Golf Books

Pete Dye has long been one of my favorite course designers and this book gave me some great insight into the mind of a master. I recommend this book to anyone who has played one of his courses and cursed Dye's name, it will make you appreciate all the design elements that you may have missed.

You are going to love this book despite if you are a golf lover or not. It's the story of some of Pete Dye best golf courses described in a chapter base. Those who know Pete will enjoy the book since it is like talking to him in person because of the simplicity of the words chosen and the graphical description that he makes of how each course was conceived.

The story of the famous island green 17th at the Stadium Course at TPC is one of a kind. I particularly enjoy the story of "Teeth of the Dog", a course that could hardly be replicated in history since it was practically built by hand decades ago at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic. It is not only the best Golf Course in the Caribbean -according to Golf Digest and many other publications- but also the birthplace of golf in the DR at this enchanted destination. I consider this course as the "Prima Donna" of the Caribbean and one of the top 20 in any most play list. I hope that in a next edition he could also include one of his most recent courses "Dye Fore" also at this destination which I partially saw in the book Caribbean Architecture: Exclusive Designs by Gianfranco Fini in Marina Casa de Campo and has a breathtaking view all over the Chavon Cannon, the Casa de Campo Marina and, of course, the Caribbean Sea.

Pete's book will help you understand why there is such connection between the player and his courses, how he makes it happened and best of all the anecdotes behind the creation of each one of them. This book is a keeper and it rating is 5 out 5 starts with any doubts. The pictures are touching; the text is like talking to Pete himself and; is a most for any golf aficionado.

Having played several of Dye's famous layouts, you realize this guy knows the game and challenges all facets of your shotmaking abilities (or should I say streches them.) Enjoyed the organization by layout. Must seem like real chapters in his life. Great book from a great architect.

Books by golf architects tend to be on the dull side for most people. They don't tell you a story of their development as architects, or how their courses evolved during the design phase, but just seem to begin and end with "see, wasn't this brilliant?"

Pete Dye is something of a mystery to many. His designs are "unique", which can be bad or good for most people. Where did his ideas come from? What influences him the most? What stories are behind his greatest feats?

In this one book, we get pleanty of answers, all in a tale that feels like you are sitting down and listening to it as it is being told. Even golfers tend to think course architecture is a dull subject, but hopefully this will change a few minds. Architecture isn't some great mysterious practice. It is an art, and the artist is often times less seperated from us than we care to imagine.

Some think Pete Dye's golf courses are tricky or too hard. The courses Pete designs are built to be fair but punnishing for the right reasons. Played right, Pete's courses offer memorable rounds to the golfer. Now, it's not Pete who designs the course but a strong team of Pete, his wife Alice and his sons Perry and P.B. (architects in their own right) as well as the site managers and crews that are hired to do the building.

You'll learn that Pete designs courses on a sheet of paper and this is where his skills lie - understanding the land offered for the course and knowing how the wind and terrain will match in creating a great experience. Courses like PGA West, TPC Stadium (Sawgrass), The Pete Dye Club, Harbour Town and many others are discussed. One chapter per course.

Pete talks to you in this book. It's not an interview but it is presented as if Pete is telling you his life's story.

For a golfer looking for lessons, these are a different kind of lesson - from the eyes of a designer (and historically gifted golfer too). You will play better golf after you read this.

When you play a Pete Dye course, you'll remember Pete's words and how Alice was a main contributor to the design you're playing.

Purchased after a program on XM radio's golf station mentioned this book. Excellent, easy read on the master of golf. What a guy in a different era. You can visualize the time and some of the matches. Highly recommend.

Terrific insight to Bobby Jones - while O.B. Keeler must have "dressed" up the final product, the sense that so much came directly from a young man barely out of his teens coming to grips with the realization that he was the most famous golfer in the world... Just compelling reading!

Great read, one all golfers will want to make, as Nicklaus suggests in the modern edition foreward.

