New book chronicles Hurdzan/Fry collaboration

[Mike Nuzzo]

For you book hounds....

New book chronicles Hurdzan/Fry collaboration

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Hurdzan/Fry Golf Course Design has published a new book, titled "Selected Golf Courses by Hurdzan/Fry: Photos and Essays Vol. 1." The book features 29 selected golf courses that chronicle the collaborations between architects Dr. Michael Hurdzan, who is a member of Golf Course News' editorial advisory board, and Dana Fry.

"Each of the courses featured is unique, and so are the stories behind them, be it owners, sites or the design process," Hurdzan said. "We tell the stories mostly from our personal impressions and recollections, not from the perspective of some ghostwriter."

The book features photography by John and Jeannine Henebry, a foreword by PGA Tour player and architect Tom Lehman, illustrations by Donald Keller, a Columbus-based medical/surgical illustrator.

"Don's full-color renderings of our courses are painstakingly accurate, and truly a work of art in their own right," Hurdzan said. "Our hope is that the book will provide readers with a glimpse into what we think is the intriguing world of golf course design and development from our unique perspective."

Fry said the book will serve as a lasting glimpse into the courses the two have designed in their years of collaboration.

"We consider it a family photo album sprinkled with reminders of the people, places and things that have helped us achieve a small measure of recognition in the world of golf," Fry said. "Some of the stories are happy, some are sad, but we believe all of them are interesting and worth telling."

The 384-page book, featuring nearly 300 color photographs and 29 renderings/illustrations, is available at a suggested retail price of $75 from http://www.hurdzanfry.com and at selected bookstores and golf shops nationwide.

Featured courses:
Devil’s Pulpit GC, Devil’s Paintbrush GC, Annbriar,  Naples National GC, Glenmaura GC,  Westwood Plateau G & CC,    Ironhorse GC,    StoneWater GC,    Desert Willow-Firecliff,  Desert Willow-Mountain View,  Sand Barrens GC,  Weaver Ridge GC,  CC of St. Albans (Tavern Creek),  le Diable GC,  En-Joie GC,  Jericho National GC,  Olde Stonewall GC,  Troy Burne GC,    Dundarave GC,     Fieldstone GC,     The Heritage GC at Westmoor,   The River Course at Keystone,  The Ledges GC,   Little Mountain CC,   Hamilton Farm GC (Highland),   Hamilton Farm GC (Hickory),   The Raven GC at Three Peaks,    Calusa Pines,  Philadelphia Cricket Club (Militia Hill)

[Forrest Richardson]

It's a wonderful book — a record of the design work of one of the less celebrated, but extremely talented, design teams. I had the fortune to receive a early copy, perhaps among the first couple to be opened from the printer. As a lasting record of the work of HF I would recommend it to collectors with libraries. It would have been tremendous if many of the teams of days gone by could have left such a legacy of images and writings about their work. The writing part is one of my favorite elements — Hurdzan writes from the heart, often telling us about the nuances of the clients, how he met the client, trouble with the design, etc.  Yes, it's a "commercial" for HF, but any record of one's work would be so.

[Geoff_Shackelford]

I second Forrest's endorsement. The production values are on par with Paul Daley's "Worldwide Perspective" book: high quality paper, top notch printing, and solid binding.

The Henebry's photography is quite impressive, as are the maps of the courses. The text I've read actually lends insights into each project, and while kind to the clients (as they should be!), the text doesn't come off as the usual ego stroking that we so often read from the usual suspects. Perhaps because Ron Whitten edited it?

Also, someone put a lot of time into digitally inserting flagsticks that were shaded and also a lot of time into writing the captions, a typically overlooked but important part of golf architecture related texts (since most people only read the captions anyway!).
Geoff

[Tommy_Naccarato]

I too am totally impressed the quality of the book. The photography makes me want to get right up and go to Devil's Pulpit right now!

It is clearly evident to me that H&F practices a style of architecture that is constantly changing. It doesn't seem that any two courses are alike. I recently had the honor of getting a tour of Desert Willow with Dr. Mike, and even those two excellent desert courses had their own varying character. If in town, (Palm Desert) I would highly recommend them over any public access course in the desert, including one I touted a lot here when it opened, Cimarron. Dr. Mike is a very talented writer.

One of the unique things about the book is that Dr. Mike wrote all of the text while Dana chose the pictures without knowing what he wrote about. But, there in the pictures are all the things Dr. Mike writes about! He explains in his opening forward, and almost apologizes if the pictures don't coincide with the text. They do, and it is all a visual treat.

Another impressive thing about this book is the quality. Real thick heavy pages; excellent photographs courtesy of the Henebry's, as Geoff mentions, excellent solid binding that should last well more then a hundred years, which is great for collectors 100 years from now.

Right now, it is being featured on the coffee table in my house, and it will more then likely stay there...a status that is held for books like Dr. MacKenzie's Cypress Point, the Life and Times of Dr. MacKenzie, Routing the Golf Course and Discovering Donald Ross. Few books make it permanently on the Naccarato Coffee Table, this is one of them.

[RJ_Daley]

I've always felt respectful of Dr Hurdzan after taking one of his construction techniques seminars at GCSAA, and maintaining his original tomb "Golf Course Architecture" as one of the ultimate references about issues of design where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.  And, his knowledge of turf is superior to most practicing archies, IMHO.  He is a very entertaining instructor and now I can't wait to grab up this book.  

[Tommy_Naccarato]

Dick, I don't know if they are selling it on Amazon yet, but I do know you can get it from the Hurdzan & Fry website, and if needed, I'm sure they would probably more then be happy to sign it too.