike could have selected any number of methods to report, and still portrayed the notion better than any other. Envision the scene, described by Bagger Vance to Ran Junah, where Bobby Jones selects only one swing from the field; this is Updike at the keyboard. Unerring, neither too verbose nor too pithy, like Baby Bear's porridge, just right. --------- The next time that you fail a gut check on the golf course, remember Dennis Walters. The next time that you envision a challenge, then fail to challenge it, think of Dennis Walters. The next time that you complain about some miserly inconvenience, don't complain to Dennis Walters. In My Dreams I Walk With You is the life story of a remarkable man, in a world of remarkable beings. Dennis Walters, aspiring tour pro, successful collegiate golfer and assistant pro, paraplegic. Rendered the former through the simple dedication of the consumite devotee, through hours of practice and preparation. Condemned to the latter as the result not of too much drink or zeal, but the physical shortcomings of the three-wheeled golf cart, extinct now, but popular through the early 1970s. Dennis Walters lost one dream, and gained many more. Not that he wants all of the latter. Imagine, for a moment, dreaming about the last day that you walked, about the last shot that you hit with complete use of your lower body. Is that a dream that you would want? I didn't think so. The dreams of Dennis Walters can be divided into two classes: unavoidable and elected. Admitting that he has no control over the former, Walters remands all his time and energy to making the latter his reality. Having weathered the accident and the subsequent descent into depression with the support of Hogan, Nicklaus, his family, and many others, Dennis Walters chose to rededicate himself to the golf swings, and became the epitome of the professional in the process. His demonstration, part golfing trick show, part motivational revival, is the concluding act to a drama that might have taken one of many paths. Born in a decade when the popularity of golf was on the wane, how did Dennis Walters create a successful exhibition in the 1970s? Hard work and a supernatural patriarch. With a father that would not take "no" for an answer to his questions, who would make tens of phone calls each day, Dennis Walters found the inspiration to dedicate his own self to this revamped dream. He changed his swing, flattening the arc, making it more suitable to the upper-body dominance upon which he had to now depend. He developed, with his father and a series of engineers, an attachable swivel-seat that would stabilize his cart-bound swing, allowing him to travel with his show to points near and far. And, with the spirit of a minstrel in Harvard Square, he developed a repetoire of clubs so unique that normal, boring professionals cannot hit, yet deliver up to 240 yards in the hands of Dennis Walters. This is his story, as inspirational as they come. Will it inspire your children? Not unless they have already come to know the weight of critical loss. Will it inspire you? Without a doubt. In My Dreams I Walk With You may be purchased online. -------- When I first viewed the cover photo of messrs. Callahan and Kindred in their hot-air balloon, my belly ached. Some dynamic duo, ripping off Jules Verne for the sake of selling a few books, doubtless to further their tailspinning sportswriting careers, I imagined. Well, not exactly. The premise of Around The World In 18 Holes is quite straightforward: to tour the world of golf, describing an 18-hole layout comprising the world's most diabolical holes. Truth be told, these may not be the most diabolical. What they, and the trip, do represent, is a quilt akin to a rephrasing of the Bard: All the world's a links, and we but humble players. Play on we will, no matter the conditions. From Kathmandu to Calcutta, Monterrey to Mauritania, Callahan and Kindred, now known as Passport Two and Full Of Fog, confront the transfiguration of the game, from isolated oases amidst Asian squalor, through earthy traces at the foot of immortals, to artistic renderings that transcend the course itself. They determine what the game does and does not represent, at least in 18 parts of the world in 1993, and they are successful. Now, here is an added bonus. If you happen to have, in your home, a young'un between the ages of 10 and 15, enamored of the game but not quite wordly wise, you are in luck. This opus is a primer to social awareness. Neither Callahan nor Kindred shrank from the awful realities