Patric Dickinson and his "A Round of Golf Courses"

[James Boon]

I needed a book to read on the train to London early this morning, something small, thin and paperback. I grabbed "A Round of Golf Courses" by Patric Dickinson and headed for the train...

I really enjoyed this book when I first read it, and was thankful to be reading it again today! It really is a gem of golf course writing, very worthy of Darwin's Foreward, and yet i couldn't help but wonder why such a great little book isn't better known (though I'm sure plenty on GCA do know of it) or why he didn't write more?

I looked him up on the interweb and found his Obituary from 1994 which I thought might be of interest to some here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-patric-dickinson-1410577.html
It doesn't though throw any more light onto why he wrote one excellent book on golf and no more?

Cheers,

James

[Jeff Loh]

Amazing book and writer. Do wish he had written more on golf....

[BCrosby]

"A Round..." is indeed a wonderful book.

Our own Mark Rowlinson actually worked with Dickinson at the BBC, as I recall. I hope Mark sees this thread and joins in.

Bob

[Tom_Doak]

I found that book in my local library when I was first getting interested in golf course design, when I was 12 or 13 years old.  The diagram of the Pit hole at North Berwick will be forever etched into my brain.

[Jeff Loh]

Could someone post his "diagram" of the Road Hole? I don't know how to do it but I think all on this site would get a kick out of it. Genius.

[Ronald Montesano]

I fifth the affirmation of this work.

[Tony_Muldoon]

I have a signed copy of his autobiography which tells of how he took up golf. It’s a fine read but sadly not in the same class as A Round of Golf Courses, which is my favourite golf book by a long way.

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Everybody should have a copy of his book. He comes across as such an intelligent and witty gentleman. I especially love his description of the last two holes at Portrush, something alone the lines of having to kiss an old relative; very funny indeed!

[Duncan Cheslett]

Thanks for the recommendation, guys. I've just invested 50p plus p&p in a copy from Amazon!

[Bill_McBride]

I found that book in my local library when I was first getting interested in golf course design, when I was 12 or 13 years old.  The diagram of the Pit hole at North Berwick will be forever etched into my brain.

.......especially if you've ever followed the unfortunate path of the dotted line!   

[Steve Salmen]

For each hole in the yardage book at North Berwick, there is pro's advice.  For the Pit, he says: Do not argue with the wall. It is older than you.

[BCrosby]

Has anyone read Dickinson's autobiography? - A Good Minute, An Autobiography of a Poet - Golfer. Or something like that.

Worth buying?

Bob

[Mark_Rowlinson]

Yes, I knew Patric. His daughter Ginny is married to the chap who was best man at my wedding. Patric gave up golf and golf writing when one day he found he could no longer putt. He put his clubs in the attic and never took them down again. I got to know Patric and his wife through Ginny, of course. Patric had been Poetry Editor at the BBC, but was retired when I first met him. I was producing classical music programmes for BBC Radio 3 and for some years the producer of an orchestral live relay was also required to provide the 20-minute interval programme. On several occasions I asked Patric to compile an anthology of poems picking up a theme in the music we were about to hear. I remember one very cleverly assembled sequence of poems mirroring the events in Richard Strauss Ein Heldenleben. Funnily enough that performance was given by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic conducted by Libor Pesek, who turned out to be a cousin of 'Redanman' who used frequently to post on GCA.

Patric and Sheilagh lived at 38 Church Square, Rye if any of you are passing. The house was sold when Sheilagh died. He always held a 'Putter Party' during the President's Putter, so he didn't entirely lose touch with golf - he had been a Cambridge Blue.

I have many anthologies of his own poetry and every Christmas he composed a new poem to send to his friends. I must collect them together and have them framed. I have before e'en now a letter from him dated 9th March 1990. He was suggesting another interval project based on what poets who did not learn Greek - e.g. Keats and Auden - made of Greek culture and myth. Sadly we didn't get round to that one. I can't imagine Radio 3 embracing that nowadays.

One of my favourite moments in the book is his description of the fairway bunker on the 16th at Ganton, '...your drive must carry a real Superintendent of a cross-bunker.'  

[Peter Pallotta]

Mark - as I've done only a few times before, might I urge a fellow poster to follow-up and take seriously some of his ideas.  Believe it or not, I think the idea of a piece on poets like Auden who didn't study Greek but who explored those myths would have a great deal of resonance for more folks than the BBC high-hats (and perhaps even you) might imagine.  I think there is a gropwing hunger out there -with all the blogs and bits and noise and disposability -- for deeper/quieter reflection....even if many folks don't have the language to express that desire. 

Peter

[Dónal Ó Ceallaigh]

Everybody should have a copy of his book. He comes across as such an intelligent and witty gentleman. I especially love his description of the last two holes at Portrush, something alone the lines of having to kiss an old relative; very funny indeed!

