World Atlas of Golf: The Greatest Courses and How They Are Played. This item is unavailable.World Atlas of Golf: The Greatest Courses and How They Are Played

A guide to some of the world's greatest golf courses with narratives on how they were created, this book explores the science and history of golf course construction. It features 70 of the most famous holes and the players who have played on them throughout the years. The gazetteer section that complements the book gives maps, course cards and descriptions of a further 100 outstanding courses throughout the world.

Admit it--you've dreamed of playing courses like St. Andrews, Ballybunion, Olympic, Winged Foot, Pebble Beach and Royal Melbourne, right? You're not alone, of course; there's not a golfer breathing who hasn't. The World Atlas of Golf is the next best thing to a guaranteed tee time.

After a short refresher on the evolution of golf course design--"Not the least of golf's attractions," remind the authors, "is the fact that it is the one game that is played on natural terrain or, failing that, on terrain that has been diligently moulded so that it has the aspect and feel of natural terrain"--the Atlas whisks you around the globe to more than 100 of the world's premier golfing outposts. Each course is described in words, pictures, and, most fun of all, routing maps with detailed schemes of individual holes that should have hackers salivating. Histories are provided, anecdotes about great shots and famous players offered, and the best holes are analysed, parsed and dissected, complete with strategies on how to play them successfully. Some of the courses--Seminole; Augusta; Pine Valley, considered the most challenging in the known universe--are so private the only place to play them is in your dreams, but even there, golfers need an edge. An informed golfer is always ahead of the game, even when just sleeping on it. --Jeff Silverman