of India, China, Northern Ireland, and apartheid South Africa that framed their escapade. Instead, they confronted the poor of Calcutta, the politically repressed of Tiananmen Square, the conflict of Northern Ireland, and the illogical apartheid of South Africa, and wrote about it. So, when your little gal or guy comes to you and asks what the heck a bunch of poor, black dreamers have to do with golf, help her or him to see that they have everything to do with not only golf, but with life itself. An unexpected treat from a book thought not to provoke such thoughts. The exercise in tandem writing is a risky business. Writing styles need not be identical, although there must be some correspondence between them. If there is no appreciable (and appreciated) ebb and flow, the transitions and segues result in choppy waters. Callahan and Kindred cause not these uneven seas. Part Hunter Thompson, part Tim Cahill, they report consistently from around the world. There is not one moment in which the reader feels that the grand tour is wearing on the narrators. Instead, the only true revelatory moments occur on the final two holes (chapters), when they foresee the coming end of their sojourn. The match between the two navigators is won, and the realization that all things end is at hand. Nevertheless, hope springs eternal on the wings of their newfound (and quickly adapted) circular eastern philosophy, in which all things come back to the beginning, only to begin anew. Yep, plans for round two are in the works, albeit on a different course. I cannot wait. March 2002--Two Mysteries And A
Memoir Recently, BuffGolf reviewed a well-written mystery tome,
indicating our surprise at the dexterity with which the golf and the thread
were bound. Since then, we have
had the privilege of devouring two more members of this newly-popular genre of
golfing literature, with immense satisfaction.
Our bellies are full; our appetites, sated. The Feathery Touch Of Death, by John Logue, and Take
Dead Aim, by Don Wade, will be reviewed here. The third member of our triad, the
memoirs of former CBS golf broadcaster Ben Wright, breaks from the murder
mold, yet is certainly worthy of attention. Wright,
like Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder before, him, was a victim of the first great
wave of political correctness of the post-Reagan years. In spite of his inadequacies, Wright was the second, after
Henry Longhurst, before Peter Aliss and Peter Ooisterhaus, in a line of
British broadcasters who have graced our airwaves.
His access to the comings-and-goings of television golf in the 1980s
and 90s run deep, and shed great light on the early years of the great
marketing machine that is now the PGA tour. The Feathery Touch Of Death and Take Dead Aim
could not be more different in their essential elements.
The former takes place entirely in St. Andrews, while the latter is a
mad chase among the most glamorous, early season PGA tour stops.
A greatly-despised American pro and a highly-revered local caddie are
the victims in Touch, while a Faldo-esque British pro is the target in Aim.
Finally, the heroic figures in the first novel are two American
writers, aiding the local authorities in an unofficial capacity, while a CIA
and an M.I.6. agent team up in the second novel to intercept a rogue assasin
who delights in nothing less than being the root of international incidents.
The first tale flows like a vacation, never seeming to truly gain
urgency until nearly the end, while the second is marked by this urgent meter
from its beginning. Neither novel spares its reader the
deaths nor injuries of interesting, likeable characters, nor do they regale us
with senseless attention to unimportant detail. Touch
is undoubtedly focused on the “who” question, as the perpetrator is the
element of mystery, while Aim centers on the other element:
the “How.” Each novel
is singularly worthy of examination, adding two marvelous candidates for
induction into the BuffGolf Hall Of Golfing Literature, and my recommendation
is to read them in the opposite order that I chose:
read Take Dead Aim first, then wind down with The Feathery
Touch Of Death. -------------------------------------- When we were younger, before the
popularity of Tiger & Company forced television ratings to a new plateau,
ensuring competition from all three networks, except for a handful of
tournaments, CBS was THE game in town. Ken
Venturi, Pat Summerall, and their team were the default communicators of each
weekend’s goings-on in the world of professional golf.
