Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
- Hardback
- 223 pages
Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
There’s an incredible similarity between the mechanics of a fly cast and the swing of a golf club. Perhaps that’s why Chris Santella, author of Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, can be found on the links when he’s not on the stream. With Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die, Santella gives voice to his other sporting passion, interviewing 50 people intimately connected to the sport about some of their favorite courses around the world.
For both passionate golfers and armchair travelers, this gorgeous full-color book presents the world’s greatest golf venues, the personal favorites of renowned players, course architects, and other experts in the sport. From Ballyliffin, Ireland’s northernmost course, whose rumpled fairways wander along the North Sea in the shadows of Glashedy Rock, to New Zealand’s Cape Kidnappers, perched atop dramatic cliffs some 500 feet above the ocean, the book’s beautiful photographs capture the architecture, noteworthy holes, location, and ambiance that make these courses standouts for ardent golfers. A brief history of each course, an experiential account-filled with local color-from the person recommending the venue, and trip-planning advice provide adventurous readers with all the information they need to chip and putt their way around the globe.
A close-up look at golf’s top courses around the world, recommended by such experts as Nick Faldo and Christie Kerr (pro golfers), Pete Dye and Tom Doak (course architects), Brian McCallen (editor and author), and Donald Trump
With breathtaking color photographs of each site, this is a great gift for avid golfers and armchair travelers alike
Rating: 
(out of 21 reviews)
List Price: $ 24.95
Price: $ 11.75
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Comments
Review by Bart King for Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
Rating:
This really is an attractive volume, and it constitutes a sort of fantasy list of unique golf courses. The author has gone out of his way to avoid many of the “obvious” big name courses that golfers know from televised tournaments. This gives the book an added interest factor, as one can read about exotic courses in such out-of-the-way locales as Morocco and Oregon.
Full Disclosure: I know Chris. He is a genial companion and a talented, assured writer.
Review by Carl E. Johnson Jr. for Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
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Notice that the title is not “The Fifty Greatest Golf Courses.” My title would be, “Fifty Interesting Places to Play Golf.” Whether it’s my title or the real title, the emphasis is on “places to play,” or “destinations,” not golf courses per se. More than fifty golf courses are covered. Which is not to say that the book does not include a lot of great golf courses. The format is mini-coffee table, with several pages of text for each destination and one small picture for most of the destinations. The quality of the printing, photo reproduction and binding in my copy is excellent. The text for each destination has been volunteered by a different prominent golf person. For example, Nick Faldo writes about the Royal Melborne Golf Club (West Course) in the Australian state of Victoria. Alice Dye about the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course (see a connection there?). On the plus side are the quality of the color photos and the introduction (to me) of golf courses in some far away places (e.g., Bhutan, Morocco, India, places, however, I’ll never get to). On the minus side, I don’t have a prayer of playing some of the U.S. courses, even after I die (e.g., Pine Valley, Sand Hills, National Golf Links of America), which, honestly, the author points out. Finally, why not at least one photo for each destination? From the two page description of the Pacific Grove muni: “[T]he back nine . . . takes you right out to the water and combines incredible views of the Pacific and Monterey Bay with windswept bluffs reminiscent of some of the great courses of Scotland and Ireland.” Why no photo of this course? From the two page description of the Torekov Golf Club in Sweden (my ancestral home): “. . .a links-oriented course. . . You can view the sea from all eighteen holes. In the summer, wildflowers are blooming everywhere . . . .” I want a photo, darn it!
Review by Allen Williams for Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
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Being a golfer, I got this as a gift from one of my relatives. I must say the pictures are outstanding. This book makes me want to travel more to other countries to experience the pleasure of these courses. This book will always have a permanent place in my library. For excellent golf instruction that helped me to drastically reduce my handicap, I recommend,
The Ultimate Golf Instruction Guide: Key Techniques for Becoming a Zero Handicap Golfer or Better, isbn 1933023090
and
for more great pictures of specific golf holes, I recommend,
Golf Digest 365 Golf Holes Calender 2006, isbn 0761137343.
This maintains a permanent place on my office desk.
Review by D. Garzone for Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
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Bought it for my Dad, an avid golfer and traveler. He loves it.
Review by Bryan Fryklund for Fifty Places to Play Golf Before You Die: Golf Experts Share the World’s Greatest Destinations
Rating:
Part coffee table book, part guidebook, this well-produced volume features fifty recommendations of some of the greatest courses in the world. Author Chris Santella asked esteemed golf industry professionals around the world to recommend their favorite course. Those interviewed by the author include such golf luminaries as Robert Trent Jones, Jr., Pete Dye, Peter Jacobsen, Nick Faldo, and Dave Pelz. The content of each course description is approached like a magazine article, with quotes from each interview interwoven with well-written descriptions of the course and a few special holes. The accompanying photos are excellent, and the “If You Go” section at the end of each course provide some basic directions on how to get to the course, where to stay, and how to book your round. A very-nice book.
-Bryan Fryklund, author of The Golf Fanatic’s Guide to Hawaii
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