Why return to an outdated time of wood shafts and limitef flight balls? One finds it in this read, the character and strength of this great amateur.

What impressed this reviewer was Jones' humbleness, and love for the game. He wasn't really into all the winning, which in fact caused him anxiety. Moreover he was into the challenge against Ole Man Par and himself. He relished the comradre with his fellow competitors and is most quick to give them praise rather than discuss what he didn't have in his game that round.

Neat to realize that his prized trophy was the first, which he thought was improperly awarded to him, while Alexa Sterling should have won it, no question. This is what golf is about, not slugging it 300+ yds. to screaming fans playing for millions.

Takes us back to what the game is and should remain. It's become far too commercialized.

Will take a honored position in my growing golf book collection to be fondly recalled and reread.

If you not only enjoy playing golf but also cherish the game's traditions and values, and if you could purchase only one book about golf, this is it. Whether or not Jones is the greatest golfer ever is a judgment I eagerly entrust to those foolish enough to debate it. Suffice to say that he was among the greatest players and among the finest gentlemen ever associated with golf. Published in 1927 when Jones was just 25, three years before he won what has since been designated "The Grand Slam", this is a book in which Jones (in collaboration with Keeler) invites his reader to accompany him "down the fairway" of a life as well as a game. The first eleven chapters review the competitive process until what he characterizes as his "Biggest Year." In the final chapter of Part One, Jones observes that, "I started the year 1926 with one glorious licking and closed it with another. And it was the biggest golf-year I'll ever have." Or so he then thought. In that year, we're told, "Walter Hagen gave me the first drubbing, and of all the workmanlike washings-up I have experienced, this was far and away the most complete" and later, "George [von Elm] was too much for me....He simply outplayed me. It was coming to him....It was George's turn. So the biggest Year ended, as it began, with a beating. Still, I'll always feel kindly toward 1926."

In Part Two, Jones shares just about everything he has learned (to that point) about the mental as well as physical skills needed to play golf well. What struck me, throughout the book, is Jones's candor. For example, "There are times when I feel I know less about what I am doing than anybody else in the world." He discusses putting ("a game within a game"), the pitch shot ("a mystery"), iron play ("I like it"), "the heavy artillery" (woods), miscellaneous shots ("and trouble"), and in the final chapter "Tournament Golf." The reader is provided with a generous selection of photographs, many of which I (at least) had not seen previously. "Early in this little book I made the statement that there were two kinds of golf -- golf, and tournament golf; and that they were not at all the same." When concluding this book, Jones acknowledges that he's been "awfully lucky. Maybe I'll win another championship, some day. I love championship competition, after all -- win or lose." What will it feel like when he days of tournament competition have ended? "It's going to be queer." Then he confides, as his "little book" ends: "But there's always one thing to look forward to -- the round with Dad and [other kindred spirits]; the Sunday morning round at old East Lake, with nothing to worry about, when championships are done." Three years after sharing these thoughts and feelings, Jones won the Grand Slam and then retired from tournament competition. Some people have expressed their preferences for those with whom they would like to share a "fantasy dinner." Were it possible, I would like to share a "fantasy round of golf" with Bob Jones, Walter Hagen, and Harvey Penick. Given the impossibility of that, I must seek their companionship in books such as this.

Bobby Jones shares his perspective on winning, losing, and his life-long battle against "Old Man Par". This is a must read for any serious student of golf history and tradition.

Want to learn about the game? Interested in buying a set of clubs? Get the guide and find out about the golf craze from the beginner level. If you want to learn and want to get a before the course intro, then this is an excellent place to start.

Easy to understand and filled with basic know how information. Also guides you through the golf club lingo and aids in smart club purchases. If the golf game has interest and also intimidates you, you will appreciate this title.

Makes an excellent gift purchase for the want to be golfer!

For a novice such as myself, I was astounded at what this book could teach me. From grip to stance to swing to rules, every page was entertaining and/or relevant.

