In the course of the past one hundred years golf architects have created layouts on sites from the breathtaking Rocky Mountains to mundane landfills and gravel pits. Scientific, environmental and engineering knowledge have been the tools of inspired course architects and dedicate golf course managers.
Accompanying this giant outpouring of creativity an exceptionally vibrant literature has evolved in the form of books and essays on the subject.
This beautifully presented and illustrated book commences by providing an outline of its history, highlighting the relationship between design and literary authorship. From the authors’ immense knowledge, experience and research the literature of golf course architecture is discussed from the 1890s to today.
The book will be of great importance to golf architects, managers, superintendents and greenkeepers and all associated with the creation, upkeep and management of golf courses. Historians, authors and anyone who has an interest in the history and design of golf courses will find the book an invaluable resource.
The written word becomes increasingly important as golfers enjoy the magnificent layouts created by North American, European, Australian and Japanese designers. These architects look to the literature concerning golf course architecture which adds another dimension to the game.
The authors emphasise the rapid evolution of the profession and the art form of the last two decades which is reflected in the world’s 30,000 to 35,000 golf courses.
The extensive bibliography is graded in importance by appropriate categories. There are detailed suggestions on building a library.
Geoffrey S Cornish ASGCA has been involved in course design for seventy years. During that time he has planned more courses in New England than anyone in history.
He has taught Turf Grass Science at the University of Massachusetts, conducted seminars on golf course architecture under the auspices of the Harvard Graduate School of Design and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. He is a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects and presently chairman of the group’s history committee.
He has written or co-authored half a dozen books on design including the seminal work, ‘The Architects of Golf’.
The education and training of Dr Michael Hurdzan ASGCA have all centred on golf and golf courses. He was one of the first to graduate with a B.Sc. degree in turfgrass science from the Ohio State University, and then added a M.Sc. and Ph.D. in environmental turfgrass physiology from the University of Vermont. His career in golf course architecture began with his first golf course design in 1969 and he is still practising the craft today worldwide. He is a past president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects, has written several books on course architecture including ‘Golf Course Architecture: Design, Construction and Restoration’.
Dr Hurdzan has done more than anyone to close a gap that once existed between environmentalists and those who develop and maintain golf courses.
‘Golf Course Design, An annotated bibliography’ is 208 pages and beautifully produced in colour throughout, with sixty illustrations. Published by Grant Books of Droitwich, United Kingdom, the card cover edition costs £16/US$26 plus £5/US$7 postage. In addition there will be a ‘Fiddlers Green’ edition, limited to just 75 copies, while the Cloth Limited Edition will have 500 numbered copies. The books will be available in the latter part of April and advance orders are now being accepted at golf@grantbooks.co.uk
Grant Books www.grantbooks.co.uk
A Bibliography of golf course design
