Amazon.com (Jeff Silverman)
Spectacular Golf delivers its titular promise. While the prose is serviceable enough, reliving memorable moments on courses around the world (like Arnold Palmer's legendary come-from-behind win in the 1960 U.S. Open at Denver's Cherry Hills), it's the color photography of this outsized volume that is--in a word--spectacular. Several pages actually unfold to near Par 5 length for the coffee table (almost 4 feet from end to end). And the images are surprisingly democratic, with recent upstart courses appearing opposite the royal and ancient originals. Naturally, the legends are well represented here: Georgia's Augusta, Medinah outside Chicago, Long Island's Shinnecock Hills, California's Riviera, and the ur course, St. Andrews, in Scotland. But so are the talked-about new courses--like Sand Hills, carved out of the Nebraska plains by Ben Crenshaw and captured in a stunning palette of tans and greens. No matter what the heritage or landscape, all the courses in Spectacular Golf dazzle in images textured enough to capture their nuances and uniqueness, whether it's an aerial shot of Cypress Hills' impossible-looking 16th hole jutting into the Pacific or a fairway guided by centuries-old rock walls in the Scottish Highlands. What's more, every page makes you want to run right out and whack a few.
Captivating and panoramic
'Spectacular Golf' is a captivating and panoramic examination of golf's most majestic courses. Bob Carney, in his Foreword, tells us that 'spectacular settings inspire spectacular acts.' And there certainly have been some historic games played on the gorgeous courses in this mammoth volume. Author David Gould divides the book into four fine sections: The Landscape of Golf; Great Courses and Great Moments; Golf's Meccas and Mainstays; Island Courses; and Mountain Region Courses. From the beautiful and little-known Founder's Course at Penn National G.C. (about 40 miles from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) to the formidable and widely-known Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, Gould and a host of photographers capture the magic of the various locales. Indeed, Gould doesn't merely write descriptive text. He tells what makes each course so marvelously unique. This is a must-purchase for all golf lovers.