Feature Interview with Josh Evenson on Links to St. Andrews is posted

[Ran Morrissett]

Individuals celebrate the holidays in all sorts of ways. A person very well known to me procures what he wants, wraps it and places it under the tree, only to feign surprise come Christmas morning.  Such action expertly staves off any potential disappointment.    Reduced anxiety = better quality of life!    To that end, the just released (and cleverly titled)  Links to St. Andrews – Love Letters to the Home of Golf will definitely be under the Morrissett tree.

Aside from the subject matter, the physical characteristics and quality of the book itself are striking. What 32-year-old author and publisher Josh Evenson has accomplished is remarkable and noble. He was not profit motivated but rather wanted to return something to the game and town that have been so good to him. How he set about doing so is highly unusual – and makes the book special. For instance, he commissioned (bullied and coerced are also accurate!) ten paintings from non-golf artist Michael Klein to illuminate the text.



How appealing is that! Four more of Klein’s works    are contained in Josh’s Feature Interview. All told, there are 400 illustrations in the book that help convey the magic of St. Andrews.

St. Andrews stirs great passion in so many and for diverse reasons. Therefore, the format of having over 100 people contribute essays is ideal. Everyone recounts in their own voice their individual experiences, leaving the reader free to meander about, picking at those perspectives that are most interesting. For a golf architecture junkie like me, favorite pieces naturally are by Gil Hanse, Mike Parsinen, Bill Coore, Geoff Shackelford and GCA regulars like Mike Nuzzo, Rich Mandell and Tom Doak. My next door neighbor, Jim Dodson adds his usual smooth prose as well.

I assume that the format has been used previously? Yet, I don’t readily recall when or by whom. I would wager though that no similar product was been so handsomely produced.

This month’s Feature Interview is part architecture and part travel log while tapping into the psyche of someone who has lived in St. Andrews off and on for six years. It doesn’t hurt to dream, does it?!

To order, click www.linkstostandrews.com 

Best,

[David_Tepper]

Ran -

Thanks for the interview. I have had the pleasure of knowing Josh for several years now and have always wondered exactly what he has been up to. Now I know! 

DT

[Tim_Cronin]

I had the pleasure of meeting Josh in Chicago on Wednesday. Great guy with a great concept superbly executed. This book is a keeper.

[Benjamin Litman]

Many thanks, Ran, for providing so much context to a book that already had my attention. I will be placing my order today.

[Joe Sponcia]

What a neat looking book.  Thank you for featuring it!

[David_Tepper]

Wonderful review of the book at golfdigest.com:

http://www.golfdigest.com/story/you-may-love-the-old-course-even-more-after-reading-this-book

[Howard Riefs]

Ru hosted a great podcast with Josh. Worth your time:

https://overcast.fm/+BWq8C65DI

[David_Tepper]

Howard R. -

Thanks for the link. Enjoyed the podcast as well.

DT

[Peter Pallotta]

Thanks, that was a pleasure to read and to look at.

The book is out of my league, and in discussing art I'm out of my element. But Mr. Klein's painting (included in the opening post) is just marvellous and lovely to look at.

It reminds me of John Turner's work, and because I associate both his work and The Old Course with the 19th century, the style and the content seem to match wonderfully well.

It feels like The Old Course-St Andrews as Myth, in a Middle-Earth sort of way -- not a painting of the place as it was "then" or "now", but as it is "always".

Peter

   

[Sean Walsh]

Great to see John Boyne's name amongst the contributors. A long serving caddie and one that was very welcoming of this particular interloper during my one season in the shack.