To the Nines will introduce you to a whole new golfing experience by sharing the stories of fourteen layouts across the country. Fenwick, Katherine Hepburn's playground, dates back the 1890's. Just before a hurricane destroyed her the family home in 1938, Hepburn aced Fenwick's ninth hole and shot even par. Prairie Dunes, in Hutchinson, Kansas, began as a nine-holer, and represents some of Perry Maxwell's finest work. Rolling Rock, by Donald Ross, rivals any of his eighteen-hole creations. Long before Mike Keiser set out to turn a chunk of Oregon coast into one of the world's great golf destinations, he built The Dunes Club, easily the finest nine-hole course of the modern era. To the Nines will send you on a mission to discover the roots of the game, and to seek out your won unique and unheralded courses.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From the Inside Flap
Pioppi proves size doesn't matter when it comes to golf courses.
Ask any golfer and you will find that many have a love of the game rooted in playing a nine-hole layout. Yet the modern golfer has been conditioned to believe that in order for a course to achieve greatness, it must be able to host a major tournament, be longer than 7,600 yards from the tips, and play to a par of 72. A waterfall is always a bonus. But greatness still comes in small packages, nine holes at a time, as evidenced in Anthony Pioppi's new book, To the Nines.
Nearly every great architect of the Golden Age has brilliant nine-holers to his credit. Prairie Dunes began its life as a magnificent nine-hole course before expanding to eighteen. Nine-holers are an integral part of golf history in the United States. Fourteen courses, from Maine to California, with historical stories and details of the courses today, are featured in the book. According to Brad Faxon "with To the Nines you will not only feel the shots, the holes, and the courses Anthony describes, but you will get caught up in their unique and intriguing stories, all the while trying to figure out how you are going to get in your next nine holes."
To the Nines chronicles courses like the long forgotten Ocean Links, perhaps the best nine-hole course ever, and Fenwick, Katherine Hepburn's playground, Whitinsville, a Donald Ross gem, and The Dunes Club, where Mike Keiser cut his teeth before creating Bandon Dunes. Pioppi also reveals the little known fact the legendary architect George Thomas, creator of Riviera, began his career with a nine-holer called Marion - and you can still play it!
This is Anthony Pioppi's first book. His research entailed hundreds of hours, many of the leading experts in the golf industry, and thousands of miles of travel. He has become one of the leading authorities on the history and architectural features of nine-hole courses across the country.
From the Back Cover
"To the Nines will likely change your perspective on nine-hole courses if you think of them as inferior."
- Brad Faxon, PGA Tour Professional
- Brad Faxon, PGA Tour Professional
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks, Tony!,
By
This review is from: To the Nines (Hardcover)
To The Nines is a fabulous read for golf fans. Mr. Pioppi speaks for all of us who love golf, and especially those of us who grew up on or experienced a nine-hole course for what it is -- a true golf experience. Mr. Pioppi's writing brings the reader along on his travels to these true jewels of golf, and it was a pleasure to go along for the ride.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Achieving a Dream,
By Liz Petry (Connecticut) - See all my reviews
This review is from: To the Nines (Hardcover)
Anthony Pioppi loves everything about golf, and it shows. To the Nines is a tribute to the game and to the people who designed, built, maintain and enjoy nine-hole golf courses. It felt daunting at first as I my knowledge is limited, and I haven't encountered as many mystery words since I studied ancient Greek in college. But that minor problem ended as I became mesmerized by the fascinating history and great personalities who move through these pages.
He unearths the true story of when Highland Links on Cape Cod was built and takes the reader on a tour of the course in present form. This circuit adds a valuable chapter to the history of a course that is likely to change again as the land retreats against the encroaching sea. At Whitinsville Tony gives some of the history of New England's famous textile industry from the perspective of a company town that produced the machinery. Sewanee, in Tennessee, serves up Civil War history and a greater excitement nearly 100 years later when a fighter plane crashes on the first fairway. Details such as these and the meticulous descriptions of the play of each course leave one with the feeling that Tony has played all of these courses - even the ones whose remnants are barely visible. As for people, the stories of the rich and the famous are here. We have golfers who were artists, politicians, Wall Streeters (and a couple of literal bears). But it is the architects and builders and the folks who maintain these little bits of paradise that add color and dimension. Besides fascinating pieces of human history, Tony provides information about the geological formations that make each of these gems unique - the sand dunes, the glacial moraine, the wind, the water combine to make each place special even before the designers put their stamps on the fairways and hazards. With these details, serious golfers will find a critique of what's good and what's not at each course. Tony's humor and drive come through most forcefully in "In Search of Ocean Links," his account of uncovering remnants of a now defunct course in Newport, Rhode Island, whose nine holes are now spread over private property and state park land. It is easy to picture him tromping through the underbrush, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, looking like a wild man and scaring the bejeebers out of families having a quiet Sunday picnic in the park. The same chapter provides one of those "coincidences" that I love and blog about. A new owner had acquired part of the land where the course had long been hidden from view. He knew nothing of the history but as he contemplated a name for his house, he picked Ocean Links. There is one bit of cheating here. Prairie Dunes, in the minuscule town of Hutchinson, Kansas, draws Tony's praise for being the best nine-hole course layout west of the Mississippi when it opened in 1937. It can't make that claim any more because it's now 18 holes, though he still praises the "subtle brilliance" of the design and the boldness of the greens. Not so impressive are the additions and changes. To the Nines is a book for golfers and non-golfers alike. And if nothing else, it's worth the price of admission for the photograph of Katharine Hepburn, fully clothed including head scarf, reposing in a bathtub amidst the rubble of her family's house in Old Saybrook, Connecticut's Borough of Fenwick after the 1938 hurricane. A copy of this review appears at lizr128.[...]
5.0 out of 5 stars
9 Holes - Should be Nine Stars,
This review is from: To the Nines (Hardcover)
Loved the book from this sports writer and authority. I read through it in 1 sitting. Loved the B/ W photos.
Most people, like myself would prefer to play 18 holes. This book makes you want to take an adventure out to find a 9 hole course. Lots of history and a good read! Can't wait for Mr. Pioppi's 3rd book, although he is probably out there right now playing 9 holes.
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