[Mark Bourgeois]

For those who play golf and drink wine, the two gold-standard reference books are, respectively, the "World Atlas of Golf" and the "World Atlas of Wine."

In many respects, the two books contain similarities:
    *WOAG runs at 300 pages or so; WAOW clocks in at 400.
    *WOAG sets back the buyer L25 or US$30; WOAW is premium priced at L35 and US$50.
    *Both open with surveys covering history, evolution, technology / equipment, manufacturing / construction
       processes, that sort of thing.
    *Both literally are global in their geographic scope and contain gazeteers.
    *Both devote linotype to the courses / estates that deserve it.
    *And both are written by as fine a set of writers in their respective fields as one could hope to get.

But...

In terms of graphical presentation and breadth, WOAW is not only superior to WOAG, it's gotta be one of the finest mass-produced atlases of the last century, and the latest edition only burnishes its reputation.  All IMHO!

It gets the job done and then some: Despite its astonishing breadth, it does manage for depth, perhaps not to the level of the WOAG but pretty good.  We get topo maps, climate reports, leading vineyards, wine makers, styles, etc.

And so why can't the WOAG be more like the WOAW?  Three ideas I would love to see borrowed are:
1. Global representation -- presented not as individual courses, but as golfing "terroirs," such as the London, Melbourne, and Pinehurst sandbelts, Myrtle Beach, Long Island, Chicago, New York City, ZA's Garden Route, St. Andrews, even Paris, Baja California and the Algarve!

Or take Los Angeles (please!): a broad topo map showing us the "golfyards" of Bell, Thomas, Behr -- and Robinson! (Maybe the Ernest Gallo of golf belongs in the Palm Springs terroir...)

2. Regional topo maps showing the juxtaposition of the courses, the land upon which they sit -- coloration can be used to indicate soil type.  Perhaps the difference in scale between vineyards and golf courses might lead some to say the idea is unworkable; I say if the WOAW can sort out all the Chambertins, topologically speaking, golf courses would be a breeze!

3. More essays / more detail in the introduction.  Would be great to get more on the great eras in golf, as well as how to build a green, route a course, that sort of thing.

Golf already owns the "estate" book category.  Tom Doak's book kicks Robert Parker's "World's Greatest Wine Estates" cheese-sniffing butt. (It's a good book, though.)

Score it 100 to 89. (Or would that be 10 to 9?)

Mark

[Mark Pearce]

You did so well, then used Parker's scoring system!

WAOW is a really strong resource and the maps and descriptions of regions and terroirs are very good.  It also benefits from more frequent updating.  I'd love to see maps and essays dealing with soil types and architectural trends and topos of some of the courses would be interesting.  Regional maps would also give the opportunity to mention good courses which are not in the firmament of those which get big features.

[Mark Bourgeois]

But I used his own scoring system to outscore him!

Just think about it: a few pages would show where the courses sat in relation to each other.  Routing maps could be added here and there, for the really special courses. Or a pic or graphic here or there to illustrate a notable hole or stretch of holes.

One look at the Algarve section, for example, would give the reader of what courses were where.  It wouldn't be a "one-stop shopping" sort of thing; there wouldn't be room for contact information.  But these days, that just a Google away anyway.

Relating to your firmament comment, Mark, another angle to this is the reader would get to see courses that might be of interest to play based on their proximity to other courses, but that the reader may be unfamiliar with, such as the courses alongside New South Wales in La Perouse.

Mark

[tlavin]

I could make one that chronicles the vagaries of my life as a golf itinerant.  It might have to be entitled the "World Atlas of Whine", since the destination seldom is met with good game...

[Garland Bayley]

...
Golf already owns the "estate" book category.  Tom Doak's book kicks Robert Parker's "World's Greatest Wine Estates" cheese-sniffing butt. (It's a good book, though.)
...
Mark

Must I remind you that unfortunately Tom has not updated with "new releases".
 

