Golfing News & Blog Articles

Errors in play should be severely punished in finding hazards, but now the golfer wants his bunkers raked and all the unevenness of the fairway rolled out. A player does not get the variety of stances or lies that in olden times one was sure to have. A hanging lie or a ball lying in any position other than level is a blemish to the modern golfer. The science and beauty of the game is brought out by men having to play the ball from any stance. To play the game over a flat surface without undulations leaves nothing to the ingenuity of the player, and nothing is presented but an obvious and stereotyped series of hits.
C.B. MACDONALD

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We want to make bogies easy if frankly sought, pars readily obtainable by standard good play, and birdies, except on par-5's, dearly bought. BOBBY JONES

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I shall never forget my first visit to the property which is now Augusta National. The long lane of magnolias through which we approached was beautiful. The old manor house with its cupola and walls of masonry two feet thick was charming. The rare trees and shrubs of the old nursery were enchanting. But when I walked out on the grass terrace under the big trees behind the house and looked down over the property, the experience was unforgettable It seemed that this land had been lying here for years just waiting for someone to lay a golf course upon it. BOBBY JONES

Coming In June And Available For Pre-Order via Amazon: Golf Architecture For Normal People

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The Masters has a great many things going for it, some planned and some fortuitous. It is played on a superb and scenic course that inspires the fine field of players to spectacular feats and offers singularly good vantage points for spectators. It is held at a wonderful time of year, when practically every golfer, after a long hibernation, finds his fancy turning to thoughts of supinating the left forearm or some other such crucial action that will make the season at hand the big one he has been waiting for. HERBERT WARREN WIND

Coming In June And Available For Pre-Order via Amazon: Golf Architecture For Normal People

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Mounds were often introduced instead of bunkers as they are more pleasing in appearance, less costly to maintain and often serve well to emphasize strategic conceptions. The course is not intended so much to punish severely the wayward shot as to reward adequately the stroke played with skill—and judgement. During the Masters tournament, with the cooperation of the weatherman, we try to keep our greens surfaces firm and the putting speed quite fast. We conceive that the ideal here is that our greens should hold a shot well-struck with backspin but should not hold an improperly played ball. BOBBY JONES

Coming In June And Available For Pre-Order via Amazon: Golf Architecture For Normal People

Bookshop.org Pre-Order option to support local independent bookstores.

Mounds were often introduced instead of bunkers as they are more pleasing in appearance, less costly to maintain and often serve well to emphasize strategic conceptions. The course is not intended so much to punish severely the wayward shot as to reward adequately the stroke played with skill—and judgement. During the Masters tournament, with the cooperation of the weatherman, we try to keep our greens surfaces firm and the putting speed quite fast. We conceive that the ideal here is that our greens should hold a shot well-struck with backspin but should not hold an improperly played ball. BOBBY JONES

Coming In June And Available For Pre-Order via Amazon: Golf Architecture For Normal People

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When discussing the greatness of The Masters, people never fail to speak of the diaphanous beauty of the Augusta National course, and there is no doubt many supposedly sophisticated golfers go there year after year principally to look at the flowers. It was Mr. Roberts who planted them, arranged them, and, in a standard joke among the press, commanded them to bloom every year the week of The Masters. Bob Jones, by contrast, had no more interest in horticulture than he did in, say, needlepoint. CHARLES PRICE

Coming In June And Available For Pre-Order via Amazon: Golf Architecture For Normal People

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