The Great Quarantine Reading Bender

[Celebros]

As a lifelong golfer, I just have never really delved into golf literature. Most of the books I always saw were either player bio type books or swing instruction that I wasn't interested in. As someone with a degree in History though, I discovered the wealth of golf architecture/history books available and have been taking a deep dive.

 

Read So Far (In Order)

 

The Practice Manual - Adam Young

The Anatomy of a Golf Course- Tom Doak

Be A Player - Pia Nilsson & Lynn Marriott

Golf Dreams - John Updike

The Little Red Book of Golf Course Architecture - Tom Doak

A Difficult Par: Robert Trent Jones Sr. and The Making of Modern Golf - James Hansen

Golf Architecture - Alister MacKenzie

Scotland's Gift, Golf - C.B. Macdonald

Every Shot Counts - Mark Broadie

Bury Me In A Pot Bunker - Pete Dye

Missing Links - Daniel Wexler

Rough Meditations - Bradley S. Klein

Discovering Donald Ross: The Architect and His Courses - Bradley S. Klein

The Rating Game - Jonathan Cummings

The Links - Robert Hunter

Zen Golf - Dr. Joseph Parent

Golf Has Never Failed Me - Donald Ross

Harvey Penick's Little Red Book - Harvey Penick

American Triumverate - James Dodson

 

Read Somewhat - Kinda Just Reference Stuff

 

The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Volume 3 (America - Summer Destinations) - Tom Doak

The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Volume 2 (America - Winter Destinations) - Tom Doak

Golf Course Architecture - Dr. Michael Hurdzan

World Atlas of Golf (2003)

 

To Be Read

 

The Spirit of St. Andrews - Alister MacKenzie

Methods of Early Golf Architecture (Vol. 1-2) - Various

Dream Golf: The Making of Bandon Dunes - Stephen Goodwin

Lost Links - Daniel Wexler

Some Essays on Golf-Course Architecture - H.S. Colt

Golf Architecture in America - George C. Thomas

The Golf Courses of the British Isles - Bernard Darwin

Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect - Dr. Bob Rotella

A Golfer's Life: Arnold Palmer - James Dodson

The Match - Mark Frost

The Big Miss - Hank Haney

Sir Walter - Tom Clavin

Ben Hogan - James Dodson

The Grand Slam - Mark Frost

The Story of American Golf - Herbert Warren Wind

 

Any other recommendations while I'm at it? I'm generally not interested in books on swing mechanics, but other than that I'm open to whatever.

I've been acquiring most of these used/on the cheap, so some of the wildly expensive out-of-print stuff is likely out of my price range, lol.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Celebros

[Hawkeye77]

Tom Morris of St. Andrews and American Triumvirate are just plain essential golf reading, IMO.

Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens is nice read about some Scotland courses with a little architectural insight.

[KAndyMan]

I definitely suggest checking out Zen Golf by Joesph Parent.

Interesting book on the mental aspect of the game and actually some of the info can be used outside of golf in "the real world" (if you are interested in going out there for some strange reason)

[gogo29732]

Bernard Darwin on Golf. very eloquently written essays on all things golf

 

 

[stryper]

Mark Frost:

The Match

The Grand Slam

The Greatest Game Ever Played

 

 

[Myherobobhope]

How did you like Adam young? I’m thinking about buying a copy.

 

[bscinstnct]

This is the only golf book I have read, and it was a great read.

 

 

Tales from Q School: Inside Golf's Fifth Majorby John Feinstein

 

 

“It is the tournament that separates champions from mortals. It is the starting point for the careers of future legends and can be the final stop on the down escalator for fading stars. The annual PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament is one of the most grueling competitions in any sport. Every fall, veterans and talented hopefuls sweat through six rounds of hell at Q school, as the tournament is universally known, to get a shot at the PGA Tour, vying for the 30 slots available. The grim reality: If you don't make it through Q school, you're not on the PGA tour. You're out. And those who make it to the sixday finals are the lucky ones: hundreds more players fail to get through the equally grueling first two stages of the event. John Feinstein tells the story of the players who compete for these coveted positions in the 2005 Q school as only he can. With arresting accounts from the players, established winners, rising stars, the defeated, and the endlessly hopeful, America's favorite sportswriter unearths the inside story behind the PGA Tour's brutal all-ornothing competition.”

[Celebros]

I think it was much longer than it needed to be, but genuinely thought the content was excellent. Teaches you how to think about and evaluate your own swing rather than prescribing any particular swing methodology.

[Myherobobhope]

Ha.... I feel like most golf books tend to have a ton of fluff in them. Either to pad the page count or just find the right way to connect the reader with the point they are making... He's been on the Chasing Scratch podcast a decent amount, and I like his overall attitude.

[Celebros]

Chasing Scratch was my first exposure to Adam Young! Definitely enjoy his overall approach to the game.

[Myherobobhope]

He's on this weeks episode and great... It's interesting to hear his take on the golf swing... tangential, but I'm always amazed at the instruction forum and how there are almost 0 threads on strategy, mental game and adjusting to the swing you have... I've seen guys chase the "perfect golf swing" and it never goes well... One of my buddies who CAN play to a two is in the middle of his third swing change this season (I blame him being cooped up too long). His swing is fine. He is just a head case who can't mentally recover from bad swings... he's at a 4 right now because he's gone so mental.

[3riC]

just finished Every Shot Counts, wrote by the professor that came up with Strokes Gained. Loved it