A Golfer's Five-Foot Shelf by Michael Thomas is posted I.M.O.

[Sean_A]

I finally got around to reading the "Living in Style 2008" issue of The Golfer Magazine that's been on my coffee table for nearly a year and noticed that it contains an update by Michael Thomas to his incredibly well written IMO piece.  I may have missed it, but I couldn't find any previous mention of this update on the board, so I thought I would pass it along.  New additions are "The Chosen One" by David Owen, "Evangelist of Golf" by George Bahto, "The Greatest Game Ever Played" (and to a lesser extent, "The Match") by Mark Frost, "Preferred Lies" by Andrew Greig, "Grounds for Golf" by Geoff Shackelford, and both "Legendary Golf Clubs of the American East" and "Legendary Golf Links of Ireland" by Tony Edgeworth and John de St. Jorre.  I could not find the article on the magazine's website so I can't post a link.  But I will be happy to forward a pdf copy to anyone who requests. 

FYI, the same edition also has an update by Mike Young to his "The Architect as Genius" IMO piece.

Ed

Ed

I would like the updated version when you get a chance.

Cheers and ciao.

[Dave Maberry]

Ed,
I would like a copy of update.
Thanks,
Dave

[Mike Tanner]

Thanks for posting this. When I first became interested in golf course architecture this article was one of the primary resources I used to select books for my present library. 

[Ed Oden]

I believe I have emailed the updated article to everyone who requested a copy.  Please send me an IM if I missed anyone.

Ed

[Chuck Brown]

These are all some wonderful and valuable lists.  I am reminded very much of an old series of reprint editions called the Classics of Golf library, put out by Time-Life (I think?) and which was a project that, if memory serves me, included Herb Wind as a series editor.  Sort of a "Great Books of golf", and since Mr. Wind was involved, was flawless.  I discovered Arnold Haultain though that series.  A remarkable similarity in all the lists.

[Chuck Brown]

Good gracious.  I hope I haven't insulted anyone here at GCA by posting about the Classics of Golf above.  Little did I know, until I just Googled it out of curiosity, that it is a going concern, with a website.  My presumption is that one of the knowledgable members at this site is way ahead of me on this one.  I was just a college kid when I first subscribed to the original Classics of Golf.  It was decades ago.

http://shop.classicsofgolf.com/servlet/Categories

[Ronald Montesano]

Fred, if you didn't find it, here it is:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/opinionmoore.html

[Ronald Montesano]

I take umbrage with his reduction of The Legend of Bagger Vance the novel at the expense of The Greatest Game Ever Played.  Although they both share the odious distinction of having been recreated as hideous movies (with TGGEP having a bit less embarrassment to shed), the inspiration for Frost's tome is grounded in fact, while Pressfield had to go far, far beyond in order to shape his links.  While Ouimet is certainly timeless, he is not nearly as infinite as the Bhagavad Gita.

One little volume that many should read is Flatbellies by A.B. Hollingsworth.  It is at times haunting, at times evocative, and represent in my mind the only coming-of-age novel with golf at the center.

[Rich Goodale]

One little volume that many should read is Flatbellies by A.B. Hollingsworth.  It is at times haunting, at times evocative, and represent in my mind the only coming-of-age novel with golf at the center.

How soon we forget Golf in the Kingdom....

[Gary Slatter]

Thanks for introducing Michael Thomas, love his style!  Now my wife wants to get rid of about 8 feet on my shelf!

[Tom Huckaby]

A few very interesting things here....

1.  I had to crack up at Rich advising me to use Yahoo search instead of Google... as many know, I later went on to work for Yahoo and became the world's strongest advocate for Yahoo search.   

2.  I wonder how several here would feel about Michael Thomas' addition of the Frost books... not that I want to re-enter that fight... but well.... those of us who enjoyed those books even recognizing that they ought to have been classified as fiction would now seem to have a nice ally.   

3.  I loved Flatbellies too.  But Rich is right... GITK certainly does fill the role of a coming of age book with golf at the center.

Anyway a fine trip down memory lane here... with a nice update....

TH

[ChipOat]

Timmonds was one of the great characters of caddy-dom although not everyone was thrilled to have him in their group as he NEVER stopped talking.  In his last years, he couldn't walk the National, let alone carry a bag, so he was given a cart to drive.  He would read putts from the cart - which often left his client underwhelmed.

Pat Mucci could provide more good color on Timmonds.

[Ronald Montesano]

I'll take umbrage with that one...How in the world can anyone with any sense at all of literature call Golf In The Kingdom a "coming of age" work?  It's not a novel in the traditional sense, whereas Flatbellies absolutely is?  Kingdom is part tale, part treatise.  The protagonist is too old (unless he is recessive) to be coming of age.  As I recollect, he was in his 20s, already of age throughout the world.  The Flatbellies gang is all teenaged.  In fact, as horny as Murphy is in The Kingdom of Shivas Irons, I'd call the second tome more coming of age than the first!

Funny story...stopped at a used book store today and found a copy of Herbert Warren Wind's "On The Tour With Harry Sprague."  Without you guys, I wouldn't have had the sense to pick it up, let alone purchase it.  Cost me all of $2, don'cha know?!  

[Greg Holland]

I love North Berwick.  Can anyone provide more details on the book Thomas recommended:  Alistair Adamson's In the Wind's Eye -North Berwick Golf Club?

[Bill Shamleffer]

A few very interesting things here....

2.  I wonder how several here would feel about Michael Thomas' addition of the Frost books... not that I want to re-enter that fight... but well.... those of us who enjoyed those books even recognizing that they ought to have been classified as fiction would now seem to have a nice ally.   

I too am not going to get into the Mark Frost fight; however, I will explain how I have chosen to categorize his books.  My golf library is at almost 300.  I have the books categorized into the following areas:

History
Tournaments
Architecture/Club Histories
Biographies
Caddying
Humor
Fiction
Essays/Collections
Compilations
Reference
Instruction

Some of these categories then have sub-categories, and they are then alphabetized by author.

However, I have now chosen to place the Frost books into the section just before Fiction, which I will now classify as Historical Fiction.

[Rich Goodale]

I love North Berwick.  Can anyone provide more details on the book Thomas recommended:  Alistair Adamson's In the Wind's Eye -North Berwick Golf Club?

Greg

A close neighbour who is a member at NB has a copy which he kindly lent to me in my preparation for writing about the course for the new World Atlas of Golf.  It has a lot of very interesting historical detail (e.g. the fact that the Redan was originally a 240 yard two-shot hole!), but is haphazardly organised.  If you ever get over to West Fife I'll knock on the door of my neighbour and let you have a look at it.

Rich

[Tom Huckaby]

Bill:

Re the Frost books, I'm just happy you (and Michael Thomas) put them on your shelf at all.  Many here would never do so.



As for GITK being classified as a coming of age book, I'll leave that to Goodale.  If he says it is, that's good enough for me.  I just know I loved that book... many here hate it too.

TH

[Dave Maberry]

Ed,
 Thanks for update.
Dave