Feature Interview with Chris Buie on his new book Life & Times of Donald Ross

[Ran Morrissett]

 http://golfclubatlas.com/feature-interview/feature-interview-no-2-with-chris-buie/

"A man in full…...’ is a wonderful expression and is what Chris Buie has conveyed with panache in his latest book The Life and Times of Donald Ross. This isn't just a story of a prolific builder of golf courses but rather something more interesting: a well rounded portrait of the man. Given Ross's reach and longevity, and with all due respect to CB Macdonald, Tom Bendelow and AW Tillinghast, it does seem that the crown of 'patriarch of the American game' rests most comfortably on Ross's head.

This 293 page, heavily illustrated tome has many tentacles. What will interest the reader? Maybe the non-golf version of how a Scottish immigrant made good on these shores? How about as a business case study of efficiency and in running an empire? Maybe it's his role in elevating the status of the club professional from working class to middle class or perhaps how the North-South Open was unquestionably the most well-run tournament of the day and became the template for the modern professional tournament? The burial ground under the 18th green at St. Andrews?

Especially in this age, I appreciate the timely reminder that nice guys can finish first. Personally I found the section on the Pinehurst School of Design to be the most mesmerizing. Just imagining Fownes, Hunter, Travis and Ross at one of their numerous Moore County gatherings after the turn of the last century is goose bump inducing, especially for those of us that live in Pinehurst/Southern Pines. I like connecting the dots of the game's origins from the shores of the North Sea to its global expansion. This book is a vital addition toward understanding how Ross, a disciple of Old Tom Morris, started a career in Boston, established a stronghold in the Carolina Sandhills and ultimately a legacy that reportedly had a200 - 300 million dollars of economic impact due to the back-to-back Opens in 2014.Well done Sir!

To a man, everyone as far as I know who ordered Chris's first book The Early Days of Pinehurst from Amazon felt that they received great value. Production values have been dramatically enhanced courtesy of our friends at the Classics of Golf. Here is the order link and the book starts shipping shortly: https://classicsofgolf.com/product/life-times-donald-ross/

I hope we can all support it, not only because we should but because if we don't support great golf writing and research, there won’t be any. This book was ready for publication over a year ago and I have watched Chris grind away to the nth degree. His never-ending fine-tuning and refinement of details probably cost us 20+ afternoon golf matches this past season alone. It makes my head hurt knowing how much effort and research was poured into every nook and cranny of this book.

In a Discussion Group famous for disagreeing about everything, the one thing that we can all agree on is this: Donald Ross's parents were wrong when they said their son should have stuck to woodworking!!

Best,

[Cob Carlson]

Great stuff. Along with the read, I can't wait to see all the graphic elements.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks Ran, and congratulations Chris. This is one that I'll be buying.

[Chris Buie]

Very kind! Thanks much to Ran, Cob (donaldrossfilm.com) and Peter.
Actually, there are many people to thank from GCA. Due to the inevitable memory lapse, it is probably not advisable to attempt to individually thank all those who helped. But, I'll give it a try - with very sincere apologies in advance:
Joe Andriole, Sean Arble, Bill Case, Bob Crosby, Michael J. Fay, Kyle Franz, Vaughn Halyard, Benjamin Litman, Jeff Loh, Richard Mandell, Mike Miller, Dan Moore, Eric Morrison, Melvyn Hunter Morrow, Tommy Naccarato, Jim Nagle, Sven Nilsen, Ed Oden, Gib Papazian, Tom Paul, Ron Prichard, Geoff Shackelford, Rick Shefchick, Joe Sponcia, Pete Trenham, Sean Tully, George Waters, Dunlop White III and Phil Young.
Again, most sincere apologies to those I've temporarily forgotten. Everyone who helped is greatly appreciated! Lastly, a genuine thank you to anyone who buys the book.

[Jay Mickle]

Chris,
It seems like years that I have been hearing about and waiting for publication. When and where will the book be available?

[Chris Buie]

Hi Jay! You're right, it has been a long time coming. I finished writing it a while back, but that's another story.
You can pre-order it here:
https://classicsofgolf.com/product/life-times-donald-ross/
The very cool bookshop in downtown Southern Pines has ordered copies, as well:
http://www.thecountrybookshop.biz/

I'm told if you pre-order, you should be able to get a copy before Christmas. I wasn't given an exact date though, so you can check with the Classics of Golf office to make sure:

845-765-6050
or
mimi@classicsofgolf.com

[Peter Pallotta]

Looking (on line) at some of the photos included in the book. The one of Mr Ross' house in Dornoch is striking. You look at that quiet, understated and functional/unadorned one story home and then you look at one of his golf courses and it seems clear that Ross never forgot where he came from, and certainly wasn't embarrassed about it.  A house that was a home, not a showpiece; a ho,me that served its purpose, nothing more or less. Lovely.


