Rough Meditations

In Rough Meditations, Golfweek Architecture Editor Bradley Klein weaves engaging and often hilarious essays as he takes readers on a tour of golf course architecture and explains the difference between good and bad golf course design. He recounts his exploits as a caddy on the PGA and LPGA tours, tells a heartwarming tale about introducing his daughter to the game, and much more. In his charming style, Bradley liberally accents his stories with personal wisdom on the game, including how to look at a green's grass and slope to judge speed, distance, and placement of a putt. system.

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

1 Early Days 1

Father’s Day 3

Return to Inwood 4

2 Caddying 7

Stand by Your Man– 1981 9

A Brief History of Caddying 14

Stand by Your Woman 21

The ’96 Mid-Am: A View from the Caddie Yard 24

3 A Writer’s Game 29

Caddying for Pat Ward-Thomas at the Old Course 31

A Thousand Words to Clear His Throat: Herbert Warren Wind 35

4 Architectural Elements 39

Architectural Literacy 41

Classical, Modern, and Post-Modern 43

Cultural Links 46

Routing Is Destiny 48

Movers and Shapers 51

Who Cares About Teeing Grounds? 55

Save Us from Green Committees 57

Trees on Golf Courses: Do They Really Belong? 59

Golf Courses and Old Ballparks– 1996 62

The Incredible Shrinking Clubhouse 65

The Tyranny of Yardage 67

Don’t Make Me Ride 69

Thank Heaven for Little Four-Pars 71

Don’t Call Them Women’s Tees 73

5 Business or Art? 77

Working Landscapes 79

Golf Design Goes Ivy League 81

When Business Threatens Art 84

Oh No, It’s the PGA Show! 86

For a Good Time, Call 1-900-CONSULT 88

Lethal Links? 89

Golf and the Environment: Wildlife Refuge or Toxic Fairways? 92

Appearance and Reality in the Ratings Game 97

Architecture and the Media 100

6 Read Any Good Greens Lately? 103

The First Two Inches of Break Are Inside the Cup 105

Modern Greens Construction Demands Craftsmanship 106

Riviera’s Greens: An Autopsy 108

Brown, Not Green, Is Better 114

7 In the Beginning There Was Sand 117

Mysteries of the 14th at St. Andrews 119

The Linksland of Machrihanish 124

Scotland’s Northern Links 126

Western Ireland: The Wind, the Sea, and the Guinness 132

8 Treasure Hunting 137

Astoria: A Coastal Oregon Gem 139

The Orchards: Superintendent Revives Rundown Ross Treasure 142

The Fine Art of Restoration– 1994 146

9 Classical Tracks 153

Pine Valley 155

Augusta National: What You See and What You Don’t See 158

Speaking of Hills 161

East Lake: The Heart and Soul of a New Atlanta– 1995 165

Bethpage Black 169

Oakland Hills: Interview with ‘‘A Monster’’ 171

10 Best and Worst Awards 175

11 In Golf as in Life 199

Divot Man 201

How You Handle How You Play 203

A Golfer in the Garden 204

Those All-Important Marriage Points 206

One Divot I’ll Never Replace 208

A Sense of Security Out West 210

What’s Really Important 212

For Further Reading 215

Index 219

Bradley S. Klein, PhD, is founding editor of SuperNews, architecture editor of Golfweek magazine, and a design consultant and a frequent speaker at industry and association meetings, as well as a former PGA Tour caddie. He runs Golfweek's "America's Best" national course rating system and is a member of Royal Dornoch Golf Club in Scotland. He is the author of Discovering Donald Ross: The Architect and His Golf Courses (Wiley). "In Rough Meditations, reading about golf courses is almost as much fun as playing them."
—Arnold Palmer

"Many golfers have strong opinions when it comes to course architecture. Nobody, however, matches Brad Klein's ability to explain the difference between good and bad design. Rough Meditations deserves a place on that select list of must-reads for anyone who cares about the art of the golf course."
—Peter Jacobsen

"Rough Meditations is eloquently written, blends a variety of topics seamlessly together, and touches repeatedly on aspects of golf that are barely acknowledged by the majority of golfers and pretty much disregarded by devotees of the 'aerial game.' If you haven't done so already, buy this book. Read it. Digest what it says. Become architecturally 'literate.' It's worth it."
—Bob Weisgerber, Golf Today Magazine

Rough Meditations is a unique collection of fascinating essays that bring the world's greatest golf courses to life with brilliantly colorful prose. These charming and often hilarious essays take golf enthusiasts on an intimate tour of the game's most distinguished courses. Along the way, readers gain a privileged look at the differences between good and bad golf course design. Featured essays include:

• In Golf as in Life
• Longest Wait That Was Worth It
• Goofiest Modern Green
• Business or Art?
• Read Any Good Greens Lately?
• In the Beginning There Was Sand
• Worst Shot in Golf
• Treasure Hunting

Long considered one of golf's most talented writers, Bradley Klein offers more than fifty essays, ranging from instructive to inspirational, that cover the architecture of courses, how to read greens, the ins and outs of green committees, the relationships that grow from the game, and much more. With a style all his own, Klein takes readers to where he was for years as a caddie on the PGA and LPGA tours—onto the grass and into the game.