The Rating Game

[William_G]

a new book by Jonathan Cummings a long time GW Rater, writer, and traveler


foreword by Tom Doak

https://www.amazon.com/Rating-Game-Jonathan-Cummings/dp/1642936022/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+ratings+game+cummings&qid=1589502292&sr=8-1


cheers

[John Kavanaugh]

I wouldn’t read it if RoMo edited the damn thing. When is the audio book coming out?

[PCCraig]

Come on, really??

[John Kavanaugh]

Jonathan Cummings spent 37 years as a research test & measurements mechanical engineer and currently is an anti-submarine warfare consultant for DARPA. Cummings has long been active in golf as a travel consultant, journalist, editor and speaker. For over 30 years he served as volunteer and/or committee chairman for the Kemper, Booz Allen, Quicken Loans, Constellation Energy and Tiger Woods Foundation PGA tournaments. He has also served as executive board member for JPC International Golf Academy. Cummings spent 19 years as a Mid-Atlantic course/slope rater and is a USGA rules and rater graduate. He is an original Golfweek panelist (1996) and past panelist for LINKS and GolfStyles. He has played golf in all 50 states and in 35 countries logging rounds at more than 1600 courses. A member of the USGA, Golf Writers Assn of Am, Donald Ross Society, Seth Raynor Society (board member), TPC Potomac and Belleair CC, Cummings lives in Belleair, FL and can be reached at golfguydz@aol.com.


I've changed my mind and am buying the book based on the fact that Jonathan is an anti-submarine warfare consultant. Just the idea of a guy launching depth charges to try to pry loose the wallet of a rater is enough for me.

[Jim Sherma]

John - we’re living in ‘Merica 2020 - I thought expertise in anything automatically disqualifies you from the conversation.

[John Kavanaugh]

I've never pre-ordered anything before. It gives me a reason to keep plowing forward.

[Mike Hendren]

I once teed it up with Jonathan at Bandon Dunes and can attest he is a fine fellow.

More importantly, I'm wondering if I can get Doak to write a forward for my book that I never intend to write?   Hmm.

Bogey

[John Kavanaugh]

Rate his courses high enough and Doak will lead a toast at your son’s wedding.

[Nigel Islam]

I've changed my mind and am buying the book based on the fact that Jonathan is an anti-submarine warfare consultant. Just the idea of a guy launching depth charges to try to pry loose the wallet of a rater is enough for me.

John, I’m very disappointed. Depth Charges haven’t been used by the US Navy for years.

[John Kavanaugh]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_charge


So cool.

[Kalen Braley]

Interesting brief overview of ASW thru the years...


https://www.globecomposite.com/blog/history-anti-submarine-warfare

[John Kirk]

I'm excited for Jonathan.  Congratulations.  I've been known to rate a thing or two.

[Tom_Doak]

Rate his courses high enough and Doak will lead a toast at your son’s wedding.

I can't even think of the last wedding I went to, apart from our daughters getting married.  It was certainly back before anybody wanted me to toast them!

[Tom_Doak]

More importantly, I'm wondering if I can get Doak to write a forward for my book that I never intend to write?   Hmm.

It's "foreword", and I've written five of them so far.  But I do insist on reading the book first . . .


Actually this one came about the other way around:  Jonathan asked me to read the book and help correct any mistakes in the history.  There were quite a few, as you might expect since he came to the game a bit later than I did.  So, after helping out with that, he asked me to write the foreword.


However, I did not write it out by hand and text it to him, as Bill Coore did for his foreword for Getting to 18.




P.S.  For my new web site, I am trying to collect everything I've written over the years in one place.  My contributions to books were the easiest part:  most of them are up already at www.doakgolf.com/read/

[John Kavanaugh]

Rate his courses high enough and Doak will lead a toast at your son’s wedding.

I can't even think of the last wedding I went to, apart from our daughters getting married.  It was certainly back before anybody wanted me to toast them!

On the bright side of a quarantine. No weddings or graduations a fine June makes.

[Lou_Duran]

Jon was one of the GW raters I looked up to when I joined the panel (he vetted me on behalf of Dr. Klein) nearly 20 years ago.  I did not play much golf with him, but we ran into each other at various outings over the years.  I valued his opinions and greatly appreciated the many things he did to enhance the rating game.  He was also among those who understood its limitations and allocated an appropriate amount of importance to it.  Will be ordering the book soon.

[Mike Hendren]

This world is a better place because Cornell grads are willing to take the time on a golf architecture site to correct the spelling of those who graduated from Southern state schools.


I am walking tall today my friends.


Bogey

[Jerry Kluger]

Jonathan's father wrote a very interesting book on course handicaps.  It definitely made the case for playing all matches off the scorecard rather than off the low ball.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

[John Crowley]

Dated?

[Steve_ Shaffer]

You'll have to ask James Colgan, the author of  the article dated today:


https://golf.com/travel/ben-crenshaw-top-10-courses-world/

[Tim Martin]

Dated?

Not a one from the modern age.

[Sean_A]

Dated?

Wouldn't you expect Crenshaw to go all in on classics?

Ciao

[Tom_Doak]

The only ones missing from the list Ben sent me 40 years ago are Merion and Prairie Dunes . . . but, he only included US courses in that note.

[William_G]

Jonathan's father wrote a very interesting book on course handicaps.  It definitely made the case for playing all matches off the scorecard rather than off the low ball.

+1