Product Description

When Scotland's storied St. Andrews Links Trust decided to build a seventh golf course, scheduled to open in 2008, the well-known architect of Oregon's Bandon Dunes, David McLay Kidd, was commissioned. Author Scott Gummer chronicles the days in the dirt and the nights in the pubs in this process story of how a band of diverse artists came together on a derelict potato farm and unearthed a field of golfing dreams. The vision, passion and adventure of construction are all here, including a hole-by-hole commentary by the architect.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #264894 in Books
• Brand: Booklegger
• Published on: 2007-10-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Features

• Hard Cover
• Scott Gummer
• The Castle Course: How Scotsman David McLay Kidd and His Ragtag Band Built the First New Course on Golf's Holy Soil in Nearly a Century

From Publishers Weekly
When Scotland's storied St. Andrews Links Trust decided to build a seventh golf course (due to open in 2008), the well-known golf architect David McLay Kidd was commissioned. Golf journalist Gummer's authorized account of the construction project is essentially a story of men pushing dirt into small mounds and planting it with grass. But there's an art to what looks so simple: sculpting both a challenging course and bucolic vistas with a craggy, ancient, organic look out of a potato field dominated by a sewage treatment plant; balancing playability with aesthetic, drainage and maintenance considerations; selecting bunker sand; and defending newly seeded turf against trespassers and rabbits. Gummer's engaging narrative, dotted with Kidd's hole-by-hole analyses, captures these nuances. Unfortunately, the author trowels on hype worthy of a playoff round. Kidd's management style is like a run-and-shoot passing attack, while his bulldozer crews possessed the vision, the talent and the balls to lead and not just follow. Gummer's inapt sports metaphors segue into business-speak: DMK Golf Design is no different from a successful sports team... total commitment is paramount. Readers will have to hack their way out of knee-high clichés to get to the fairway. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
David Kidd is certainly the only contemporary golf-course architect whose work has been the subject of two books: first came Dream Golf (2006), about the construction of Bandon Dunes, a links-style public course on the Oregon coast, and now this nearly shovel-by-shovel re-creation of the building of the seventh course at St. Andrews (to open in 2008), the first new construction in nearly a century on the hallowed ground where golf was born. Veteran journalist Gummer was there throughout the process, and he succeeds in making a kind of high drama out of bulldozers, dirt-moving, shaping greens, and the near-mystical mix of art and science that goes into routing a golf course. Unlike in Stephen Goodwin's account of Bandon Dunes, however, there is a little too much of an "authorized history" tone here, too much selling of Kidd's management style. But the story itself will enthrall those with an interest in golf history and architecture: digging in the dirt of St. Andrews can never be done casually, and Gummer makes us feel the weight of the past on every turn of the soil. Ott, Bill

About the Author
Scott Gummer has written for over forty different magazines, including Vanity Fair, LIFE, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Travel + Leisure Golf, Golf Digest, and GOLF. Prior to embarking on this book he was a senior writer with GOLF and also contributed to comedian George Lopez’s New York Times bestseller Why You Crying? He lives, works, and plays a middling game of golf in the California wine country.
David McLay Kidd is among the most talented and sought-after golf course architects today. Born and raised in Scotland, Kidd’s acclaimed designs include Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Nanea on Hawaii’s Big Island, suburban London’s ultra-exclusive Queenwood Club, and the most coveted commission in recent memory: the Castle Course in the Home of Golf, St. Andrews, Scotland.

Customer Reviews

interesting dynamics, colorful characters -- but is the course good?
the book suits my tastes well. i'm always interested in how passionate people come together to develop ideas, overcome obstacles, and get things done. double-bonus that the theme is golf.

i hope to play "the Seventh" someday and experience, first hand, whether the intense passion and unusual approach of the team and its leaders actually produced a good result.

The Seventh at St. Andrews
I purchased this book as a favor for my great-aunt who wanted this book as a gift for her son. She was told by a friend this would be a great book for my cousin as he is an avid golfer.

Very Bias
Hi, I'm David McLay Kidd and I wanted you to know what fun is was working with Scott on this book, he captured both the artistic and social level of what I and my team do and MOST importantly WHY we do it. I have been amazed at the positive comments I have received from those that have read the book, it reallys seems to capture the imagination of golfers. I hope you enjoy it. David...