Peter   

[Benjamin Litman]

Chris is well known to many on this site, especially Ran. But my interactions with him in connection with his book on Ross were my first. What a kind person with a wonderful gift for both researching and writing. Reading early versions of his manuscript was an honor and a pleasure. I can't wait to get my hands on the bound final copy.


Congratulations, Chris, on this latest achievement. Your contributions to the game we love--and history itself--are considerable. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do.

[MCirba]

Ran,

Thanks for alerting everyone to Chris' exciting new book.   I've had a number of email and online discussions with Chris over the years and I love his passion for research and better yet, his innate ability to accurately process and communicate unearthed information with objectivity and an eye for the proper understanding of historical context and linguistic nuance. 

I just ordered my copy and eagerly await its arrival.

[Chris Buie]

Thanks much Benjamin and Mike! Both of you have been entirely a pleasure to talk with.
I'm pretty certain the book would not have happened without Golf Club Atlas. It definitely would have been a lesser book without the input of many from here. Every single one I called on acted like they had all the time in the world, even though they certainly had numerous other things to tend to.

As suspected, making a list of GCA  people to thank was kind of a bone headed move. I did (momentarily) forget to name some people. The most recent one who needs to be added is Joel Stewart. He was great and, by the way, he's the guy that made the Nicklaus interview happen on here. Sorry and thanks again Joel!

In Ran's deft interview we spoke about getting a visceral sense of the man from those who personally knew him. The link below will give you an example of that. It's an excerpt of an interview I did with Joe Maples. Frank Maples was Ross's No. 1 guy in Pinehurst and Joe was his grandson.
I still can't believe I got to talk to people who personally knew the man.

http://golfclubatlas.com/maples-describes-ross-voice/

[Norbert P]

 
Chris,  might there be a book signing event @ http://www.thecountrybookshop.biz/  ? 


  Beyond your highly anticipated book, I'm looking forward to a hearty meal and grog at the Bell Tree across the way. 


  Congratulations on your deserved publication.   


 

[Chris Buie]

Norbert! Thank you and yes we need to rumble around Broad St. again!
I'm pretty sure they're going to do something at the downtown bookshop. Not sure when it's going to be (late January?) but I'll let you know for sure. Something will probably happen at the Pinehurst clubhouse, as well.

Many thanks to Jeff Warne for having me on his SiriusXM radio show. He was great! 8am Sunday morning is not usually the most lucid hour of the week for myself, but I did the best I could, so there might be one or two interesting things in there. 
I'm not sure how to access it, but my brother says it can be listened to OnDemand for about a week before it evaporates into a cloud of digital vapors...

[Rob Collins]

Congrats to Chris! I look forward to picking up a copy.

[MCirba]

I enjoyed how Chris drew the analogy between the Philadelphia School and the Pinehurst School in the early 1900s and outlined the dual connections between the two groups.


He similarly drew interesting parallels between Donald Ross in the US and Old Tom in Scotland, who was clearly an inspirational teacher to Ross.

[V_Halyard]

Very kind! Thanks much to Ran, Cob (donaldrossfilm.com) and Peter.
Actually, there are many people to thank from GCA. Due to the inevitable memory lapse, it is probably not advisable to attempt to individually thank all those who helped. But, I'll give it a try - with very sincere apologies in advance:
Joe Andriole, Sean Arble, Bill Case, Bob Crosby, Michael J. Fay, Kyle Franz, Vaughn Halyard, Benjamin Litman, Jeff Loh, Richard Mandell, Mike Miller, Dan Moore, Eric Morrison, Melvyn Hunter Morrow, Tommy Naccarato, Jim Nagle, Sven Nilsen, Ed Oden, Gib Papazian, Tom Paul, Ron Prichard, Geoff Shackelford, Rick Shefchick, Joe Sponcia, Pete Trenham, Sean Tully, George Waters, Dunlop White III and Phil Young.
Again, most sincere apologies to those I've temporarily forgotten. Everyone who helped is greatly appreciated! Lastly, a genuine thank you to anyone who buys the book.

My pleasure to be associated with the project.

[Sean_A]

Well...I finally read Life & Times...it will now be on my 24 Inch Golf Shelf!  I too am impressed by the lines drawn between Old Tom and Ross.  More importantly, I am very impressed by the way Chris brings the humble character of Ross alive.  If you haven't read the book...get it and do so!



Ciao