[Mark Bourgeois]

The frustrating thing, Garland, about that book, as well as the MacKenzie book (have you seen the ridiculous prices for that one?), is the suspicion that that their going rates are commanded by the effective restriction on the dissemination of ideas contained within them to those who purchase, or somehow manage to find via interlibrary loan.  This is different from the scarcity of the physical books themselves commanding the price.

It's like the value of a house: there's the value of the land and the  replacement cost of the structure itself. You can always rebuild, but as the saying goes, no one's making new waterfront property.

I think the reason why secondary-market purchasers of these books pay so much is not the normal or "sustainable" collectors' rationale of the book as a physical, unique thing (land) but rather as a piece of intellectual property (structure).

It would be interesting to see what happens to the price if someone should reissue these books but of lower-production quality.  If the books as "things" are what's valued, the secondary-market prices of the earlier editions should remain largely unchanged.

IMHO, the ideas should be made accessible somehow (as ebooks?), and one way or another ideas "want to become free" as the saying goes.  Then those books can stand on their own for whatever "physical" worth they have, while providing a better market for the dissemination of the ideas within.

Mark

PS Bill Walsh's book has the same frustrating dynamics as the estate hasn't re-released the book.  To get the ideas published for the general public in the format of a book, one has to pay an amount akin to a consulting fee!

[Ulrich Mayring]

The problem is that there are precious few areas on this planet, where wine is grown. Whereas golf is played everywhere, so a World Atlas of Golf expanded to WAOW level would be many times thicker.

Ulrich

[Joe Bentham]

The frustrating thing, Garland, about that book, as well as the MacKenzie book (have you seen the ridiculous prices for that one?), is the suspicion that that their going rates are commanded by the effective restriction on the dissemination of ideas contained within them to those who purchase, or somehow manage to find via interlibrary loan.  This is different from the scarcity of the physical books themselves commanding the price.

It's like the value of a house: there's the value of the land and the  replacement cost of the structure itself. You can always rebuild, but as the saying goes, no one's making new waterfront property.

I think the reason why secondary-market purchasers of these books pay so much is not the normal or "sustainable" collectors' rationale of the book as a physical, unique thing (land) but rather as a piece of intellectual property (structure).

It would be interesting to see what happens to the price if someone should reissue these books but of lower-production quality.  If the books as "things" are what's valued, the secondary-market prices of the earlier editions should remain largely unchanged.

IMHO, the ideas should be made accessible somehow (as ebooks?), and one way or another ideas "want to become free" as the saying goes.  Then those books can stand on their own for whatever "physical" worth they have, while providing a better market for the dissemination of the ideas within.

Mark

PS Bill Walsh's book has the same frustrating dynamics as the estate hasn't re-released the book.  To get the ideas published for the general public in the format of a book, one has to pay an amount akin to a consulting fee!

The orignal Confidential Guide I have (brown cover pub 1994) was limited to 1000 copies.  Sure that has something to do with value.  As for the ideas contained in the book, Their Tom's candid personal opinions (something I respect even more after some of my recent conversations with folks on this website).  I would respectfully disagree with you, the book has value as a collectors item, and none of that would change if Sleeping Bear re-issued it or its pages where posted on the net IMO.

[Jason McNamara]

The problem is that there are precious few areas on this planet, where wine is grown. Whereas golf is played everywhere, so a World Atlas of Golf expanded to WAOW level would be many times thicker.

Ulrich, I am not so sure this is the case.  Best guesses I can find estimate 20M acres of vineyards, while 35,000 golf courses @ 150 acres each = 5.25M acres.  And the bulk of quality product for either list is found in roughly 10-12 countries.

[Jeffrey Prest]

Sad to say, I think it was inevitable that this thread appeared here eventually.

One of my favourite aspects of following this forum is identifying those points at which the gap between GCA devotees and wine critics all but vanishes.

We're not quite at the stage where someone describes himself as being tickled by the impertinence of Amen Corner but I suspect it's just a matter of time.

(Incidentally, if you keep going on and on about 'terroirs', does that make you a terroirist?)

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