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By H.N. Wethered and T. Simpson The Architectural Side of Golf, written at the close of the golden era of golf architecture, is the discipline’s grandest literary gem. It is the last and most lavish of the several books on design published during the 1920s, with 44 plates drawn by Simpson and 26 etchings by Wethered. The authors reaped the benefit of seeing prior publications and crafted this to be as little like a textbook as possible, while exploring a wide variety of subjects directly and indirectly related to architecture. Excepting Sutton’s 1933Golf Courses: Design, Construction and Upkeep, this would be the last book published on golf course architecture for decades. Familiar to designers, The Architectural Side of Golf should also be in the hands of amateurs and committee persons who tinker with re-design or contemplate alteration of their home courses. The authors surmise the golf course is at a crossroads. In the 1920s, they say, gone are the carefree days of yore when the players were “a mere handful of local enthusiasts who did not, perhaps, take the game in quite as serious a spirit as is the present custom.” The modern ball and clubs produce better, longer shots of controlled shapes in the hands of the pros. Match play has given way to stroke play and thus increased attention to every strike. This is modern golf, attacking all the time, shooting for the pin. The best players now practice regularly—even putting—and thereby invent all manners of shots to escape trouble. The authors ponder how an architect can defend the onslaught against par. In the beginning of the 21st century, we frequently hear critics argue, “today’s golf ball goes too far.” Distance was as hot a topic in the Roaring Twenties as it is now. How accurate Simpson and Wethered were in their prediction about balls: “In all probability there is still room for an additional length quite sufficient to upset present calculations.” Another concern for architects of that era—and this—is the degree to which wedge play had been perfected. The design solutions for today are as then. In the search to frustrate the constantly dropping scores, success is not to be found in lengthening the holes—the ball will keep going further. Rather, allow semi-rough come into play more, make primary rough penal; reduce the size of the greens and remove backdrops that provide clues to distance; let every bunker and hazard be strategic. Finally, keep everything in proportion caution the authors. Remember that only one percent of golfers are “cracks” and the average guys are the ones who really keep the club afloat. Wethered and Simpson challenge all designers not to fail in any of the obvious points for building courses: every hole should be interesting; the maximum variety of holes allowed by the site should be provided; the natural beauty of the country should be impaired as little as possible; a premium should be put on good golf; and the course should be equally interesting and amusing to the first-rate and the second-rate golfer. The discipline needed to abide by these hard and fast rules is more than many architects have been able to muster. One of the outstanding features of this book is the use of hole and feature drawings to illustrate the text, many from courses unvisited by even the most ardent seekers, like Chantilly, Liphook, Waddesdon, Chiberta-Biarritz, and Morfontaine. The effect of this feature is most evident in the authors’ interesting discussion about the ideal golf course. Before presenting their favorite 18, and they are all winners, Wethered and Simpson firmly denounce any attempt to actually build such a composition course. Suppose, they say, every hole was of a strength and character of the 17th at St. Andrews Old: “The strain of it all!…It would certainly break our hearts and leave us nervous wrecks or golf lunatics in real earnest.” We can all join in this pleasant theoretical exercise. This is an especially nice book if you like St. Andrews. Different chapters cover the South of England, Northern Scotland, and East Lothian, but the authors clearly are enamored with the Old Course. Many of the references throughout the text relate to the venerable links, especially so in the unique section entitled The Reversible Golf Course. There is camaraderie amid history and philosophy, notably in the chapterCaddies We have Met. One particular caddie had “the appearance of a bird of prey, with hooked nose and fierce bright eyes glimmering at one, and a look that was commanding yet inscrutable…carried the clubs under his arm in the old manner, as if prepared to charge the enemy with the bayonet at the least provocation.” Having been treated with diplomatic firmness throughout the round, the author felt it “expedient to dribble a small stream of silver into his palm until there were signs of a sufficiency to appease his humour.” Equally imaginative—and surprisingly prescient on the topic of architecture—is a chapter on home golf,In an English Garden. The often subtle but pervasive philosophy in The Architectural Side of Golf is as important and sound as the technical advice. The new culture of golf began in a whirl when vastly more people began to play, equipment improved dramatically and courses were routinely constructed inland. Whatever it was before, golf became a blend, an amalgamation of art and science. More than anything, it became paramount that the architect be alert to their proper balance. Science can overpower the artistry of man imitating nature, just as seeking perfection in artistry can confound science. Given the fluid nature of golf and its components, it is a testimony to the value of this work that its subjects remain germane in any given greens committee meeting today. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind.-