For about a decade, it seemed, the most anticipated bouts on live
television did not involve boxers, but instead centered on rivalry between the
typically-British wit of John “Ben” Bentley-Wright and the California
zaniness of Gary McCord. Until
the latter was tossed off the set at The Masters for his infamous “bikini
wax” comment, even the staid Augusta event had an interesting tone not
experienced since. Good Bounces & Bad Lies is the unedited version (well, perhaps some of the grunts and groans have been removed) of the life and times, mostly professional, of Mr. Wright, removed from his CBS chair in 1995 for comments made regarding the LPGA tour. It was not Wright’s first brush with the correctness police, and precipitated the ultimate fall from grace of Frank Chirkinian, the “ayatollah” of CBS golf, who was also gently nudged out a few years later. Wright’s tale is not for the faint of heart, as he regales his readers with anecdotes of life in front of the typewriter (the early days) and the television camera (the glory days), and the perquisites that accompanied this echelon of society. This was a Boy’s Club living to the fullest in every sense, partying and traveling at a furious pace, until it finally caught up with them. That two of its most visible members were the beneficiaries of interventions, allows one to discern that perhaps they went a bit too far, drinking once or ten times too often from the cup of life’s earthly pleasures. Ben Wright speaks candidly about his achievements and transgressions, and paints a human canvas behind the face that spoke to us from the 17th hole tower twice each weekend. His testimony is ultimately an invaluable resource for life from the reporter’s side of the story that is the explosive growth and development of professional golf and its surroundings, and a darned interesting book to read.
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Lazy
Days At Lahinch If you've never been to Ireland (and I confess that I have not), then taste a good bit of it in this work by Mr. Finn. Lahinch, home to a renowned links, is also a quirky little town, not unlike many of the college towns of the northeastern part of the USA. The basis of the collection resides in the author's unique vision, gleaned from years as the club manager at Lahinch. He is an exemplary example of the enviable blend of seriousness, sincerity, jocularity, and cynicism that marks the true irishman. Knowing when and in what fashion to avail himself of each opportunity presented, Finn recalls anecdotal references with enormous attention to detail. That these recollections urge the reader on toward belly-felt guffaws, ensures Lazy Days At Lahinch of success. The essential Irish golfer is measured in the tack he takes, from the tee both in life and on the links. Unlike the Scotsman, who cannot resist the call of the long shot, the Irishman will accept a long drive almost with embarrassment, striving instead for the most precise trace from teeing ground to hole. Lazy Days At Lahinch is populated by stories that sing the praises of just such a player, embodied at one time or another by each of the members at the auld club. Be they clerics, pipe fitters, administrators, or physicians, the men and women of Lahinch are ultimately no different from you or me, in that they are faced with a task, and must achieve it in the most desireable way. That this path often weaves through the lands of deception, fawning, and compromise, is the genesis of much of the humor in this tome. Not that such humorous results could occur on the heels of deception, fawning, and compromise alone. It is the necessary presence of hubris, the almighty arrogance of he whose cup overfloweth with good fortune, that combines with these initial three characters to give us joy. The cheating husband whose wife drops his favorite putter into a grain car, never to be seen again, the young hustler who loses a bet for a bottle of wine, but oh, what an expensive vintage! And what of the arrival of the seductive Bosnian, Zeelya Izabeghavitch, the revelation of whose god-given attributes nearly sent the entire village into a state of catatonia? Or the hallucinogenic mushrooms that precipitated the arrival of the wee folk and Alan's (no last name given, to protect the guilty) finest round of golf? Or Bob Dickins' triumphant bet on the habits of cows in wintertime? Just when you think it's all fun and games, comes the final piece, The Big Dream. It is enough to allow you to drop your copy of the book, close your eyes, and ponder the fate that awaits us all. And that is how Lazy Days At Lahinch draws to a close.
