There is one book that got me started; the book that grabbed my interest in Golf Course Architecture to the point that it became a lifestyle beyond a hobby. The World Atlas of Golf is that book.
Few of you may not know this, but this book also reflects the inspiration of this website from its very beginnings and now, the newest version. You should all be running out to go purchase it as soon as possible because this book, this newest edition may put the original finally to bed.
The first World Atlas of Golf contained writings from Pat Ward-Thomas, Alstair Cooke and more. They all seemed to entertain and draw you in.
How did these guys get to see all of these great places? Who do they know? Where do they get the time? These were the questions in my young, naive architecturally interested and now possessed mind. Well I still have questions, but more, how is it I can call all of these guys friends? Suddenly, some twenty-five years plus in time, I'm finding that the World Atlas of Golf is back in my life, even better, its my friends and acquaintances--YOUR friends and acquaintances that wrote the great majority of it. Maybe a better name for the book would be World Atlas of Golf-Supreme Edition because its almost as twice as thick as the original. That's right, there is more bang for the buck and the art work came out just as quirky as the original which captured my mind so many years ago.
Congratulations go to Mark Rowlinson, Tom Doak, Mike Clayton, Ran Morrissett, Daniel Wexler, Iain Carter, Rich Goodale, Martin Hawtree, Eric Franzen, Ulrich Mayring, Noel Freeman, and Ben Cowan-Dewar for completing a work of art from our times. This book will be important because it will inspire others, hopefully like myself to further gain knowledge of the subject we love best, Golf and the grounds which they are played on.
