From Publishers Weekly
Goodwin (Breaking Her Fall) brings a passion for golf and a fluid narrative style to his account of one man’s quest to create a British-style links course on a gorse-choked, craggy expanse of land on the Oregon coast. Mike Keiser was a successful entrepreneur whose company, Recycled Paper Greetings, afforded him the possibility of laying out $2.4 million in cash for what most people viewed as a dubious project at best. Goodwin deftly breaks down the differences between traditional, modern and postmodern golf course architecture, and relays the revelatory experiences in Great Britain that gave Keiser a love of rolling, sandy, seaside courses. He portrays Keiser as visionary, humble, generous and dynamic [Read More...]
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April 9th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
I am invited on a golf trip to Bandon Dunes later on this year, and my host sent me a copy of the book, with the thought that I might like to know something about the place. I took it on a weekend trip, with the thought that I might at least skim through it. I read the first few pages, and was hooked, read the rest over 2 days.
I was fascinated learning about what went on in the planning and building of the courses, the thought process of the people involved, the description of other courses, golf course architecture styles, all things that I had never thought about before. It is well written, and holds your interest well.
You probably need to be a golfer to really enjoy the book, but if you are a golfer, you will enjoy it. The author helped me realize that, as a golfer, I shouldn’t be playing a course because of the architect, or where it is, or how it looks, but should be playing it because it makes me play golf, not just hit a ball around a series of 18 holes. You need to enjoy the journey, not just look forward to the score at the end. I will never look at a golf hole the same way again. I will examine it to try to determine the ways that the architect meant for the hole to be played, and there is usually more than one. A good architect designs the golf course to challenge both low and high handicap golfers.
I note that the Publishers Weekly review complained that the author didn’t discuss the fact that golf courses wreak havoc with the land. I am sure that some do, but the people that purchased, designed and built Bandon Dunes obviously love the land. Without the courses and the resort, almost no one would ever see this section of the southern Oregon coast. Now, because of the resort, visitors get to experience the beauty and majesty of the area.
April 9th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
This is recount of passion for golf, from perspective of a successful greeting card company owner who wants to and does build a classical Scottish style course in America.
Starting in New Buffalo, Michigan, he through his associates finds just the landscape available in Bandon, Oregon. Then secures three architects to do three eventual courses, each of which has in common a shared approach to course design which is minimalist and takes what the land gives. Neat feature of this chronicle is that author plays each of the courses with architect and some of construction staff, so even if one hasn’t played this yet, feel somewhat what it would be like. So makes one plotting to take trip west to check this out.
Result is three rising courses on places to play lists. Truly us golfers can appreciate his approach, away with frills and it’s all about the golf, even in the accomodations.
How neat is it the approach that Keiser developed on his Dunes Golf in Michigan that there is set of tees with no deisgnation, and the golfer with the honors chooses the teebox, kind of golfing version of HORSE.
Keiser is certainly golfer’s course owner who wants the game to be the dominant factor, not a resort catering to all wishes, just golf dominated.
Great read. Those who enjoyed this might also enjoy one of my favorites: “Driving the Green” and “Bury Me in a Pot Bunker.”