Description: Globe-trotting golf writer Tom Coyne is ready to put down roots.
For a fanatic like Coyne, that means living out every golfer's dream--or nightmare?--and buying his very own golf course. It also involves Bill Murray and Jason Kelce, for some reason. Tom Coyne, the New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called America and numerous other contemporary classics of golf literature, has spent his career traveling the world and playing legendary courses from St. Andrews to Shinnecock. One day, at the urging of a course superintendent who is hoping to save his local nine-hole gem from shuttering just shy of its one hundredth anniversary, Coyne pays a visit to Sullivan County Golf & Country Club in upstate New York. When he arrives, the course is buried under ice and snow; what he can see of the clubhouse is falling apart. By the time he leaves, all he can see is his next adventure: discovering how owning a course is vastly different from playing one. A Course Called Home is Coyne's most personal and profound book yet: a heartfelt and often humorous chronicle of restoration, resilience, and finding purpose in unexpected places. It's a story about digging in--literally and figuratively--as Coyne trades tee times for mower hours, learning how to contour a fairway, water a green, and revive a course rich in history but fading from memory. The Sullivan golf community that Coyne joins is unlike the pristine, manicured version of the game you see on TV, played by millionaires in matching polos. The course is run by a tight-knit crew of groundskeepers who work long hours--not for prestige but for pride. It's frequented by lifelong regulars who pay in cash and play in jeans, and it's welcoming to visitors and first-timers who quickly become part of the fold. Sullivan's crew becomes more like a family, united in their affection for this scrappy, enduring place. Yet decades of declining tourism and economic downturn have left the club struggling to survive, and fighting for its future will require an unprecedented team effort. Coyne rallies the golfing faithful to uplift this course that represents how the game can bring generations together. Players from around the world answer the call, purchasing memberships for a tiny Catskills course they may never visit. Companies offer steeply discounted mowers and carts. Friends swoop in to help dig bunkers, plant flowers, and cut holes. And, yes, some of those helpful friends have names like Bill Murray, Jason Kelce, and Mike Madden. In the tradition of his beloved golf travel trilogy, Coyne again taps into what makes the game timeless and transformative. But this round, he doesn't have to travel far: just down the road from Woodstock, to a century-old nine-holer that embraces all comers. A Course Called Home is a love letter to golf, to community, and to the places that still matter.Brief description: Tom Coyne is the New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland, A Course Called Scotland, A Course Called America, Paper Tiger, and the novel A Gentleman's Game, named one of the best twenty-five sports books of all time by The Philadelphia Daily News and adapted into a motion picture starring Gary Sinise. He is a partner in Smyers, Craig & Coyne Course Design, owner of CoyneGolf Travel, and the editor and podcast host of The Golfer's Journal. He earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Notre Dame, where he won the William Mitchell Award for distinguished achievement. He and his family now split their time between Philadelphia and the Catskills.
Review Quotes: PRAISE FOR A COURSE CALLED AMERICA:
"A heartfelt, rollicking ode to golf . . . Coyne describes playing golf in every state of the union, including Alaska: 295 courses, 5,182 holes, 1.7 million total yards. Along the way, he dives deep into the essence of the game--its joys, its agonies and addictions, its hold on golfers' souls. But most of what you'll remember after putting the book down are the people he encounters, in all their great American diversity and passion."--John Paul Newport, The Wall Street Journal "A Course Called America is an unequivocal pleasure. Tom Coyne gives a fresh perspective on many places I've been, and I had to pause a number of times to relish the way he reflects on what he encounters--the people, the history, and the humor. Here is a soulful and thoroughly entertaining journey that will give people a sense of what golf means to so many of our friends who love the game."
--Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters Champion "A Course Called America is a discovery of our country, our culture, our people and the diverse ways we come to the game of golf. As a golf course architect, I thought I would love the descriptions of the courses he discovered, and looked forward to finding out which would be crowned the Great American Golf Course. I quickly realized that the stars of this book are not the courses, but the people playing them. I became enthralled with the varied experiences of golf, the camaraderie, the matches. Tom Coyne is a wonderful storyteller, and the stories that unfold across this vast landscape called America--some laugh out loud funny, and some stirringly poignant--get to the soul of our game and the heart of our nation."
--Gil Hanse, renowned golf course architect "As Tom uses his gift for storytelling to chronicle his journey through some of America's best golf courses, you'll find yourself remembering why you first fell in love with the game. A Course Called America is a beautifully woven together story that is somehow hilarious and moving all at once, and paints a vivid picture of all that golf in America has to offer."
--Stacy Lewis, two-time major champion