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Unplayable Lie If you're not much a mystery aficionado (and I confess that I am not), then you must read Unplayable Lie. Nowhere else in the annals of golfing mystery, not even in the hands of the great Agatha Christie, is an ingeniously-woven tale interspersed in a meaningful way with golfing vistas (Did I mention that they take place in St. Andrews?), resulting in a tale of mystery that is good to the last chapter. Unplayable Lie is truly a mystery for the new millenium. The combination of high technology, international business, appealing golf, and the deciphering of a puzzle, in some way reaches the majority of readers in one fashion or another. The knights on horseback are a diverse breed: the experienced genius and his sidekick heir, represented by Byram St. George and Laurence Poole, respectively, and the redeemable buffoon, portrayed this episode by Brian Dougall. The impediments, motivated by pride as is often the case, are the local Fire and Police Chiefs, while the bad guys, given the amount of suspicion as could be cast on nearly everyone, we cannot truly identify until nearly the end. The dramatic element of fire gives birth to our mystery; the CEO of the local superstar company dies in a blaze that consumes the entire factory. The resurrection of the company, and the rebirth of hope and fiscal success, rest on the concession of the insurance money. When the company's representative denies a payout on suspicion of arson, the local man, Dougall, calls in Scotland Yard, much to the distress of his superiors. With the arrival of the outsiders, St. George and Poole, the adventure truly begins. All the elements of a soap-opera saga are present in Unplayable Lie. A triumvirate of wealthy businessmen head up Viscount, the local star of the software circuit. Each with his unique character flaws, Geoffrey and Michael Pont, brothers, and their cousin, Edward Cargill, have stumbled onto a computational secret that forces Yamatsu, their Japanese competitor, to offer a partnership in the project. That, apparently, is when the trouble begins. Geoffrey dies in the blaze, with Michael and Edward left to pick up the pieces and rebuild the jigsaw. Neither, it seems, is capable of doing so, but was one of them capable of murder? Unplayable Lie will hold your attention from the first view of the fire from a glider, through the historical treatise on St. Andrews and its golf, until the final putt is holed, as they say. Little, if any, of the plot is unbelievable, which ultimately is the essential point of palatability of a mystery novel. I am left champing at the bit, awaiting the arrival of the second series installment.
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Golf
Is A Woman's Game Jane Horn, tournament-tested competition professional and lesson-tested teaching professional, has written a book. It is, in my opinion, an excellent learning tool for men and women. It attempts to shine light on the hypothesis that women are better-equipped to play the game than men. I will not tell you why, that is for the book to reveal. Ms. Horn sets forth a structure for this teaching text: myth versus reality. Her goal is to debunk a number of myths perpetrated by golfing instructors, in the hope of improving the games of women and men everywhere. Her writing is crisp and concise, speckled here and there with accounts from her own teaching and playing careers. Along the way, she criticizes the majority of teaching pros that she has encountered, sparing not even herself, for their sheltering attitudes toward female students. This does not take away from the legitimacy of the text as a powerful teaching device. Instead, if one is humble enough to recognize the veracity of her statements, one learns a bit more about the nature of the men who play and teach the game. Ms. Horn is a thorough researcher and writer. She does not fail to assess each aspect of the game, from putting through short game, to irons and woods. She assesses grip, stance, set-up, and routine. In other words, you get the feeling that you are in it for the long haul, that you have completed a ten-lesson package with her. In addition, her writing flows as does an enjoyable novel, so that one does not have to grind out an overly-technical prose. Jane Horn has a hatchet to grind. It's not quite as big as an ax, but it is pretty sharp, nonetheless. If her support for women unsettles you, good. It is high time that certain elements of the game were defrocked, and at least made accountable for their inexcusable behavior. After all, imagine if you the guys were taught an inferior swing based on your supposed shortcomings; wouldn't you feel a bit used? Bravo, Jane. This book and other fine golfing materials are available from Adams Media Corporation. Visit their website by clicking this address: www.adamsmedia.com
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Precision
Putting