I bought this book after walking away unhappy with "Golf for Dummies" (2nd ed.). This book is so much better, because it focuses on things a beginner golfer needs to know, instead of trivia we don't really care about. After reading this book I have improved my swing and hit as well as picked out a good club set with the help of the chapter on clubs. I'll read this book over and over again as I become hooked on golf.

I bought the book because I was interested in learning the game. I found it very informative. Covered the basics and stretching exercises to do before playing. A must read if you are serious about your game!

I purchased this book to learn enough about golf to play a game with my boss. This book and a couple hours practice did the trick. It taught me all the golf specific jargon, the rules, and the basics of proper swing and form. Whether you want to play like a pro, or just play well enough to keep from looking like a fool, this is a perfect starting place.

A wonderful work by Mr. Bahto. A must read for any serious golf architecture student. The photos and drawings are amazing. The chapter on National is worth the price of the book alone. Great read.

The "Evangalist" should be sufficient to re-direct the path of contemporary golf course design from its current preoccupation with window dressing and waterfalls to the structural soundness and strategic integrity inherent in Macdonald/Raynor's work. Devotees of this book will require hospitalization the next time they hear the hot architect of the day say that he doesn't want to adapt old principles when there are "so many new strategies yet to be developed".

Not QUITE the usual coffee-table sized book, this rich volume taught me more about golf course architecture - really, the thought behind a thinking-player's course - than anything else I've read. Yes, it's a professional biography of one architect, with a lot about his protege, Seth Raynor, but MacDonald was the consummate perfectionist, studying the subject and contemplating his creations perhaps more deeply than anyone else.

The result of his research and reflection was a career marked by the quality rather than the quantity of his work. His courses are timeless, incorporating a similar "menu" of classic holes modified and improved to fit the local terrain and prevailing conditions.

Bahto's account of MacDonald's life and work is refreshingly frank and conversational. He makes no attempt to gloss over MacDonald's cranky arrogance, perhaps because such a temperament is so often linked to genuis. In my opinion this gives the text extra credibility, as do Bahto's wonderfully precise schematic diagrams of so many of MacDonald's creations.

My only complaint is that the quality of the photographs is very uneven and often poor. It's a shame that the publisher couldn't have waited a year or two and sent a professional to shoot the holes with a high-res camera in good light. I wouldn't have wanted to see calendar-style glossies, but I would have enjoyed higher contrast, less grainy photographs to match the clear and illuminating prose.

Despite this minor quibble I'm giving the book a top rating, for it illustrates the Purpose behind deliberate, elegant - yet always playful - golf course design at its highest level. If you can, give this to someone who loves golf and takes it seriously. It would be a wonderful way of showing them how much you appreciate their passion for the game.

This is an awesome review of C.B. MacDonald but is mainly a book about the road to creating the National Golf Links.

Of course, there's a healthy dose of Raynor as well, but this makes complete sense. Whereas MacDonald would create the course designs and plans, Raynor would most often turn around and handle the course development.

I think the research and the writing behind this from Bahto is most excellent + no sugar coating. Simple honest unbiased delivery of what happened and how, but even more importantly you will "know" the National.

Picture wise, I thought the historical pics were very interesting. However, I thought it was rather difficult to match up any "pre" and "post" pics for any of the changes that took place to any of the holes being described. Furthermore, there were several recent color pics that were repeated in various sections. Unfortunately, I didn't think several of the pictures conveyed what the text was trying to explain at times. Few angles were used to show by pictures what was making each and every hole so special.

Other than that, I highly recommend this book for its content. Very well done overall. Above all, the description of each hole and how they work together to create a seamless golfing experience is the best I've read thus far. The supporting hole drawings help as well to complete the course visualizing. I just think I could visit the National tomorrow and would be as ready as possible to play it from a course management perspective. You just sense you'd know what to look out for and appreciate.

