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A review by greebytime
A Course Called America: Fifty States, Five Thousand Fairways, and the Search for the Great American Golf Course by Tom Coyne
5.0
Man, I love Tom Coyne's books. From [b:Paper Tiger: An Obsessed Golfer's Quest to Play with the Pros|1469955|Paper Tiger An Obsessed Golfer's Quest to Play with the Pros|Tom Coyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1309287642l/1469955._SY75_.jpg|1460901] where he tries to make a professional tour, to his travel books ([b:A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee|6049192|A Course Called Ireland A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee|Tom Coyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442911726l/6049192._SY75_.jpg|6224817] and [b:A Course Called Scotland: Searching the Home of Golf for the Secret to Its Game|36373652|A Course Called Scotland Searching the Home of Golf for the Secret to Its Game|Tom Coyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530433585l/36373652._SY75_.jpg|58060895]) I gobble up whatever he writes. He doesn't bore you with his shot-by-shot recaps of the rounds he plays, but talks about the journey, what each course feels like and whatever he's going through during his travel. For a golf nut like myself, this is like crack cocaine. (I assume.)
I haven't anticipated a book as much as A Course Called America in quite some time. Through social media I was aware of his travels - and like many, unsuccessfully tried to play a round with him on those trips - and wondered how it would roll up into a book. Little did I know he'd finish his travels just before COVID-19 hit, which adds a whole other wrinkle to this.
So much of what Tom Coyne writes is relatable to me. I'm not in recovery, and my golf game has never been as good as his is even when his game is in the tank, but he writes so well it feels totally relatable. Having seen him interviewed and in videos like the No Laying Up Tourist Sauce series, he also comes across as a just incredibly nice, thoughtful guy.
And here's one of the earliest parts of the book that just floored me (just after saying his father calls him "Tom boy" which hit home as my father, and only my father, calls me "Matt boy"):
Sheesh. That feels entirely right.
As far as him traveling and discovering new courses, I love that Coyne LOVED the North Carolina course Tobacco Road as much as I did, and like me favored Pinehurst #4 over Pinehurst #2. And I loved that while he didn't rip apart any courses for being overrated, etc., and many of his favorites were ragged 9-hole affairs, he expressed almost my exact thoughts about some of the type of golf courses I hate (in this case, "The Judge" in Alabama):
Part of the conceit of the book is his goal to find the truly American golf course, and I won't spoil what he selects but it's pretty damn wonderful for every possible reason.
Tom Coyne is a great writer and this book completely delivered. Moments that were truly moving, a few very funny moments and I raced through it. I'm a bit worried that this is the last of his "A Course Called" books since his wife can't possibly have the patience to let him do this nonsense again.
Can she?
I haven't anticipated a book as much as A Course Called America in quite some time. Through social media I was aware of his travels - and like many, unsuccessfully tried to play a round with him on those trips - and wondered how it would roll up into a book. Little did I know he'd finish his travels just before COVID-19 hit, which adds a whole other wrinkle to this.
So much of what Tom Coyne writes is relatable to me. I'm not in recovery, and my golf game has never been as good as his is even when his game is in the tank, but he writes so well it feels totally relatable. Having seen him interviewed and in videos like the No Laying Up Tourist Sauce series, he also comes across as a just incredibly nice, thoughtful guy.
And here's one of the earliest parts of the book that just floored me (just after saying his father calls him "Tom boy" which hit home as my father, and only my father, calls me "Matt boy"):
People who don't play golf grow to envy their golfing neighbors, admiring it as a nifty game you can play to a ripe old age. What they don't understand is that we don't keep playing because we can; we play because we don't know how to stop. It lands in our hands for just a moment before slipping through our fingers, and we grab for it again and again. It's a shell game, a music man, a three-card monte from which we can't walk away. Once in a while it glances back at us, and it is achingly beautiful. A siren? Perhaps. But those sailors at least got the closure of wrecking on the rocks. Golfers find the rocks and just drop another ball.
Sheesh. That feels entirely right.
As far as him traveling and discovering new courses, I love that Coyne LOVED the North Carolina course Tobacco Road as much as I did, and like me favored Pinehurst #4 over Pinehurst #2. And I loved that while he didn't rip apart any courses for being overrated, etc., and many of his favorites were ragged 9-hole affairs, he expressed almost my exact thoughts about some of the type of golf courses I hate (in this case, "The Judge" in Alabama):
I woke up early the next morning, ready to lose golf balls at a Robert Trent Jones course called The Judge. It was an anchor on the RTJ Trail of courses that stretched across 'Bama, and a plaque by its first tee read PREPARE TO BE JUDGED. It was an absurd opening golf-shot, from a vaulted tee down to a sliver of fairway enveloped by bass-rich waters, and though I found dry ground, I quickly decided I wasn't in the mood to be judged. Hard for hard's sake was not only boring but idle architecture. Any novice with a pencil could draw an impossible golf hole, so I checked it off the list and moved on to Mississippi...
Part of the conceit of the book is his goal to find the truly American golf course, and I won't spoil what he selects but it's pretty damn wonderful for every possible reason.
Tom Coyne is a great writer and this book completely delivered. Moments that were truly moving, a few very funny moments and I raced through it. I'm a bit worried that this is the last of his "A Course Called" books since his wife can't possibly have the patience to let him do this nonsense again.
Can she?