In the tradition of John McPhee and Tracy Kidder, John Strawn's book is a brilliant analysis of how a golf course was built in the Florida scrubland and of the people who assemble for its creation. A must-read for any golfer -- or for anyone interested in how complex things come to be.

When the European sport of golf found its way to Long Island and took root in the Hamptons at Shinnecock Hills in 1891, its journey across the Atlantic served as the opening drive of a recreational era that now spans three centuries. Home to more than 130 golf courses, the area boasts prestigious American clubs overlooking picturesque Atlantic bays and inlets, along with public layouts climbing and descending the region's sloping terrain. Long Island is home to the most popular municipal golf facility in the country, the centerpiece of which is Bethpage Black, "the People's Country Club." Celebrated architects like A.W. Tillinghast, Devereux Emmet, Seth Raynor, and C.B. Macdonald built many of Long Island's famous courses, which have challenged the brightest of golf's stars. International tournaments and star-studded exhibitions have all been decided on Long Island turf, helping it grow into one of the world's most prominent golf settings.

Golf Digest's Places to Play is the only guide to the public and resort golf courses of North America and the Islands that you need. Packed with comments and ratings by more than 20,000 avid players, Golf Digest's Places to Play offers complete profiles of 6,000 public and resort courses; addresses, greens fees, pars and yardage; USGA slope and course ratings; caddies, carts, lodging, practice ranges, and course policies, as well as travel tips and candid appraisals by golf experts. Golf Digest's Places to Play makes it easy for you to find what you want, listing courses that offer great value, great service, great pace, and great conditioning, and comes with alphabetical and geographical indexes that make it a cinch to locate courses.

The revised, bestselling resource of practical, nontechnical advice for maintaining and operating a golf course Practical Golf Course Maintenance, Third Edition presents the latest information and techniques for providing first-rate upkeep and management operations for any golf course. This book's, clear, step-by-step coverage, unencumbered by technical language, includes critical advice on maintaining consistent bunkers, sand top-dressing and aerifying, pesticide storage, and other emerging technologies, as well as mowing techniques for greens, fairways, and tees and much more! This updated Third Edition offers reliable, state-of-the-art guidance and hundreds of helpful tips with: Major revisions throughout to address the latest information on computer- operated irrigation systems, new equipment for all aspects of course maintenance, water quality and conservation issues, and managing people A clear approach that avoids technical language and scientific citations while delivering practical advice that can be immediately applied on the course Coverage of all aspects of course maintenance from tee to green, along with guidance on managing the course for the rules of the game and managing the business aspects of course management and maintenance Practical Golf Course Maintenance, Third Edition is a valuable tool for golf course owners, architects, builders, golfers, golf professionals, club managers, and superintendents, as well as greens committee members, irrigation specialists, field managers, turfgrass specialists, real estate developers, and landscape architects.

In the early 1900s, Overhills emerged as an exclusive hunt club hidden among the longleaf pine and wiregrass forest, sandy roads, and rural solitude of the North Carolina Sandhills. Soon becoming the Overhills Country Club, this rustic retreat featured a clubhouse, horse stables, dog kennels, train station, post office, and a golf course designed by the legendary Donald Ross. At its height, Overhills boasted fox hunting, bird hunting, polo, and golf with personal cottages on the property commissioned by William Averell Harriman and Percy Avery Rockefeller. By the era of the Great Depression, Overhills evolved from a country club to a country estate for the family of Percy and Isabel Rockefeller, lasting well into the latter decades of the 20th century. Throughout its history, the resident employees and tenant farmers of Overhills contributed to a unique community in this private southern arcadia.

Critical reviews of golf courses in the northern United States and Canada.

Nearly fifty of the Old Dominion's public, daily-fee, and resort courses are profiled for golfers of every ability. Having personally played all these courses, the author describes each in exacting detail, lists courses by region, and recommends the best courses for both beginners and women. For each course, ratings, slopes, and pars for every hole are provided. Those of special note are examined more thoroughly, and advice is given on the best ways to play them. With an abundance and variety of courses, combined with a central location near the nation's capital, Virginia and West Virginia are becoming two of the golfing capitals of the United States. Golfing the Virginias is the only guide anyone will ever need to the multitude of courses found in the Old Dominion.