“A Matter of Course, The Life of William Herbert Fowler, 1856 -1941”
Derek Markham
Review of “A Matter of Course”, William L. Healy, MD
In “A Matter of Course”, Derek Markham presents a comprehensive and detailed story of the life of William Herbert Fowler, Golf Course Architect. One of the hypotheses of the book, which Markham goes to great lengths to demonstrate, is that Herbert Fowler’s high quality and innovative golf course designs have not been accorded sufficient celebrity and notoriety. In the Afterword of the book, Frank Pont, golf course architect wrote, “Herbert Fowler must surely rank as one of the most under-appreciated of golf architects.”
William Herbert Fowler led an interesting life, which included personal and professional interests in banking, politics, cattle breeding, hunting, shooting, fishing, horticulture, cricket, billiards, and golf. Herbert Fowler was an activist who contributed his substantial intellect and energy to serve as a volunteer committee man in cricket, government, billiards, and golf. In the world of golf, Mr. Fowler was an elite player, a thoughtful student of the game, a member of the Green Committee at the Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews, and a golf course architect.
Markham, and his publishing partner Philip Truett, tell the story of Fowler using a chronologic timeline, and they provide thematic sidebars, which enhance the tale. The writing is balanced and erudite, and the authors back up their prose with quotes, drawings, tables, and references. Sufficient images are used to promote the reader’s interest.
The authors clearly admire Mr. Fowler, but their story is an objective and transparent tale, which includes favorable and unfavorable characteristics of the man. Herbert Fowler was a bright, outspoken fellow who did not shy away from controversy, and Mr. Markham presents all sides of this complex gentleman with great clarity.
In examining Herbert Fowler’s career, it is interesting to note that when Herbert Fowler entered the family banking business, he was prepared for the position, and his success was assumed. However, as we learned, Fowler did not succeed in banking, and at the end of his life he was bankrupt. In sharp contrast, Fowler was not prepared to succeed in golf. He picked up golf at age 35 as an aging cricketer. He had no formal training in the golf business, and he was given his first commission as a golf course architect by his brother in law, to whom Fowler owed money. However, Herbert Fowler found great success in playing the game and in designing golf courses. From the time Fowler first rode a horse around the Walton Heath property to consider routings and golf holes, he demonstrated a natural appreciation of land and golf course design, which served him well for the rest of his career.
Herbert Fowler was an early “minimalist” golf architect, who let the land determine the routing and the design of the golf holes. A short list of distinctive golf courses designed or redesigned by Herbert Fowler in the UK includes: Walton Health, Beau Desert, The Berkshire, Cruden Bay, and Royal North Devon. In the United States, Fowler is best known for Los Angeles Country Club, Eastward Ho!, and renovating the eighteenth hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links from a mundane par 4 to an iconic par 5 finishing hole on the Pacific Ocean.
I enjoyed “A Matter of Course”. The book is stuffed with interesting information about the life and times of William Herbert Fowler, and it is fun to read. Having played nine Fowler golf courses, Derek Markham has stimulated me to play more Fowler courses.