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Philip Gordillo

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OT - Toolkit for writing a club's history.
« on: September 21, 2021, 02:34:23 PM »
During a brief search, I found some older threads by fans and collectors of club books but none that are solely devoted to helping members or committees as they begin to undertake this large and important work.  Since Golf Club Atlas has perhaps the largest collection of brain power in golf architecture and golf history, I can't think of a better group to advise potential writers (like me) on lessons learned and things you wish you would have known at the beginning of a book project.  Many clubs are also turning 100yrs. this decade so my hope is that this thread can also be a valuable resource to those organizations that are thinking about producing a centennial book.  In my personal library, I am fortunate to have great examples well-done books (such as NGLA), and underwhelming ones too (i.e. Pine Valley), but the large majority of clubs don't have that level of history, collection of archives, and/or budget.  So if you have helped to produce a club book, what advice would you give regarding length, budget, timetable, publishing company, quantity ordered, etc.?  What else did you find helpful as you went through the process?  Was the book well-received or did it just appeal to a select group of members?  Finally, any words of wisdom (or humor) would be greatly appreciated.




Thomas Dai

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Re: OT - Toolkit for writing a club's history.
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2021, 02:37:46 PM »
Photographs, especially comparisons of old vrs other/current time period scenes, usually say more than words.
Atb

Michael Wolf

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Re: OT - Toolkit for writing a club's history.
« Reply #2 on: September 21, 2021, 10:05:18 PM »
Philip,


If you go onto the Golf Historical Society website, you'll find a document in the non-member section titled something like "How to write a club history". I think you'll find the manual quite helpful. There are also 4 or 5 publishers who focus on golf histories, and they can also help guide you through the process.


I have a large collection of golf club histories, and I can tell you that there is very little correlation between the quality of a club and the quality of their history book. But many of my favorite books are the simple 30-50 page softcover books issued by smaller Irish and Scottish clubs for their 100th anniversaries.


Best of luck and please let me know if I can help with any specific questions.


Michael