There's also a strong review of the Yale course and I think the Lido review, although brief, was most interesting. What a course the Lido must have been to play.

Excellent.

The "Evangalist" should be sufficient to re-direct the path of contemporary golf course design from its current preoccupation with window dressing and waterfalls to the structural soundness and strategic integrity inherent in Macdonald/Raynor's work. Devotees of this book will require hospitalization the next time they hear the hot architect of the day say that he doesn't want to adapt old principles when there are "so many new strategies yet to be developed".

This is a book that makes golf history a real pleasure to readabout. Lots of interesting stories from the games history, along withsome great photos of old golfing memorabilia, make this a must buy forany self respecting golfer. I loved it.

Bought this book as a present for a golfing buddy then decided to buy one for myself. Wonderful old pics, interesting read, enjoyed it very much.

Bought this golfing book a few days ago. Haven't put it down yet. Each time I pick it up I find something new. Excellent.

Really liked this book especially the old golf photos in the "Wide World of Golf" section. Have recommended this book to my golfing buddies.

Really liked this book by Dale Concannon. Cool photographs of old golfers with excellent captions helping with who, what, where and in some cases why! The book is also broken down into nice managable chapters which actually make golf history a real joy to read about. Should win some type of award.

Coupled with coaching by a golf professional, this book by Jack Nicklaus has been a highly effective guide to my learning. It is well-written and helpfully illustrated. Nicklaus is as good an explainer as he is a golfer.

I ordered the book as a gift and it was just like new when I received it.

Extremely detailed . You need to really concentrate when reading this book. I recommend you read one chapter then implement it in your game before going to the next. by the end of the book your game would have improved!

I heard about this book after having played golf for 12 years. I wish I had gotten it back when I first started. It has all the basic fundamentals one should know and is very easy to read and apply to your game. The book helped me understand the golf swing much better and in more detail then ever before. For the price you must get this book.

I used the original parts of this book as released by Golf Digest in the 70's and later. This book is updated and includes essential components covering all aspects of the basics and beyond. Nicklaus is excellent at describing the comprehensive components of the golf swing in general and with the various situations you'll find yourself in around the course.

Jack Nicklaus isn't usually thought of as one of the all time great instructors, but his constant attention throughout his life to the game, the swing, the equipment and to instructors, means that he has a "Top 10" ability as an instructor to get the ideas across clearly, and to help you avoid pitfalls. Many instructors are just not so fully aware of the scope of the related issues. Jack had to. He had to play and his intention was to win. Nothing was left to guesswork.

I find that Nicklaus' description of the full swing is essential to understanding the various points in the swing IN MOTION. He doesn't need gadgets, he uses diagrams and sketches to show you. He's always dealing with how one thing leads to another. The golf swing is not just the person, it's weight shift, the club in relation to the hands, the path of the club, and a few abstract concepts that Nicklaus is excellent at keeping clear and meaningful.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to all golfers who have handicaps greater than about 2. Take these instructions, run them through 100 shots on the course and realize how a leading, proven, brilliant golfer and instructor can point out a few things that could help you. For anyone starting the game, for anyone who has reached a sticking point and can't seem to improve, and for those who want to have more fun and just hit the ball cleanly more and don't really worry about the score......all of you will gain a great deal by getting the information in this book.

Women: Nicklaus deals with the game of golf and the swing from the basics onward. I've seen plenty of women golf and an really happy with the LPGA quality. Get this book and take it to the practice range and then take notes onto the course. Nicklaus has a well-balanced approach to the entire game and he communicates brilliantly. If you find something that he says doesn't quite match how you swing or something like that, at least you have bounced an idea of the all-time greatest player, and then when you talk to another instructor who can deal with you personally, you have a FAR CLEARER idea of some issues you can improve and how to deal with them. So, no, Nicklaus' book, for women, isn't 100% applicable, but I'd bet it's at least 95% applicable! His approach is so time-tested and he is very well informed about all aspects of the swing, the clubs, the variety of people's swing styles, builds, the equipment and the situations on the course that you can't go wrong here.