The Precision series presents a unique approach to the written instruction of the game that we love. All three books assess a cornucopia of real shots that you will encounter on the golf course, throughout each round of golf that you play. The driver to the double dogleg, the low trajectory fairway wood, the long iron tee shot to a par four, the hooking or slicing driver off the fairway, take a deep breath, ok, here are some more, greenside chip shots, pitch shots, and bunker shots, bellied wedge and fairway putt, more deep breathing, that's better. On top of these, practice scenarios are presented are presented for those willing to commit the time and energy to improving their games on the practice grounds. Right- and left-hand isolations, speed, rhythm and targeting, and condition assessment are all examined with diligence. A cornerstone of the teaching experience presented in these texts is multiple photography for each individual instructional point. The critical elements of each point, be they ball position, arc, plane, contact, angle, or set-up, receive focus from at least two unique perspectives. Unlike the traditional teaching texts of a generation past, these three tomes enable the reader/student to fully comprehend and visualize each proposal, to the extent that they can be utilized along with a bucket of balls at the range or green to make significant progress toward game improvement. Human Kinetics, a publishing house in Champaign, Illinois, had the presence of mind to put the compilation of these texts in the hands of three qualified golf instructors. Daniel McDonald, in charge of the big-yardage volume, recognizes that driving may be for show at certain levels of the game, but it is a mandatory skill if the average players are to lower their scores. Short and wild are no way to go through life, Dean Wormer might have told a golfing Flounder in Animal House. As the head teaching professional at Hidden Valley Golf Center in Atlanta, McDonald counts over 15,000 individual lessons on his resume. Jim Fitzgerald (Wedges), head professional at the Chevy Chase (Maryland) Club, and James A. Frank (Putting), bring to their pages an equivalent amount of experience and knowledge. Both count endless hours of practice and experimentation among their attributes. In essence, these three knowledgeable professionals and their co-authors have set down a primer for golfers of all skill levels. These three volumes, and other from Human Kinetics, may be found at their website, www.humankinetics.com, and at fine bookstores everywhere.
A Golfer's Education
Kilfara
achieves much while stationed in the United Kingdom. He meets, immediately it seems, his future bride, and their
courtship alone is worthy of a tome. He
attends class, although what he gains from the university, as is often the
case, is not measured by what took place within the academic buildings, but
rather, what was learned in the residential halls. What Kilfara does most, however, is golf.
He comes to know the Old Course well and, when pressed by a homegrown
opponent, succeeds in shooting under par.
Kilfara extends his knowledge of the links trust to the remaining five
courses, ultimately playing the New, Jubilee, Eden, Balgrove and Strathtyrum
links as well. In fact, his first
round comes not on the Old, but on the New, and he, as many others have
indicated previously, is of the mind that were this fine links any where but
parallel to the Old, it would be more highly renowned than it is. Darren
Kilfara is acutely aware that, although Scottish golf begins in St. Andrews,
it represents but a single mark on the yardstick.
He visits, over time, the honorable courses at Muirfield, Carnoustie,
Machrishanish, Machrie, Dornoch, Boat of Garden, Loch Lomond, Gullane, North
Berwick, and others. Each course
presents a unique challenge, from the wind, rain and cold that might be
present or absent on any Scottish course at any given moment, to the blind
holes, hillocks, and other geographic features that change with the lay of the
land. Kilfara learns more than
the bump-and-run and the knock-down; he learns to be less apprehensive about
score, more concerned with his behavior on the course, and more aware of the
value of other human beings. It
is safe to say that Kilfara, while probably not a self-absorbed little snot,
certainly had, by his own admission, the usual bit of growing to do.
St. Andrews presented the proper environment. Darren
Kilfara’s entire passage is summed up in the adventure that fittingly brings
the book to an end. Three
teammates, all of different psychological profiles, join him for a two-week
binge of golf across Scotland. They
revisit courses learned of earlier, yet reach a point at which their combined
friendship is at risk. It is only
then that the true maturation of our narrator distinguishes itself. At
least fifty percent of us could probably figure out a way to spend a year in
St. Andrews. Kilfara’s feat,
while admirable, is not exclusionary. What
does set him apart, however, is his ability to write wonderfully about a topic
that could easily escape. Kilfara
reduces his narrative to only the appropriate information; anecdotes that are
included serve to bolster the thread, those that cannot, are excluded.
Darren Kilfara brought a great deal to St. Andrews, yet took away even
more. The metaphors for rites of
passage are multiple, yet never descend into a malaise of soporific hooey.