By Sir Walter G. Simpson Written by a Captain of The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, these early instructions to both beginners and experienced players included the first use of golf photography. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Bobby Burnet. -
This was the first anthology of the history of the game and the first indication that golf had a literature superior to other sports. Foreword by Robert S. Macdonald. -
By George Plimpton Plimpton hit on the formula of an amateur thrown among the best pros in various sports. He is, in fact, one of America's leading humorists, and has graciously written a new foreword for this edition. Foreword by George Plimpton -
By P. G. Wodehouse Many have tried to explain why Wodehouse's golf stories are so utterly enjoyable and so far above anyone else's efforts in the genre. They are the product of a genius who wrote over ninety books and who created two of the greatest fictional characters in the English language: the dim-witted but loveable Bertie Wooster, and his valet, the amazingly ingenious Jeeves. The Clicking of Cuthbert is Wodehouse's first collection of golf stories, published in England in 1922. We have reproduced the cover of the original English edition but have used the text of the American edition, which was called Golf without Tears. One of the things that may strike you as odd is how much and how immediately you will like these stories. You will even find yourself laughing aloud. "Odd" because normally when such pleasure is presented to us we become suspicious. What is the hidden message? What does he really want of us? What's he getting at? Where's the deeper meaning? There is no deeper meaning in Wodehouse. His deeper meaning is the pleasure and satisfaction that is felt by his readers - genuine pleasure and genuine satisfaction that comes and can only come from the recognition of the truth of a given situation and a given character. In order to produce so many laughs and so many smiles Wodehouse had to be a master of his craft. There was none finer, and no one worked harder to achieve that mastery. His prose style was deceptively simple and clear. As John Updike observed in a recent magazine article, he knew his golf.: "Wodehouse's grasp of the strange joy and fascination of the game is absolute." Sir Peter Allen, gifted golfer, writer, traveler, and industrialist has evoked in his Afterword what the world of golf was like in the early 1920s, the world P.G. Wodehouse studied for these stories. Herbert Warren Wind's Foreword is a sparkling biography of Wodehouse and a splendid way to start the book. Wind did a profile of Wodehouse for The New Yorker magazine and spent a good deal of time with him while researching his essay. It was later published in book form in England under the title, The World of P.G. Wodehouse. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Sir Peter Allen. -
Edited by Herbert Warren Wind Odds are against you in most games of chance. But if you ever wanted a sure bet, give this book to any golfer as a gift. It is similar to lunch at Muirfield; many choices through many courses, all worthy of the finest table, and all shared convivially. As such, it is sure to satisfy every palate. Open The Complete Golfer anywhere and you are very likely to find something you enjoy. The reason is due largely to the wonderful choices made for this anthology by editor Herbert Warren Wind. A quality miscellany requires good selection by the compiler, a success often determined by their breadth of knowledge on the subject. Wind was in his best form in the early 1950s after writing The History of American Golf (a Classics of Golf title) and joining the staff of the New Yorker in 1949. He spent two years researching the literature of golf for his top picks in a variety of disciplines for this volume. Bobby Jones writes in the original introduction, “Golf has more than enough in it to command the respect of any man.” Considerable literature will develop around such a game continues Jones, “History, humor, curiosities, stories of championships, essays on methods…and every golfer, I think, owes it to himself to have an acquaintance with this literature.” To ease into this familiarity, Wind begins lightheartedly with fiction and a selection of cartoons. This seemingly innocent beginning is good preparation for the meatier third section The Spirit of the Game with history, comments, reminiscences and some humor. Francis Ouimet gives an intimate view of growing up across the street from the country club; how he would sneak on and play until discovered and chased by the greenkeeper. H. B. Martin tells us how golf came into American legitimacy with the 1888 formation of The Saint Andrew’s Golf Club in Yonkers, NY, and how the “Old Apple Tree Gang” received its name. Grantland Rice’s article for The American Golfer (see the Classics of Golf selection by the same title for many more articles) is one of the most insightful ever written on Bobby Jones’ preparation for his record-setting Grand Slam year. Rice prophetically closes The Prospect for 1930 with: “There is at least a first class chance that this will be the best year he has ever had, and that will mean the best year any individual golfer ever had.” If Jones is your cup of tea, you will read and reread Bernard Darwin’s The Immortal Bobby, one of the best pieces ever written on the man. Another famous Jones, Robert Trent Jones, contributed an excellent chapter of substance on golf course architecture entitled From St. Andrews to the Modern American Courses. He offers an overview of the history of his craft but focuses on several modern courses to explain current theory. The discussions are facilitated by the inclusion of a series of color course maps. Pinehurst