I had heard good comments about Golf, Wit and Wisdom by Lou Romano, and could not wait to read a copy. I ordered it online and in a few days, my copy of Golf, Wit and Wisdom arrived at my front door, complete with the author's signature. I immediately began to read it and realized it is a facutual, insightful book on golf. Although I was first skeptical of Mr. Romano's facts, I personally went to the USGA headquarters and verified all the information I could - he surely did his research. In addition, the book has made for excellent talk on the golf course-knowing what to talk about, and becoming more knowledgable about the game we all love, golf.

This book is a must read for all Golf widows. The section on Golf terms can make an outsider sound informed. Anyone who enjoys watching Golf on TV would enjoy it that much more.

This book is exactly as the title reads - Wit and Wisdom. It is not only humorous but quite informative. I'm not a scratch golfer but I love playing the game and learned more about the game by reading this book. I would recommend this book for beginners and pros! You will find yourself chuckling throughout the book.

Great read!

This is a really fun and informative book. Everyone at all interested in golf should have a copy. Golf Widows should better understand the attraction of golf as well as be better informed so that they can talk about their partners game. The listing of golf terms is worth the price of the book.

Golf Wit and Wisdom is a fast, fun and informative read about golf. Lou Romano helps us all understand the ins and the outs of golf. This game is hard enough just hitting the ball, this book answers the often obscure questions about the game that we all face. From the history of the game, to the construct of a golf ball - what is compression? Further, Lou puts his personal views on these facts which makes the read a light and fun one. I recommend this book to new golfers, particularly people married to golfers. It helps explain the wierd and wacky people we have become.

Thanks to Lou for explaining the unexplained.

The self evaluation is very insightful if you're honest with yourself.

I guess it is a little self-centered of me to think that anyone else cares where my tee shot goes. The book sure helps put things into perspective. I'm ready to read it again.

This tightly written little gem of a book is packed full of interesting insights about the mental side of the game. Mr. Shapiro draws on material ranging from clinical psychology to zen, and from Hogan, Nicklaus & Woods to the double-digit handicappers most of us are more intimately familiar with in shaping a realistic and workable strategy for golfers of all abilities to not only get the most out of their golf games but to find more balanced lives away from the course. I highly recommend it.

This is the 3rd book on Mental Golf that I have read, and by far the best. The author provides a great test (similar to Myers-Briggs) that helps to focus on 6 areas that can be improved mentally. Each of these areas then has a chapter that has golf-related ideas (instead of some other books that provide overall life changing fixes...yuck) to get over the mental hurdles. For me, Hazard 5 (control freak) and 4 (trying to live up to other's expectations) were right on the money as far as the test scores then the anecdotes. I now have alot of new, useful golf-related ideas to try. Thanks!

One of those "little" books that turns out to be a gem of wisdom "Golf's Mental Hazards" is a book that will definitely inform your game, whether it's the game of golf or the game of life. A clincal psychologist, Dr. Shapiro employs a deft and insightful quiz to help the golfer establish his/her personality profile and then uses the profiles to point out strategies to improve the game. The book can be read as a straight "how-to" on the game of golf (and this avid duffer clearly knows and loves the game) but it also delves deeper into strategies that can inform and enhance the golfer's life when off the links, as well. Calling upon such eclectic references as Zen, Existentialist Psychology and death anxiety, Dr. Shapiro weaves together a philosophy of golf, and of living, that will expand the mind and spirit as much as it enhances the game. Delivered with both elegant insights and the rollicking style of a stand-up comic,"Golf's Mental Hazards" is a thoughtful, funny, delightful, and very helpful book, destined to become a classic in the literature of golf.