The final product is a tightly-woven, informative piece that brings us
close to the warmth of the adventure, yet leaves us disappointed that a sequel
could never be. To learn more about Darren Kilfara and his tour, visit the Algonquin Books website at www.algonquin.com. They have an online store to help you with your purchases. Cut Shot The last sort of critic that I envision myself to be, is one of Mystery novels. Therefore, it is with some trepidation that I judge the quality of Cut Shot as a member of the Mystery genre. Therefore, let us begin with its worth as a golf novel, and then move to the more tenuous point of successful sleuth saga. Jack Austin, the protagonist of Cut Shot, embodies all that is manly and heroic in our society. He is a professional athlete of some renown, perhaps even on the cusp of stardom. He is in great physical shape, has the work ethic of a Calvinist, and even has a knockout fiance to boot. What are his achilles heels? Well, he isn't always spot on with the putter, and he has a bit of a reading problem, that some might call dyslexia. Oh, and he is passionately in love with . . . no, not the girl, the game! He loves golf, and discovers that he will go to any length to protect it. Between the covers, he takes on two crime families that eventually unite through betrayal (is that oxymoronic?) Fortunately for Austin, he does not have to go the road a lone. The head of security for the PGA tour (a former FBI agent), an Arizona sheriff, and an ex-cop from Boston provide, in inverted order, protection and assistance to Austin. So, what gets Austin involved with these types, anyway? It turns out that a young competitor is throwing strokes, in order to make a few guaranteed bucks. Like any other middle-aged professional golfer who is skittish about commitment to all but his putter, who is strong is will and body beyond most other mortals, who considers putting his life on the line in order to uphold the tradition and integrity of the sport, Jack Austin sinks himself wholeheartedly into the the underworld miasma. The result is expected, the pathways are not, and the resolution of his engagement woes, enlightening. This mystery is certainly worth reading, and perhaps we can all rededicate ourselves in both life and golf, to the Austin model. Golf Flex "Golfers know golf, not stretching. It was apparent they had no systematic approach to stretching that they could follow in a safe and effective way." Warming up and casual golf have always seemed to be dysfunctional relatives; they should go hand in hand, but they never have enough time to devote to each other. Paul Frediani is a well-educated trainer who has set his sites on improving flexibility in golfers. He has developed a volume of exercises that, if pursued properly, can produce an effective, rapid workout for the average golfer that we all are. I have put myself on his program, beginning today, so I'll keep posting to the BuffGolf site to let you know how I prosper. Tiger Woods has a new credit card commercial, where he confesses to not having to perform a number of his well-known pursuits and tendencies (practice, lift weights, etc.), unless he wants to beat Tiger Woods. Is he speaking in the narrative voice of another person, or does he view Tiger Woods as Borges viewed Borges? Who cares? Golf Flex is a thin and powerful map to better conditioning, flexibility and strength. All three are possible to attain without the other two, but it is only flexibility (born of stretching) that allows us to maximize and safeguard our conditioning and strength. Weak golfers do not fail nearly as often as do poor or inflexible ones. Whether it be through lessons or flexibility training (or an ideal combination of both), you can control your own improvement potential. The point is, we know that Tiger begat David who, in spite of a sore back, begat others, and thus does the biblical Buff Tour Pros hierarchy flow. We forget about Kareem, he of the skyhook and martial arts ability. In a much more demanding sport, he survived over twenty years why? Because he stretched every day. So, go ahead and lift a little or a lot, but stretch, stretch, stretch, until your final day.
Architectural Bonanza So many times we
tread four or more hours over a tract of land laid out specifically and solely
for golf. Often we know the course like the back of our hand; it is our
“home” course. We can predict
without fail the correct club for a shot some six holes off, or knowingly
foretell the result of a carom some two hundred fifty yards distant.