No. 2, Pine Valley, Merion, Pebble Beach, Augusta National, The National Golf Links, and Oakland Hills are detailed and studied in comparison with The Old Course. One other course is omitted from that list, not to slight it because only one hole was used, but to single it out. It is uniquely significant in Jones’ view; it is the only other hole he discusses from all the remaining courses in Britain. “The Redan—the fifteenth hole at North Berwick—takes its name from the famous redoubt at Sevastopol, which the British stormed in 1855…the Redan holds a salient position in the development of golf architecture. It was one of the first holes to demonstrate the beauties of strategic design so forcibly that it was copied at many other courses, and it became a touchstone for golf course layout.” The section on Great Players, Historic Moments has enough stories for a dozen Hollywood movies. Walter Travis writes on how he won the Amateur Championship. Byron Nelson is profiled immediately after he broke the PGA record for consecutive tournament wins with six (Nelson was on his way to an insurmountable record of 11 victories in a row—he was that good.) One article exemplifies the type of attitude that is presently lost from the professional game: star player Gene Sarazen writes a heartfelt article about Walter Hagen– My Hero, My Rival exhibiting sportsmanship befitting a gentleman. In an autobiographical piece, Sarazen also relates how he played the last 28 holes of the 1932 U. S. Open in 100 strokes, over a tough Tillinghast layout. Even those who do not like, or do not think they need instruction will benefit from The Masters’ Voices. Wind does not select staid instructors who might begin with “Now place your hand on the club…” Wind offers Willie Park, Jr., on The Importance of Style; How Hogan Picks His Clubs by his pal Jimmy Demaret; and It Takes Brains to Play Golf by Gene Sarazen. The list of able contributors and engaging methods is, as in prior chapters, impressive and important. There are many fine excerpts, columns, stories and recollections not mentioned here for you to discover at your leisure. Whether enjoyed by article or chapter, The Complete Golfer offers as diverse and excellent a selection of golf literature as one might reasonably put between the covers of a book. Forewords by Herbert Warren Wind and Robert T. Jones, Jr., Afterword by Frank Hannigan -
By Bernard Darwin A selection of Darwin's incomparable portraits of the early champion golfers, including a brief autobiography. Afterword by William Campbell, the exemplary amateur champion -
By Dan Jenkins
Jenkins at his most incisive and hilarious, investigates the world of the pro tour.
Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Dave Marr. -
By Dan Jenkins Jenkins at his most incisive and hilarious, investigates the world of the pro tour. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Dave Marr.
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It is difficult to overstate the importance of The Game of Golf; a book of instruction far beyond its time in many ways. Preface by Archie Baird, Foreword by Robert S. Macdonald. -
By Bernard Darwin A collection of Bernard Darwin's best articles from The American Golfer magazine, 1922-1936. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind. -
By Pat Ward-Thomas A collection of this distinguished British golf journalist's best essays, concentrating on Hogan and Palmer in the 1950s and 1960s when they reigned supreme. Afterword by Arnold Palmer. -
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By W. W. Tulloch The author, W. W. Tulloch was an eyewitness to the enormous changes in golf that took place at St. Andrews from 1850-1900, all of which revolved around the figure of Tom Morris, who was, as Ben Crenshaw said: "... the first player who had people's adulation that really made the game universally popular". Filled with sketches of the famous early professionals, the great matches, and all the stories of the early days of championship golf, this is one of the most famous and hard to get books on the game. Foreword by Robert S. Macdonald. -
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By Robert Hunter A masterpiece of architectural literature, this is the first volume fully addressing the complexities of the golf course in terms of design, construction and definition of the game. The few previous books in the field were either narrowly defined — as Hazards by Bauer — or a compilation of essays such as Golf Architecture by Mackenzie and Some Essays on Golf Course Architecture by Colt and Allison (all Classics of Golf selections.) Robert Hunter conceptualized The Links as a complete study, a manual for the golfing field of play, especially written to those about to develop a course. That an intellectual from an alien discipline would expend his considerable analytical talents on a book about golf course architecture was somewhat surprising—but more surprising was the quality of the effort. Upon publication, it stood as a lighthouse against a sea of confusion and crosscurrents and its beacon has lost little of its luminosity throughout the decades. It would be hard to imagine a more unlikely author for what is recognized by many in the design field as their “bible.” A free thinker from a wealthy Midwest family, Hunter was not a golf course architect, or even a golfing professional. He was a dedicated socialist reformer, world renown for his actions against child labor, poverty, and public malaise in Chicago and New York. Hunter’s unique understanding of the relationship between golf’s playing surface and the game itself did not come by accident. His hobby was at such an acute stage that in 1912 he spent six months touring courses in Great Britain. Hunter was an astute observer and an original