A Course Called America: Fifty States, Five Thousand Fairways, and the Search for the Great American Golf Course

Golf writer Coyne (A Course Called Scotland) traverses fairways and putting greens across America in this entertaining blend of travelogue, memoir, and sports writing. Determined to learn the history of golf in America, he set out to play the 51 courses that have hosted a U.S. Open, sprinkling in existential reflections along the way. After playing the Flying Goat on Shelter Island, for example, he muses that maybe he’s looking “for a playground from which I couldn’t pull myself away.” He hits the green with poet Billy Collins and actor Bill Murray, who doesn’t play around when it comes to hitting balls. (“We were used to watching his larky play at Pebble Beach, but the truth was, Bill Murray was a grinder.”) At Florida’s famed retirement community, The Villages, he discovers 50 courses in its 32 square miles—“simply put, golf heaven”—while his round in Pinehurst, N.C., reminds him of his first time on the links in Ireland. At the end of his yearlong endeavor, Coyne concludes that his travels may not have made him a better golfer, but they did make him want to live a life that matters. Golf nuts will be tantalized by the glimpses of America’s premier courses, while those looking to book an epic post-pandemic golf trip will find plenty of inspiration. Agent: Dan Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (May)