This is his description of the 18th at RP;

"If Portrush can be said to have any bad holes, I must record that I think the 18th is at any rate not a good hole! It is, so to speak, comforting, but officially comforting and without affection, like an income-tax rebate or the kiss of a strange aunt."

[Bill_McBride]

For each hole in the yardage book at North Berwick, there is pro's advice.  For the Pit, he says: Do not argue with the wall. It is older than you.

At some point -- unless you want to putt through the gap -- you have to confront the wall.   

[James Boon]

Its good to hear so many people also like Mr Dickinson's wonderful little book, and Mr Rowlinson had the pleasure of knowing him as well!

My favourite piece is probably this:

"... and the first five holes are more like seaside visitors than real inhabitants. They are good visitors; they wear the right clothes and behave with decorum, yet, so to speak when they strip for the sea they shiver, or laugh too heartily, and their arms and legs are white. Do not imagine however, that they are easy. Their character may be inland but their nature is seaside, like fisherman's children who have gone to make their money in the Midlands."

A poetic, humorous and very accurate description of the first 5 holes at a great links. See if anyone can guess which?

Cheers,

James

[Tony_Muldoon]

Its good to hear so many people also like Mr Dickinson's wonderful little book, and Mr Rowlinson had the pleasure of knowing him as well!

My favourite piece is probably this:

"... and the first five holes are more like seaside visitors than real inhabitants. They are good visitors; they wear the right clothes and behave with decorum, yet, so to speak when they strip for the sea they shiver, or laugh too heartily, and their arms and legs are white. Do not imagine however, that they are easy. Their character may be inland but their nature is seaside, like fisherman's children who have gone to make their money in the Midlands."

A poetic, humorous and very accurate description of the first 5 holes at a great links. See if anyone can guess which?

Cheers,

James

Hunstanton?  Time for some re reading me thinks.

[James Boon]

Spot on Mr Muldoon! Hunstanton it was.

There are so many wonderfully obscure descriptions within this book. And the sketches are equally eccentric!

Cheers,

James

[John Mayhugh]

I missed this thread the first time through.  Thanks to Garland for profiling Westward Ho! using Dickinson's text and to James for originally writing about the book.  I've ordered one of the paperbacks for essentially the cost of shipping.

[Greg Taylor]

Wow - great thread!

Mark, nice anecdote - and such a great little book, the style of writing makes the book a pleasure to read.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this from the very generous Mark Chaplin when it wasn't so easy to pick off Amazon... If it is now going cheap, I think I will order a few to send to friends who might enjoy it...

[Tom Culley]

I purchased a copy of this book the day i read first read this thread, today it arrived and i am so happy with it. Dickinson has a way of bringing these courses to life that i have never seen before in an author.

Scanning through the book i just noticed something interesting on the diagram of the 6th at Carnoustie.
For his two suggested ways of playing the hole, Dickinson refers to these as Tiger Tracks. Apologies if i this is blatantly obvious... but whenever i have heard or read the word Tiger related to golf, i have assumed it is related to TW. I understand that this was written years before Tiger was born. Having done a little bit of googling i am yet to understand why he refers to these as Tiger Tracks... can anyone help?

[Tom_Doak]

I purchased a copy of this book the day i read first read this thread, today it arrived and i am so happy with it. Dickinson has a way of bringing these courses to life that i have never seen before in an author.

Scanning through the book i just noticed something interesting on the diagram of the 6th at Carnoustie.
For his two suggested ways of playing the hole, Dickinson refers to these as Tiger Tracks. Apologies if i this is blatantly obvious... but whenever i have heard or read the word Tiger related to golf, i have assumed it is related to TW. I understand that this was written years before Tiger was born. Having done a little bit of googling i am yet to understand why he refers to these as Tiger Tracks... can anyone help?

Tom Culley:

You should read Tom Simpson's book, THE ARCHITECTURAL SIDE OF GOLF.  [Sadly, though, it's a lot harder to find than Dickinson's.]  Simpson wrote endlessly of certain classes of golfers, referring to the Tiger to represent the great player, and the Rabbit to represent most of the rest of it.  There are passages where you would swear he is talking about Tiger Woods, but the book was written in 1929!

I don't think that "the Tiger" was actually Simpson's coinage, I think it was used by some of the golf magazines of the day, and he just picked up on it.  Sounds like a mission for Dan King, if he's still checking in here.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Tom and Tom:
http://www.classicsofgolf.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=53&zenid=c200ff427883b57db37eda0dc94461d0

Tom D, I had an analogous experience, buying it in a local bookstore in the early 1990s when I was hoovering anything and everything to do with golf. A wonderful way to come to the book, in the pre-Internet Age.

Mark R, a treasure of reminiscences -- thanks for sharing.