thinker. He concluded that diversity made golf the great game it is and that the severity and singular nature of the famous links contributed to its unconventional nature. If golf was played on a dead-flat fairway bounded by walls to keep every shot in play, with all slopes pitched toward an over-sized hole, he postulated everyone would quit out of boredom. “It is not the love of something easy which has drawn men like a magnet for hundreds of years to this royal and ancient pastime; on the contrary, it is the maddening difficulty of it.” Without challenges, there is no “game” in the game of golf. To emphasize the point, Hunter tells a superb story about playing with John Ball, the best British amateur before World War I (eight-time British Amateur Champion.) One day, during the course of two rounds, Ball had on five different occasions, asked Hunter if he wanted to agree to a half on the hole. On each occasion Hunter was in a superior position and refused Ball’s request for the half. After each refusal, Ball proceeded, not to halve, but to win each hole, once holing out from the rough and once holing out from a bunker! Ball had demonstrated that, in Hunter’s words, “The keenest delight in golf is given to those who, finding themselves in trouble, refused to be depressed, and, with some recovery, snatch from their opponents what seemed for them certain victory.” This is the reason for hazards then—to keep sport in the game! No wonder the shots that offer the drama of decision-making and the chance for risk-taking, are precisely those often found among the wind-swept dunes of links land.Hunter’s formula is not to replicate but to assimilate, to allow the nature of the site to dictate as much of the design of the hole and its components as possible. Supported by excellent photographs and drawings, Hunter discourses on sand bunkers, and their defining role in golf and golf course design. His 15-points on hazard construction is a concise abridgement of his theories. Another important lesson from The Links is that the climax in golf should be the putting green. Greens must be molded to fit the hole, with sufficient undulation to frequently challenge putts, transitioning smoothly through the approach. Hunter appreciated the radical, sometimes absurd ridges and folds found on classic links, but clearly judges that an architect would be crucified if he intentionally worked such abnormalities into a “modern” design. Many golfers familiar with the Pebble Beach Golf Links may not know Hunter remodeled 9-holes there in 1928 with Chandler Egan and Roger Lapham. Other courses Hunter collaborated on in California were the Meadow Club, Valley Club of Montecito, Mita Vista Golf and Country Club, Northwood Golf Club, Pittsburgh Golf Club, and Green Hills Country Club. To read The Links is to transcend the act of playing golf, and understand the correlation between the terrain golf is played upon and the quality of the experience. In the final section, Other Things of Importance, Hunter’s continual quest for better golf leads him to call for the publication of books on turf grasses and greenkeeping, equipment and tools, construction and course administration. Why does he care so passionately? The simple answer is he loves the game like we do, but ultimately hears an even stronger inner draw. As a social reformer and theorizer, he sees that, “Golf is rapidly becoming the national sport, and as a sport is far more valuable to us as a nation than baseball or football…As a recreation for all classes, golf seems destined to become as universal as it is beneficial.” More than 75-years later, that prophetic statement, that golf’s popularity would overtake baseball’s and eventually become a world game, seems even more amazing. -
By Arnold Haultain No one has come closer than Haultain to explaining the ultimate riddle of the game. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by John Updike. -
By H.N. Wethered A dozen essays on various aspects of the game, each envisioned in its ideal form. The course, clubs, style, temperament, champions, architecture, all considered in Wethered's search for perfection. Foreword by Robert S. Macdonald. -
By Herbert Warren Wind Wind's masterpiece is one of the great books in golf. In the second half of the twentieth century, Wind contributed as much to golf as the force of nature with which he shares a name. He helped Ben Hogan codify his knowledge of the swing and Gene Sarazen and Jack Nicklaus tell their life stories in riveting fashion. (He also gave Amen Corner its name.) And, like a certain famous Englishman, he took golf reportage to a new level of specificity, insight and narrative grace, writing primarily for the New Yorker. He always saw himself as the heir and apprentice to Bernard Darwin, but in some ways he surpassed the master, translating his principles into a lively, colloquial American idiom. First published in 1948, Wind's most cohesive work traced American golf from its earliest stirrings in Yonkers, New York, in 1888. He updated the book in 1956 and again in 1975, nearly doubling its size. The Story of American Golf is just that—a great story. You can't put it down even though you know how it all turns out Afterword by Robert. S. Macdonald. -
By Bernard Darwin Autobiographical information about Bernard Darwin. Originally published in 1955, this book celebrates the life and accomplishments of one golf's greatest personalities. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind. -
By Gene Sarazen
This candid autobiography of the legendary golfer gives a fine account of golf during the 1920s and 30s. This is such an enjoyable read by one of golf's true greats with one delightful story after another about Sarazen's life in golf, which began as like many others in this time period as a caddie.
