Earliest Book on Golf Course Architecture

[Ed Oden]

I have a 1950 article where Perry Maxwell is recalling the beginnings of Dornick Hills and his entry into golf course design in 1913.  In the article Maxwell says "There was only one book on golf architecture then and I read it."  Now, he may have been referring to H.J. Whigham's 1909 article in Scribner's entitled "The Ideal Golf Links", which I know Maxwell read since he mentioned it in a speech he gave in 1924.  But, assuming by "book" Maxwell meant an actual book rather than an article, what book would he have been referring to?  Was there "only one book on golf architecture" in 1913?  Thanks in advance for the help!

Ed

[Tom_Doak]

There were single chapters on architecture in earlier books on golf by John Low and Willie Park, but the first book devoted to architecture was a small book titled "Hazards" by Aleck Bauer, published in 1913.  It's not a great book, but it's the first.

[Ryan Kelly]

As a relatively new member and someone who loves to learn and read, this is exactly why I love this site.  Thanks Ed and thanks Tom.

[Sean_A]

Is Hutchinson's British Golf Links not an architecture book?  Published in 1897.

Ciao

[BCrosby]

H. G. Hutchinson's Badminton book on golf, 1890, contains a chapter on how to design golf courses. It was considered by Fred Hawtree to be the first written account that treated golf architecture as a distinct body of knowledge. It's fascinating, btw. Sort of an ex post rationalization of Victorian inland designs. I've not found anything earlier.

There are a number of earlier accounts of golf courses. Including several on TOC. But they don't talk about architecture per se.

Bob  

[Mark Bourgeois]

I say it's this book:
https://www.archive.org/stream/bookoflinkssympo00sutt#page/n11/mode/2up

[BCrosby]

Mark -

Maybe. A lot of people consider MacK's 1920 Golf Architecture to be the first book length treatment of gca that's any good. (The Bauer book predates it, but to say it's not very good is to overstate it's quality.) The Sutton volume has a lot of agronomy, etc. But reasonable people can disagree about whether it should count as the first.

Bob  

[Ed Oden]

Thanks for the replies.  Mark, you could be right.  Since "The Book of Links" was first published in 1912, I wonder if would it have found its way to Ardmore, Oklahoma by 1913?  As for the Hutchinson books mentioned, I would think "Golf Greens and Green-Keeping" (1906) would be the more likely suspect... http://archive.org/stream/golfgreensgreenk00hutcrich#page/n9/mode/2up  

[JC Urbina]

Ed,

I had always heard that Maxwell had read his way into golf course design, I am curious where he got his inspiration for the famous Maxwell rolls he designed into his greens.

Was it an adaptation of what he had read about in links golf since he had not traveled to Scotland during his formative years or was it something he developed working on hillsides in the Midwest.

Would love to know how Maxwell came up with these very unique rolls he shaped into the greens.  I asked his son Press years ago but he simply answered "we built the greens by eye"



As usual definitive statements can always be corrected on this site.

[Jeff_Brauer]

Jim,

Told this story before, but years ago a faction in PD wanted to change the 12th green.  They called Press in Colorado and asked him about it.  On speaker, we could hear him counting on his fingers and then saying "Oh, I never liked that green."  Funny how many folks managed to speak with him late in life.

Here in DFW, some old timers at Oak Cliff recalled Press and by that time, he built what he called his "standard two (up to four)mounder" greens, at least according to them.

[Niall C]

Ed

While there might not have been a lot of gca books in 1913 there was certainly a decent volume of articles dealing with agronomy/design/construction issues in the various contemporary mags by various people including Simpson, Fowler (I think), Beale and Hawtree. I don't think he would have been short in reading material even in 1913.

It would be interesting to know though which book he was referring to.

Niall