Golf Courses of the British Isles

[Tom_Doak]

One of my favorite quotes from Ben Crenshaw is that one can open a book of Bernard Darwin's to any page, find any line, and be entertained by it.  If I was as competitive a writer as I was in other pursuits, it would really tick me off, because there is just no hope of competing with Darwin.

A question on another thread got me to open the book again and I tried out Ben's theory and here's what I got:

     "Cromer, like Felixstowe, makes me feel a very old golfer, because, when I first played there, there was a little ladies' course along the edge of the cliff, which has many, many years since toppled peacefully over into the German Ocean.  Later on I saw an excellent seventeeth hole share the same fate, and I suppose the poor first hole must go the same way some time.  It is particularly sad, because the holes on the down land near the cliff constitute the most attractive part of the course.  The holes inland, which were added later, are long and well bunkered, and have doubtless all the Christian virtues, but they are just a little agricultural and uninspiring."  



There is lots of debate here about whether any modern golf architecture can stand up to the best of the Golden Age, but there is no debate about golf writing ... there is nothing today even close.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Was there anyone anytime who was even close?

For me what makes him great is elusive balance he manages to strike in his writing. He is able to inject his personality into it without tipping into subtle narcissism. Neither does he make the opposite mistake of keeping his personality completely out of it and conveying a distant, authoritative and ultimately boring voice.

I can think of some who do a good job at either end of this spectrum but for me the only writer who comes close to Darwin in  balance is Dickinson, and he didn't write enough to make a fair comparison.

[Jerry Kluger]

That last line is priceless - assigning "Christian virtues" to holes that are long and well bunkered but uninspiring - another way to say that your work is boring but I am too nice a fellow to say that.

[Jeff Doerr]

In one paragraph I feel like I've shared a pint with Mr. Darwin and entered into his lament - brilliant.

[RT]

Tom,

Curious you should bring up writing - I was thinking of that these past days.  When we speak about academic courses or backgrounds to get into design we have never, or hardly ever, emphasize the vital importance of writing fluently, in grammatical correctness, and to be interesting and flowing in style.

Not in direct reference to Darwin's pursuits, but in regards to course reports, etc.

A noble element of designing - beautiful language and an ability to express, to compliment it.

RT

[Mark Bourgeois]

RT,

Apologies for butting in but your comment begs a different question: is there a linkage between design and writing abilities, like that between music and math in the brain? The process of writing is a fascinating one and I can see connections!

For example, both in a sense involve narratives, a progression if you will through time and space that intend to affect the person upon whom this progression is acted (ugh, how's that for poor writing!).

Also, both seem to demand a highly analytical skill. For example, routing a course may be like structuring a story or line of reasoning. Both seem to demand a spacial reasoning capability as well as logical reasoning.  Yes!

In addition to that analytical side, both demand  creativity skills, in that within structure there is room for many "forms." (Think bunker placement vs the form that bunker takes, and in writing the reality that the best lies not necessarily in the originality of the story structure but in the telling of the story and in the writing style.) yes yes!

Certainly gropius, corbu, and Wright could write, in golf what about Doak, Steel?

i wonder if the same regions of the brain are called on in the processing of these two skills...is there a neurologist in the house?

Man, someone ought to write a story on this...

Sorry, back to regularly scheduled programming.

[Tom_Doak]

Russell:

You are certainly correct that being able to write well is a valuable skill in consulting on older courses ... the right turn of phrase can sway people's minds more easily than a big plan or a public forum.  I have copies of old consulting reports from Tom Simpson (on Muirfield) and Hugh Alison (on Shinnecock) and they are beautifully written.

Beyond that, we both know that good communication is essential to the process of golf course architecture.  Some write and some draw and some talk with their hands, but somehow you've got to get the people building the course to understand your intent, or you are going nowhere.

[Peter Pallotta]

Mark B
as always, interesting thoughts; but I think you might be off-base on this one. I consider myself a fairly decent writer, yet I can't route a straight line in a sandbox with a stick. (Not that there's much call these days for that particular skill-set, which is fortunate.)

I think your earlier analysis of Darwin's strengths as a writer is spot on. I also marvel at how he can so off-handedly infuse the writing with depth and resonance while always keeping it so airy and buoyant.  He rarely seems to overtly or self-consciously attach "meaning" to golf or golf course architecture, yet one gets a clear feeling of his deep love for this pastime, and touching glimpses of how much the game means to him.  It's striking (and telling, I think) that Charles Darwin's grandson could find writing about golf a satisfying and useful pursuit.

Peter  

[Mark Bourgeois]

Peter,

Neither could I draw a line in the sand; however, the idea was whether the required skills use the same, or connected, parts of the brain.

Your point, an interesting one, might relate more to a quality of genius: that what are acquired skills for most of us are both innate and more advanced in this group.

So while the connection of mathematic abilities to musical ability or at least inclination has been observed, maybe it is not common but particular to a subset of the population. Genius is a weird thing that way.

Mark

[Rich Goodale]

Darwin was an excellent essayist, and a skilled crafstman, but I think that a big part of his charm for today's readers is the innocence of the period he was fortunate enough to live in.