From his infamous double eagle at Augusta to his touching story with the elderly caddie Daniels and their win at The British, this book is jammed packed with golf told through the eyes of a man who played alongside the like of Vardon, Cotton, Armour, Snead, Hogan and Hagen, among others. What a fascinating insight into not only this wonderful champion and his life, but the game itself. Expertly written with Herbert Warren Wind. Afterword by Peter Ryde. -
Edited by Robert S. Macdonald A collection of the finest golf fiction from the first half of the 20th century, beginning with “The Haunted Major”, the earliest and most famous of all golf stories. Also included is what many consider the best golf story ever written: “Dormey One”, by Holworthy Hall, a powerful tale of an old champion and a young challenger. Plus three Bernard Darwin stories, never before published in book form. The criteria for selecting the stories, nine in all, was that you, the reader, could not put any of them down unfinished. Foreword by Robert S. Macdonald. -
Edited by Herbert Warren Wind and Robert S. Macdonald Harry Vardon--6 time Open Champion and a true golf superstar. This is the best of Vardon's writing, including autobiographical and instructional material. A gem of a book. An original publication by The Classics of Golf. Afterword by S.L. McKinlay. -
Edited by Herbert Warren Wind and Robert S. Macdonald Harry Vardon--6 time Open Champion and a true golf superstar. This is the best of Vardon's writing, including autobiographical and instructional material. A gem of a book. An original publication by The Classics of Golf. Afterword by S.L. McKinlay.
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By Dick Aultman and Ken Bowden
This is a puzzling book to categorize. While not exactly a book of instruction, you will learn more about the golf swing digesting Ken Bowden and Dick Aultman’s The Methods of Golf’s Masters than you will at the practice tee. It is a unique blend of astute analysis and historical exactitude, probing the origins and evolution of the modern swing, using 16-famous players, each emblematic of a particular nuance of style, for demonstrative purposes. The authors also have an exciting new premise: “A recurring theme in this book is the influence the master golfer’s personalities have had on their playing methods.” It is a curious viewpoint that can ultimately assist us in our own development. The authors’ theory is that the most influential factor determining both a golfer’s swing and his style of play is his temperament and that forcing technique outside of a natural comfort zone can only end in disaster. That personality should be so dominant a component is surprising, but the evidence they present is convincing. -
By Jack Nicklaus with Herbert Warren Wind Written at the height of his powers--this books is a fantastic insight into one of the great sportsman in history. The chapters on instruction are terrific, reflecting Nicklaus' focus on a few fundamentals and his uncomplicated approach to the game. What you see in this book is an amazing attitude and mentality that carries Nicklaus to the most majors ever won and doing it with class. The book was written with the Dean of American Sportwriters, Herbert Warren Wind, who writing brings out the real Nicklaus. -
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By Bobby Jones
The verisimilitude and tactility of Ravielli’s drawings are as magnificent here as they were in Hogan’s “Fundamentals.” In his text, Jones carefully emphasizes “the proper order of movement…If [the book] succeeds in its purpose,” he added in his foreword, “such success will be due to the eloquence of Tony’s art.” Bobby Jones, humble as always. This book is a wonderful instruction book and continues to give insight as one of the top golf instruction books. A must have. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind, Afterword by Charles Yates. -
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By Walter Hagen with Magaret Seaton Heck One of the game's most dashing and feared players, he is summed up in his most-remembered saying: " I never wanted to be a millionaire - I just wanted to live like one". This is Walter Hagen's own story of the two decades when he ruled the golfing world as king. Hagen not only won a major tournament every year for twenty years-a record never even approached by any other golfer-but his personality dominated the game during that period. A fascinating read that also shows how he opened up the golf world to professionals--who previously weren't even allowed in the clubhouse. Foreword by Herbert Warren Wind.