Yet, when the final putt falls and the flag then replaced, do we really
know very much about the holes that we have completed over the past four
miles? A predictable progression of interest and publication followed the recent golf boom: a plethora of new courses laid out by professional designers; a series of books written by them and other experts on how to properly lay down modern golf grounds; and finally, a revisiting of the courses that inspired today’s architects, both European and early American. Fortunately for us, a number of talented writers and editors have conspired to record the efforts and approaches of early American course designers in hardcover editions. As noteworthy as the prose are the photographs of the courses themselves. Although some of the architects criticize these pictures, calling them “the best that might have been available,” they contain glorious recollections of the earliest days of each course. The man generally
considered to be the finest architect of the period 1900-1950, Scottish-born,
American Donald Ross, had his thoughts assembled in a wonderful
tome titled Golf
Has Never Failed Me: The Lost
Commentaries of Legendary Golf Architect Donald J. Ross.
Originally from Dornoch, in far northern Scotland, Ross emigrated
to the USA, where he constructed the most successful series of golfing layouts
of the first half of the previous century.
From Seminole in Florida, to the Kebo Valley Club in northern Maine,
Ross created a legacy of golf challenges unmatched by any other designer in
this country. While it is true
that some have created as many courses, and others have designed course of
equal quality, no single architect has been blessed to create such an
abundance of excellent courses. That
Ross’ words, and not those of a compiler, are what adorn these pages, is the
touch that makes this volume irreplaceable.
To hear, 53 years after his death, the philosophy of the architect, is
a rare treasure. Of great interest to golfers in the Western New York area is
our only Donald Ross course, the Country Club of Buffalo, in Williamsville.
It receives special attention, including a course map (that cannot be
found even on the club’s scorecard!) on page 24. A second volume of
Ross, written by the finest modern architectural writer, clarifies the Ross
mystique to a greater extent.
Bradley Klein, university professor, tour caddie, and Golfweek writer,
developed an unequaled tribute to the fine architect’s life and profession.
Discovering
Donald Ross: The Architect and
His Golf Courses allows two geniuses to “strut their stuff,” as
they say. Ross’ ability to rise
beyond a single style of tee, fairway, hazard and green design, to investigate
and construct varied versions of each, complements Klein’s like talents for
crawling around a course from every possible vantage point. With
experience as a tour caddie, university professor, and other jobs in between,
Klein is educated in all aspects of golf course design, construction and
history, and is a reliable narrator of the Ross architectural story. An entire generation of America’s finest entre-war architects was schooled in the pine barrens of New Jersey. Home to the world’s greatest and most demanding linksland, Pine Valley, George C. Thomas and others cut their teeth under the tutelage of H.S. Colt and George Crump. Thomas himself migrated west, eventually settling in California, where he produced two outstanding LA tracks, Riviera and Los Angeles Country Club North. Never afraid to present a unique challenge, such as the bunker in the middle of the sixth green at Riviera, Thomas was hailed as a genius of design by writers and players of his day. Two new texts allow us the privilege of entering his domain. The first, titled The Captain: George C. Thomas, Jr. and His Golf Architecture, was penned by Geoff Shackelford, a writer of some renown. The second, Golf Architecture in America: Its Strategy and Construction, burst forth from the mind of Mr. Thomas, himself. Examining all important facets of the golfing grounds, from balance of shot values to hazards, including general plans, aesthetics and redesigns, Thomas reveals the intellectual processes of an architect working during the second-fifth of the previous century. Before a new generation of architects commercialized and simplified the American golf course, Thomas was one of the last to promote extreme limits of variety in design. In the days of Bobby Jones, there were many a gentleman golfer whose interest rested not only in the successful execution of the myriad golf shots, but also in the creation of proper golfing grounds. One of these, Californian Robert Hunter, was an associate of Scottsman Alexander “Alistair” Mackenzie. Hunter includes no fewer than 12 “illustrations” of Pine Valley, which in and of themselves make this piece extremely valuable. Even with the advent of the world wide web, images of the holes of that marvelously exclusive Southern New Jersey club are hard to come by. Hunter, like many of his contemporaries, determined it his responsibility to expound on his own set of necessary principles of proper golf course routing, titled The Links. He pays close attention to the proper placement of hazards, and includes remarkable tales of casual rounds played with 8-time British Amateur champion John Ball. While Hunter is credited with no individual designs, he certainly consulted on a number of California courses, including Cypress Point. |
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