BOOK REVIEW: ROUTING THE COURSE BY FORREST RICHARDSON

by Doug McAllister

Every golfer, deep down, believes that he or she could and should design golf courses. That being the case, sooner or later you'll want to pick up a book or two on the subject. As you peruse Amazon's selection (and it doesn't have to be Amazon — Amazon just happens to be one of my favorites), you aren't sure which titles will fit the bill. Well, here's one that has its ups and downs. ROUTING THE GOLF COURSE by Forrest Richardson has many good points but, as you will see in my review that follows, for me there was one rather large problem.

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WHERE THE HECK IS THE PIN?!
Routing the Golf Course by Forrest Richardson

Let's say your playing one of the greatest golf courses in the world, a dream round that you have planned for and paid a pretty penny to enjoy. You've just hit a solid 3-iron to the blind 10th green and, given the sweetness of the sound and feel, you're absolutely sure that you'll be in great shape. As you approach the green you can see your ball but there is no flag in sight! You frantically scan the green to see whether a careless foursome ahead of you just forgot to put it back in the hole. Reaching the green, you continue to look all over the place. Where the heck is the pin?! It's at that point that you realize that, not only is the flagstick missing, the hole is missing too!! Needless to say, all of the previous fun, all of the great shots previously hit on all of the front nine, evaporates and the sense of disappointment and emptiness overwhelm your entire round.

This is exactly the feeling that I had with ROUTING THE GOLF COURSE by Forrest Richardson. I had completed a thorough and very enjoyable reading of the first nine chapters -- nine holes, as Richardson calls them -- and most of the 10th, when I hit a snag that was just as frustrating for me as reaching a green and finding no pin or hole. At the bottom of page 293 the reader finds a shadowed box titled "RATING VERSUS SLOPE." Now, this inset just happened to be a question about golf course design to which I have always wanted an answer. I excitedly began to read Richardson's explanation and, completing the first part of the section, with the words "...bunkers, out-of-bounds, water, trees, green sur-", I turned the page and...NOTHING! Absolutely nothing! No completion of the obviously unfinished shadow box on the previous page--like reaching a green without a hole or flagstick!! I frantically searched each of the next few pages. Surely a careless production artist had simply made a mistake and the hyphenated thought, "green sur-...", would follow somewhere. Surely a stressed printer had somehow slipped up.

Not so! Nothing!

Now, you might think me petty for judging this book and its author so harshly based on, what seems, one small slip-up. Knock yourself out. For me, given the exorbitant price of this volume and the positioning thereof as a preeminent book on this subject — not to mention that Richardson is viewed by many as a rising star in golf course architecture and that his emphasis throughout the book regarding the need for precision and detail in routing the golf course is pronounced! — this seemingly small error is nearly unforgivable! Oh yes, I completed "the round," limping through the remaining "nine holes" (Richardson includes the obligatory 19th Hole), but the disappointment of the 10th irreparably tarnished this one for me.

I give it two out of five stars!

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So there you have it. Proceed with caution with this one. Admittedly, there are some interesting things in the book and some terrific insights about golf course design but I just couldn't make it past so blatant and error. Maybe you'll see it differently. It's a rather pricey purchase—even if purchased used and there are, in my opinion, better books available on the subject. But those I leave to a subsequent post.

So, in the meantime, hit 'em long and straight.

Golf: A Seussical!

by Doug McAllister

With golf talk turning to this year's Masters, owing primarily to Tiger's return to the game, I thought a little golfing poetry would be in order. No groans please! Everyone has heard of cowboy poetry so why not a little golfer poetry? My apologies, as well, to Ted Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. I am not sure whether the inimitable author and illustrator was a golfer. If he wasn't, he should have been. If he was, he might have written something like what follows here. Anyway, here goes:

It's time for the Masters,
Let's all give a cheer!
The first of the Majors,
The first of the year!

And Tiger is coming!
He'll be back in the pack!
All the sponsors are glowing!
All will welcome him back!

For golf without Tiger
Is surely a bust.
He just has to be there!
It's an absolute must!

But what if he wasn't?
What if no golfers came?
Would Augusta grow weeds?
Would it lose all its fame?

Would Tiger's not being there
Mean bogeys — disasters,
For the great game of golf
And, especially, the Masters?

Or is it that golf
Might be bigger than Phil?
And Ernie and Tiger?
Wouldn't that be a thrill?

A pursuit that persists
Despite who's on top,
Despite who's just birdied,
Despite who's a flop?

A game that is played
By the tall and the small.
By the girls and the boys,
By one and by all!

Well, that just what golf is!
No one owns it, you see.
It continues — it's here!
'Spite where Eldrick might be.

Let's remember that, please,
When we're tempted to cry
'Cause Tiger's not with us
Or his game's gone awry!

Yes, thank goodness that golf
Will be played on and on!
Long after Jack, Arnie
And Tiger are gone!


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Again, my apologies to Dr. Seuss! And I should note that his poem is copyrighted and cannot be used in any form without permission of the author or before a sizable check is received from the broadcasters of the Masters — whichever comes first!

So, until my next posting,
Hit some long
And some straight
And some in between!
Yes, that would be great!

Announcing "THIS FOR BIRDIE!" — The Golf Blog

by Doug McAllister

I can hear it now, "Not another golf blog!" But why not? If golf is the great parable of life that many believe it to be and if golfers and golf holes are as different—when considering the nitty gritty of it all—as fingerprints, then why not another golf blog? And not just another golf blog, The Golf Blog!

Okay, that may be a bit over the top. The Golf Blog! But, if golf has taught me just one thing, it is that you might as well have confidence in your swing, or in this case, in your blog or message. Okay, so it was over the top! Assess me a two-shot penalty and move on to the next tee. But I digress.

With "THIS FOR BIRDIE!" my intention is to talk about one of my very favorite subjects, a passion, really: Golf!

I plan to talk about my favorite golf haunts, looking at courses I have played—primarily in Utah, but, once in a while, those that I have been lucky enough to play in other places. And not just the courses themselves. I want to gab about their practice facilities. I want to pontificate on their personnel (because nothing can make or break a golf course experience faster than great clubhouse folks or, conversely, the sticks in the mud who somehow think they are entitled and you are just there to pay greens fees!). I want to rate their practice facilities (which ones let you actually hit from grass and which ones believe that a real golf experience is AstroTurf covered cement pads!).

I plan to review books that I have read about golf and movies about golf that I have seen. Who knows? Maybe they will be books and flicks that you might like too!

We may even dabble a bit in my views of golf's current events. After all, everyone wants to chew the fat some about Tiger or Ernie or Paddy or about grooves, dimples or shafts. Who knows? I may even throw in a golflitical cartoon or two (Golflitical? You know. You remove "po" from political and insert...oh, never mind!).

So that's it. I won't bore you any more with the trivialities. And if you like what I have to say—great! If not...well...that's okay too.

Tune in tomorrow and we'll get started. In the meantime, hit 'em long and straight!