There is something for everyone here who ever steps on the golf course. From Dr. Shapiro's simple mental profile you take to his six chapters focusing on golfers traits Dr. Shapiro will find something for everyone; even you Tiger Woods. Don't go looking for any other book to begin your journey into the mental side of golf. This is a must for every golfers library.

Bill makes reading fun and very informative in this book. The personal stories and reflections make this a book hard to put down except for the fact you want to go out and try his suggestions.

Golf can be very frustrating at times but Bill's book has taken a lot of the frustration out of the game for me. Thanks

This book is a must for learning how to take your game to the next level. Easy to read and loaded with great stories and ways to become a really good player without mumbo jumbo. This is the real thing for learning to play great golf!

I recommend this book for golfers at all levels. Unlike some other "how to" books I've read, it is well written. It makes you think about why you play golf and suggests that improving your mental approach is as important as improving your mechanical skills. I loved the descriptions of behaviors observed at the driving range. I look forward to better scores and to Mr. Kroen's next book.

Bill and I have played golf over the last winter down in the Treasure Coast of Florida. I was one of those people hung up on mechanics - striving to regain my lost distance and capability as a former 9 handicap. After meeting Bill - and having him look at my swing during one practice session, Bill focused not on what I thought was wrong - but on what he saw. He gave me a drill to use to insure that I made a turn but kept balanced - and lo and behold my handicap started dropping - and now is approaching my former levels. ( I am now 65)

Bill's book reads like the man I know who so easily helped me. Read it and you may get to be as good as you want to be.

Dave Friedman

Just finished reading Bill's new book, "Golf: How Good Do You Want to Be?".

I'm impressed. I gotta level with ya, not very many instructional golf books that I buy end up getting read all the way through. Somewhere in the midst of planes, angles, and differing philosophies, I tend to drastically lose interest. And most all of them fail to address what most of us agree to be the most important area in golf -- the mental aspects of the game. Well, Bill has done a wonderful job of not only providing the reader with an excellent mental foundation to build upon, but also touching on the basic fundamentals and principles of the swing and 'golf wellness.'

I've experienced some quality golf the past few rounds, and it's not just a coincidence that this came after reading some of Bill's insight to something that has been a nagging nuisance in my own game the past few years -- maintaining a mental edge for the entire 18 holes. While some of the consistency may have been lacking in my game, I was able to exercise some of the principles he outlined to keep focused. What normally would be average rounds turned out to be better than average results. Monday saw the resurgance of what used to be a very tidy short game. I had one of the best putting rounds in over a year, and actually tied my 9 hole personal best with only 12 putts on the back nine. Then today, I set a new personal best with only 11 putts on the back, 26 putts total for the round.

And it just hasn't been with the putting.... I'm not known to be a long baller. If I can get 230-240, I'm more than content most days. Monday was undoubtedly the best tee game I've had in years, and hit some of the longest, straightest balls off the tee that I've hit in years. I would estimate that my driving averages the past three rounds have increased in both fairways hit and total driving distance. All of a sudden those 400+ yard par4's aren't that long.

The information that Bill has translated through this book has been digested and applied. I didn't change my swing, just changed my way of thinking, planning, and preparing. Whether you're a twice a month or twice a week player, beginner or seasoned, I would higly recommend you check it out if you're serious about improving in the game.

Thanks, Bill!
Scott

This "coffee table" style book works for me because of my passion for golf and my love for famous golf courses. Linda Hartough may be the best landscape artist I've seen in rendering these classic courses with the precision of modern day photography.

What I really got out of this book was a memory recollection of playing a majority of these courses. Looking at these paintings I was thrown into the distant memory of playing Pebble Beach, Olympic Club (Lake Course), Carnoustie, St. Andrews (Old Course), Royal Lytham, Royal Birkdale, and Royal Troon. It was like de ja vu all over again!

Also worth checking out are the Augusta National paintings. This might be her finest work. I especially liked her work on hole #'s 10,11,12, and 15. Augusta is the best course in the world. Second to none.

