Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses You Can Play (Hardcover)

by Brian McCallen (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Here's the good news: you don't have to cash in all your stock options to pay the initiation fee at an exclusive club to play a great golf course. Some of the most spectacular--and storied--tracks in the nation are, indeed, open to everyone. The bad news is you'll still need more than a few bucks--and some spare time--to get on to them. Golf Magazine's Top 100 Courses You Can Play beckon from this lushly illustrated coffee-table volume, and the names alone should send serious hackers raiding their savings and scrambling to the phone for tee times: Pinehurst No. 2, Torrey Pines, Spyglass Hill, Pebble Beach, the Links at Spanish Bay, Bethpage Black, Bay Hill, Sawgrass, Grayhawk, and Troon. That's just a hint of what's out there.

Designed for the golfer whose motto is, "Have clubs, will travel," Top 100 first lures you in with its enticing introductions to the best resort, municipal, semi-private, and daily-fee tracks around the country. Then, once it has you salivating, it helps plan your getaway. Say you feel like trying to tame Sugarloaf, the demanding 18 carved from the Maine woods by Robert Trent Jones Jr.; Golf Magazine's experts deem it the ace of the nation's wilderness courses. Top 100 sends you off with hints to help you navigate the layout; suggests area accommodations, restaurants, and other courses nearby; and, in case you have a few moments between tee times, where to find other activities like fishing, biking, rafting, museums, and even a rail excursion.

"It's a wonderful time to be alive if you're an ardent golfer with the wherewithal to take your game on the road and put your skills to the test around the nation," writes author Brian McCallen. To that end, Top 100 does pretty much everything but carry your bag. --Jeff Silverman

Review
"Alongside eye-catching photographs... McCallen offers stroke tips for the serious golfer ....And he offers other advice for the serious golfer's nongolfing family on where to stay, where to eat, and where to take the kids." --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810941341
• ISBN-13: 978-0810941342
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 10 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #893,362 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guide to the Golfer's Meccas, December 11, 1999

By	Jeff Dowd (Green Bay, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

With breathtaking photographs and detailed descriptions of the best holes, I was able to relive the courses I have been lucky enough to play and plan for those that I haven't. The guide walks you through courses state-by-state, with pictures, ratings and descriptions of all. I was impressed that the editors chose to include some courses that didn't quite make the top 100, and even refrenced expansion plans at some of the country's great resorts.

Furthermore, dining, entertainment, lodging and shopping highlights are presented so that you may plan for your entire getaway.

Based on the accurate representation of the courses that I have played, I trust the editors recommendations to visit the other courses listed. An A-Plus for vivid descriptions and dazzling photography that makes me yearn for warmer weather.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars perfection only golf magazine could deliver, February 28, 2000

By	Jay Flemma (Syracuse, NY) - See all my reviews

Once you pick up this magnificent volume, whether merely desiring a beautiful coffee table conversation piece or to plan out that serious pilgramige you've always dreamed about taking, this book will become the centerpiece of your golf library.

Lovingly photographed, colorfully and painstakingly written and filled with every side piece of necessary information, this volume could really be titled, "All you need to know about American Public Golf."

No detail is omitted and every aspect of travel and vacation life (save airfare) is analyzed, from dining to sightseeing to lodging. Begger and king, cactus lover or flower power-ite can select a journey uniquely suited to their lifestyle, either by taking the book on the trip with them or curling up with it by the fire for those winter golf dreams.

No stone is left unturned and even golf shopping is explored, from the giant superstores of Myrtle Beach to the outlets in Scottsdale. Only Alaska escapes this volumes eye.

True conessieurs will cherish the detailed descriptions of all the great courses, from Troon North to Bethpage Black and Pebble Beach to Sawgrass, but also revel in the charm of the lesser known but equally enchanting tracks such as Pumpkin Ridge (Ghost Creek), Barton Creek, New Seabury (Blue), Ventana Canyon, Coeur D'Alene, and Bandon Dunes.

This is the standard by which all others golf travel books will be judged!