cover image All Courses Great and Small: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to England and Wales

All Courses Great and Small: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to England and Wales

James W. Finegan. Simon & Schuster, $21 (304pp) ISBN 978-0-7432-2388-1

The author of books about golf in Scotland and Ireland swings his way across the best courses in England and Wales in this ode to the sport by one of its most impassioned fans. From links bordering the sea, to heathland courses in the English countryside, to those on London's outskirts, Finegan, whose age has upped his handicap but not his enthusiasm, meets up with local club members to showcase each course for his readers. His descriptions range from the evocative (""Distinguishing the course are the complex and silken-swift greens and...the bunkers, which are variously shaped and exquisitely sited, the sand often flashed up the face, the lip sometimes a thin swooping line"") to the technical (""Even from the medal tees, the course measures only 6,200 yards; par is 70...There are eight strong holes here, six of them in a row...This series includes a pair of excellent par threes, the short one a knob-to-knob beauty...plus a quartet of rigorous two-shotters""). Finegan charts over 100 courses,""taking them as they fall on the map, with little regard for their pedigree,"" and in doing so he shares information about courses' architects and owners (The Addington's old-fashioned and charmingly dictatorial Mrs. Moira Fabes being a colorful example of the latter), tidbits of course history, vignettes from the lives of the folks he tees off with and helpful information about food and lodging. For true golf lovers, this one's an ace.