NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Globe-trotting golfer Tom Coyne has finally come home. And he’s ready to play all of it. After playing hundreds of courses overseas in the birthplace of golf,​ Coyne, the bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland, returns to his own birthplace and delivers a “heartfelt, rollicking ode to golf…[as he] describes playing golf in every state of the union, including Alaska: 295 courses, 5,182 holes, 1.7 million total yards” (The Wall Street Journal). In the span of one unforgettable year, Coyne crisscrosses the country in search of its greatest golf experience, playing every course to ever host a US Open, along with more than two hundred hidden gems and heavyweights, visiting all fifty states to find a better understanding of his home country and countrymen. Coyne’s journey begins where the US Open and US Amateur got their start, historic Newport Country Club in Rhode Island. As he travels from the oldest and most elite of links to the newest and most democratic, Coyne finagles his way onto coveted first tees (Shinnecock, Oakmont, Chicago GC) between rounds at off-the-map revelations, like ranch golf in Eastern Oregon and homemade golf in the Navajo Nation. He marvels at the golf miracle hidden in the sand hills of Nebraska and plays an unforgettable midnight game under bright sunshine on the summer solstice in Fairbanks, Alaska. More than just a tour of the best golf the United States has to offer, Coyne’s quest connects him with hundreds of American golfers, each from a different background but all with one thing in common: pride in welcoming Coyne to their course. Trading stories and swing tips with caddies, pros, and golf buddies for the day, Coyne adopts the wisdom of one of his hosts in Minnesota: the best courses are the ones you play with the best people. But, in the end, only one stop on Coyne’s journey can be ranked the Great American Golf Course. Throughout his travels, he invites golfers to debate and help shape his criteria for judging the quintessential American course. Should it be charmingly traditional or daringly experimental? An architectural showpiece or a natural wonder? Countless conversations and gut instinct lead him to seek out a course that feels bold and idealistic, welcoming yet imperfect, with a little revolutionary spirit and a damn good hot dog at the turn. He discovers his long-awaited answer in the most unlikely of places. Packed with fascinating tales from American golf history, comic road misadventures, illuminating insights into course design, and many a memorable round with local golfers and celebrity guests alike, A Course Called America is “a delightful, entertaining book even nongolfers can enjoy” (Kirkus Reviews).

An inclusive narrative of golf's history and popularity in the United States

In this entertaining cultural history, Moss explores the circumstances that led to the establishment of the country club as an American social institution and its inextricable connection to the ancient, imported game of golf. Moss traces the evolution of country clubs from informal groups of golf-playing friends to "country estates" in the suburbs and eventually into public and private daily-fee courses, corporate country clubs, and gated golfing communities. The book shows how these developments reflect shifts in American values and attitudes toward health and sport, as well as changing social dynamics.

“I never wanted to be a millionaire—I just wanted to live like one...”—Walter Hagen THIS IS Walter Hagen’s own story of the two decades when he ruled the golfing world as King. Hagen not only won a major tournament every year for twenty years—a record never even approached by any other golfer—but his personality dominated the game over that period. Before he came along, professional golfers had the status of hired hands. The Haig was the man who crashed the front door of the clubhouses, and he brought along with him the entire fraternity of golf professionals. He was a magnificent showman and, in addition to changing the social standing of the golf pro, his competitive skill and flamboyant character built up public in interest in golf throughout the world. The result was perhaps best expressed in Gene Sarazen’s own memoirs when he said, “All the professionals who have a chance to go after the big money today should say silent thanks to Walter Hagen each time they stretch a check between their fingers. It was Walter Hagen who made professional golf what it is.” The picture of sartorial elegance, he became the fashion plate that others copied for years. He was the honoured guest of emperors and the tutor and personal friend of the young Edward, then Prince of Wales. An idol both at home and abroad (he won the U.S. Open twice, made the P.G.A. Championship almost his exclusive personal property through the twenties, and won the British Open four times), he toured the world with Joe Kirkwood as the most outstanding ambassador of good will that golf ever produced. All this and much more is set down in this book in a style which has the same swashbuckling flavour as characterized his long playing career.

This groundbreaking history of African Americans and golf explores the role of race, class, and public space in golf course development, the stories of individual black golfers during the age of segregation, the legal battle to integrate public golf courses, and the little-known history of the United Golfers Association (UGA)--a black golf tour that operated from 1925 to 1975. Lane Demas charts how African Americans nationwide organized social campaigns, filed lawsuits, and went to jail in order to desegregate courses; he also provides dramatic stories of golfers who boldly confronted wider segregation more broadly in their local communities. As national civil rights organizations debated golf’s symbolism and whether or not to pursue the game’s integration, black players and caddies took matters into their own hands and helped shape its subculture, while UGA participants forged one of the most durable black sporting organizations in American history as they fought to join the white Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA). From George F. Grant’s invention of the golf tee in 1899 to the dominance of superstar Tiger Woods in the 1990s, this revelatory and comprehensive work challenges stereotypes and indeed the fundamental story of race and golf in American culture.

The first black golfer on the PGA tells of the consistent battles he has waged against bigotry in the exclusive world of golf and tells how his courage has opened the sport to a new generation of blacks.

An exhilarating account of one remarkable teenager's solo trek to play golf in each of the lower 48 states--a compelling coming-of-age story and a surprising look at the equalizing power of the sport in America.

Journalist and legal expert Marcia Chambers spent five years interviewing women who have endured discrimination on the golf course. In this book, she exposes the rampant bias that runs through golf, explores why traditional activism doesn't work, and offers winning strategies to help women create positive change.

Starn examines the career of Tiger Woods, from child star to global sports celebrity. The author shows that the scandal following the revelation of Tiger's infidelities was like many similar media-generated scandals of recent years, and he brings an anthropologist's perspective to bear on Tigergate.