A COURSE CALLED AMERICA

Hitting balls across America, state by state.

Sportswriter Coyne’s latest completes a trilogy of travelogues begun with golf courses in Ireland and Scotland. His goal was to play golf in every state in two-to-three week stretches for a year, in search of the mythical “Great American Golf Course.” Besides oozing with rich golf history and lore, Coyne’s heartfelt anecdotes about people he meets and the joys of companionship are appealing. After getting his wife’s permission, creating a beginning itinerary and securing tee times, Coyne began his adventure near his home, at “Dad’s home course of LuLu, a curiously named and underrated Donald Ross [course] outside of Philadelphia that was founded by a group of Shriners back in 1912.” Next up was the historic Newport Country Club. Seeking the benevolence of friends (he has many), the author gained access to America’s most exclusive courses. On Long Island, he visited the grave of C.B. Macdonald, who designed the course he had just played: the National Golf Links of America (“It was easy to appreciate its holes as perhaps golf’s most fascinating ensemble, in both shape and style”). Coyne played Bethpage Black two weeks after it hosted the PGA Championship. In Washington state, the author played Meadow Park with classic hickory-shafted clubs and enjoyed the greens at Chambers Bay, “smooth as poker tables.” On a remote southern strip of Oregon’s seaside cliffs, he took on Bandon Dunes, a “true hold-my-calls experience,” and he completed a round at Chena Bend, a central Alaska military base course, at 1 a.m. Playing Nebraska’s Sand Hills felt like “sailing a vast sea of grassy swells.” From Hawaii to a dusty Navajo Nation course in northern Arizona, Coyne tallied 300 rounds over 294 courses. A good player, his average score was an impressive 6 over par. Although bumpy to start, once underway, the narrative settles into a smooth, welcoming flow.

Even if you just thumb through, this is a delightful, entertaining book even nongolfers can enjoy.