If Linda Hartough ever publishes paintings of the century old courses of Ireland, in particular the courses designed by Old Tom Morris and Alister Mackenzie; I will buy it. I would really like to see her render and paint the "classic" Irish courses of Ballybunion, Lahinch, Ardglass, Royal Portrush, Newcastle, and Royal County Down. Those classic links style courses are some of the finest on the earth.

Hallowed Ground is a beautiful book, capturing spectacular locations from the greatest courses in both America and the United Kingdom.
Included in this hardback collection of art by Linda Hartough is the fabled 7th hole at Pebble Beach, and many holes from Augusta National's Amen Corner. Pieces on each course by Jaime Diaz highlight battles that have taken place on the fairways, and give life to the paintings as showdowns on 18th greens are described.
What makes this book interesting is that when you see the life-like paintings and read about the classic golf that has gone on in that scene, you are able to put yourself in the picture. It is amazing to be able to watch the final round of the 1981 US Open just by reading this book.
To a true fan of golf, or anyone who loves a good coffee table book, Hallowed Grounds is a perfect edition to your collection. Buy this book today, and put yourself in the picture!

This "coffee table" style book works for me because of my passion for golf and my love for famous golf courses. Linda Hartough may be the best landscape artist I've seen in rendering these classic courses with the precision of modern day photography.

What I really got out of this book was a memory recollection of playing a majority of these courses. Looking at these paintings I was thrown into the distant memory of playing Pebble Beach, Shinnecock Hills, Winged Foot, Olympic Club, Carnoustie, St. Andrews (Old Course), Royal Lytham, Royal Birkdale, and Royal Troon. It was like de ja vu all over again!

Also worth checking out are the Augusta National paintings. This might be her finest work. I especially liked her work on hole #'s 10,11,12, and 15. Augusta is the best course in the world. Second to none. Her painting here is some of her finest work also.

If Linda Hartough ever publishes paintings of the century old courses of Ireland, in particular the courses designed by Old Tom Morris and Alister Mackenzie , I will buy it. I would really like to see her render and paint the "classic" Irish courses of Ballybunion, Lahinch, Ardglass, Royal Portrush, Newcastle, and Royal County Down. Those classic links style courses are some of the finest on this planet and really bring back fond memories of my playing days.

This "coffee table" style book works for me because of my passion for golf and my love for famous golf courses. Linda Hartough may be the best landscape artist I've seen in rendering these classic courses with the precision of modern day photography.

What I really got out of this book was a memory recollection of playing a majority of these courses. Looking at these paintings I was thrown into the distant memory of playing Pebble Beach, Shinnecock Hills, Winged Foot, Olympic Club, Carnoustie, St. Andrews (Old Course), Royal Lytham, Royal Birkdale, and Royal Troon. It was like de ja vu all over again!

Also worth checking out are the Augusta National paintings. This might be her finest work. I especially liked her work on hole #'s 10,11,12, and 15. Augusta is the best course in the world. Second to none. Her painting here is some of her finest work also.

If Linda Hartough ever publishes paintings of the century old courses of Ireland, in particular the courses designed by Old Tom Morris and Alister Mackenzie , I will buy it. I would really like to see her render and paint the "classic" Irish courses of Ballybunion, Lahinch, Ardglass, Royal Portrush, Newcastle, and Royal County Down. Those classic links style courses are some of the finest on this planet and really bring back fond memories of my playing days.

I was fortunate to have the Golf Channel on a few months ago. Linda Hartough, the artist featured in this book was on with a few of her originals. I immediately purchased the book. After browsing the book 3 or 4 times, taking in her breathtaking artwork, I decided to read a few of the writings by Jaime Diaz on some of my favorite courses. The writings are as enjoyable as the artwork. This book should become required reading for anyone playing the game, especially for golfers new to the game. They would gain a greater appreciation for golf. Thank you Linda Hartough and Jaime Diaz