I always like to read a fresh perspective on golf. Tony Dear provided that opportunity with The Story of Golf in Fifty Holes. Instead of only focusing on the history of architecture or the competitive history of golf this book seeks to investigate both.
It takes us on a journey from St. Andrews to Pinehurst to Bandon Dunes and many other courses in between. The book is a whirlwind around the golf world that has interesting tidbits about the history of the holes and courses as well as the competitive events that occurred on the links.
This book has a little bit of everything. I enjoyed that I could hear about Old Tom Morris, Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods, and Annika Sorenstam as well as the events played on these holes.
One additional kudos I would like to give to Tony is that he did not just focus on holes just in the UK and US. The book contains holes in Australia, Japan, South Africa, and Continental Europe, and China as well. For only focusing on 50 holes in the world this was a noteworthy breadth of coverage.
The book was an enjoyable read and one I couldn’t wait to pick up every chance I got. I learned a lot about many holes I had never heard of. I love being able to expand my golf knowledge and this book allowed me to do that.
Well done Tony! Pick up a copy of The Story of Golf in Fifty Holes wherever books are sold.