It was a slower time when one could take half a day to travel by train to Aberdovey for a summer of golf, and report an event like the crumbling of the downsland at Cromer many years after it had happened.  I can imagine what the response would have been if there were an internet in his day and he had chosen to post that reflection of Cromer on www.golfclubatlas.com.  Maybe something like......

'WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE, Berney!"

[Tommy Williamsen]

I keep Darwin next to my bed and will read from one of his books a couple times a week before sleeping.  One of the things thtat generally strikes me is his humility about his own golf skills.  He was a fine player but you really would not know it from his writings. Was he as humble in person?  I wonder if being Charles Darwin's grandson influenced this humility.  If find him an intriguing but know only about him what he writes about himself.  I do know his love for Aberdovey and Rye and the poor sould who can't get the ball airborne.

[Lloyd_Cole]

For my money Dobereiner was right up there with him and I've enjoyed the Longhurst that I read recently. There is something of a void these days, but I'd suggest that Geoff S's blog is probably the modern day version of BD's essays and I enjoy that immensely. GS is not without wit - his Finchem text messages are very funny, especially if your not the commish's biggest fan.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Tom,

As a golfer he was known for having quite a temper.

Wind relays a few hilarious stories, for example one year in a match at Rye, the President's Putter maybe.

A good golfer, Darwin nevertheless found himself in a very tight match against an indifferent golfer named Speakman.

They come to the 12th hole improbably all square. Speakman half tops his approach but it manages to roll and carom, finally trickling to a stop right near the flag.

Darwins approach is nearly perfect but somehow takes a wrong bounce and ends up in a nasty lie behind the green.

This finally is too much for Darwin. He throws his club down and cries, "G*ddamn this hole, G*ddamn this course -- and you, Speakman, G*ddamn you!"

Apparently humility visited him regularly on the course, despite his reputation as a good golfer. Perhaps for the blasphemy!

Mark

[Dan Kelly]

Darwin was an excellent essayist, and a skilled crafstman, but I think that a big part of his charm for today's readers is the innocence of the period he was fortunate enough to live in.

It was a slower time when one could take half a day to travel by train to Aberdovey for a summer of golf, and report an event like the crumbling of the downsland at Cromer many years after it had happened.  I can imagine what the response would have been if there were an internet in his day and he had chosen to post that reflection of Cromer on www.golfclubatlas.com.  Maybe something like......

'WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE, Berney!"

Bingo, ForkaB.

I wonder: Do the British newspapers still have full-time golf writers who are allowed to write wonderfully meandering essays about their travels?

Who knows how many Darwins might be out there, slouching away from Bethlehem.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Fellas, check the history books. Darwin's period was hardly innocent; even Edwardian England was a harsh place if you weren't a toff.

Perhaps his writing was an escape, or he was blithe to reality.

Nostalgia ain't what it used to be.

[Rich Goodale]

Mark

For toffs like Darwin, it was a very innocent time.  That being said, I do wonder, as he was also a Dickensean scholar, if he at all noticed (or wrote about) the harsh realities of the lives outside of his charmed circle.....

Rich

[Tom_Doak]

Lloyd:

I did get to meet Peter Dobereiner a couple of times before he passed away, and I loved his writing also, but he wasn't nearly as sharp on golf course architecture as Darwin was.

I suspect Darwin was friendly with Colt, Alison, Abercromby, and some of the other great Golden Age architects in Britain, whereas there weren't many for Dobereiner to learn from.

[Brent Hutto]

This finally is too much for Darwin. He throws his club down and cries, "G*ddamn this hole, G*ddamn this course -- and you, Speakman, G*ddamn you!"

I must say that in our debased modern era, I have never been cursed nearly so eloquently as Mr. Speakman.

[Bob_Huntley]

Anyone who thinks that BD was humble, and without a temper is dead wrong. His opponents on the course were the enemy and were to be destroyed.

He also had a bit of acerbic humor about him. I may have related this story before but an R&A member passed him in the Great Room wearing the  most ghastly looking neck-tie.
Darwin approached him and asked, ' I say old chap, is that your old school tie or your own most unfortunate choice." He would have beaten Don Rickles 5 and 4.

Bob

[Mark Bourgeois]

Did he support Lloyd George?

[Rich Goodale]

More interestingly, was Lloyd George Darwin's father?

[Mark Bourgeois]

Really? Aberdovey IS in Wales, and DLG was a keen golfer...

[Rick Shefchik]

Trying to write a golf essay in the style of Bernard Darwin is like trying to write a detective story in the style of Raymond Chandler (believe me, I know.)

Both are of their time, and brilliant and unsurpassable as they both were, new times demand new approaches to hold the attention of the editors who select what's printed, and the readers who buy it.

Better to ask, who's writing now in a style so effective and entertaining that future generations will look back fondly and say, "Why don't any of our hacks write that way?"

[Rich Goodale]

Very good question, Rick.  Most of the most clever writing these days is in your face, smashmouth sort of stuff.  Maybe that does define our age....

[Jeff_Mingay]

You can learn a lot about golf architecture from Darwin's writings, in Golf Courses of the British Isles. It may be my favourite golf book, ever.

Wish I was home, 'cause I'd test Crenshaw's theory too! Unfortunately, I don't have the book with me.