[.ca] The Golden Age of Golf Design (ISBN 1886947317)

From Amazon.com:
One of the great mysteries of the royal and ancient game is how good golf courses leave players convinced they've just spent four hours either floating in heaven or stuck in the bedlam of a Hieronymous Bosch painting. A golf course is not a random creation; the best are truly works of art, and it's remarkable how many of the best were coaxed from the landscape between 1911 and 1937. This was, as the title of this lovely celebration proclaims, The Golden Age of Golf Design, a time when the giants of the craft--A.W. Tillinghast, Marion Hollins, and Alistair McKenzie, to name a few--were in full flourish. Their courses--Riviera, Seminole, and Augusta National among them--dominate any list of the best in the world. Through deft use of archival photographs, sketches, written citations by the architects themselves, and a series of evocative watercolors by golf pro Mike Miller, Geoff Shackelford aims for why these courses continue to beckon, challenge, impress, and endure. His shot is right on target. He breaks down the designers into their various schools of thought, tracing their import, evolution, and influence. Next he introduces the individual architects themselves through short career summaries accompanied by details about their writings, golfing skills, design theories, characteristics, and, of course, a list of their legacies. Best of all are the wonderful old photos of great holes, many accompanied by snippets of design philosophy from the creating wizard. It adds up to a book golfers should savor--and study. Knowledge is power on the course, and understanding the hows and whys of the demonic challenges that designers subtly and not-so-subtly integrate into their layouts can mean the difference between a scratch handicap and scratching your head in bewilderment. --Jeff Silverman

Golden Age of Golf:
A must have for anybody interested in golf course architecture. As great as Pebble Beach is today, you'll wonder why it was ever changed after seeing the old photos of it following Chandler Egan's work in 1929! Buy this beautiful book and you won't be disappointed.

Fine History of Classic American Golf Architecture:
This is a fine historical book that is a worthy addition to any golf library. Many of the photos are very rare and interesting to one who has "seen it all". My only criticism is that there is a wealth of information on Thomas and other west coast designers whom Geoff has spent the majority of his time researching for his other books. There is an embarassingly small amount of information and absolutely nothing new about Donald Ross. Geoff could be accused of mailing in this section of the book. More on MacDonald, Raynor and Banks would have been nice, but we have George Bahto's book to look forward to on that account. The book is very much reflective of the work previously done for his other books and his personal experience, but it still deserves a solid five stars.

A Perfect Overview:
This book is just a perfect overview of the old architects and their design work. I disagree with the reviewer who said certain sections were mailed in. At least to me, each architect was well covered and it did not seem anyone received special attention unless they deserved it, and the Donald Ross chapter was one of my favorites. It includes an incredible picture of the great Seminole course. There is not a single picture in the book I did not want to study closely, and it seemed that every architect included was there for a reason -- their work was sensational golf course architecture that we just don't see these days.

A Must for Golf Traditionalists..As well as for Golf Junkies:
A wonderful collection of photographs and biographies. All of these courses are classics that I can only dream of one day seeing, much less playing. The vintage photos of the courses provide a glimpse of the majesty of each course and Geoff Shckleford's musings and collection of quotes fill in the rest. Shackleford brought each of the great architects to life. What a great book. I'd love to see a follow up on courses in the West(including Hawaii).

A Classic Book:
The price scared me a bit but when I saw the book I realized it was well worth it. Gorgeous in every sense of the word. The ten or so paintings add so much to the book, but not enough to take away from the real heart of the book, the photos of the classic courses. The text is just long enough to give you information without being boring. I can't even think of a famous course that is missing, maybe Olympic Club? But there probably isn't much to see of it anyway.