Could be anyone?
Here’s another image from the book that really impressed me (when I first saw it). I think it's another of Dale Concannon's.
Is that really Alison? Or could it be the guy on the right- looks tall and rangy?
This picture shows up the many faults of the book. Yes it’s a competent introduction to Colt and his world, yes it has some lovely images of golf holes but if your house catches fire you won’t be trying to save it like you might Bahto/MacDonald or Doak/MacKenzie. Why not? Doubts; big Mark Frost sized doubts. There is no acreditisation for most of the ‘facts’.
Sometimes it’s the tone used and sometimes it’s the facts, I’ve just started dipping in and the following alarm me.
EG
Colt’s first course was Rye? Not according to that freely available classic, British Golf Links.
Colt started working with Suttons in 1911? Wrong by two years.
There’s no written history of Swinley? One was published this year, proper research would have uncovered this.
There are several others like this and I can’t be bothered to go back through the book for them.
Then there's stuff like
We are told that Colt knew Franks Harris and Co and persuaded them to enter Golf Course Construction. Why that’s fascinating, how did they find that out?
They repeat the often told story that Colt made changes to Sunningdale (1901) in the next 12 years to accommodate the “rubber cored ball”. Well I think Park already knew this ball was coming when the course was designed and the Sunningdale history says Colts changes were limited. But what really irks is in the Blackmoor chapter where we learn Colt laid out 13 holes between 1911 and 1914. After the war “In early 1922, Harry Colt had redesigned part of the original course, probably to compensate for the Haskell Ball.” Cake and eat it anyone?
And then there’s the whole ethos. What is a nice but limited track like Borth doing in a collection of purportedly Classic courses? From reading this you’d never guess that his role was limited to restoring a few holes at the far end of the course that the military had sequestered in WW2. There are a no of marginal courses in the book where Colt’s involvement was limited and that does give credence to a rumour that surfaced on here not long ago.
And the pictures apear to be selected for their prettyness rather than relevance. From the chapter on Formby they focus on giving Colt credit for holes no's 5, 7, 12 and 18. There are lovely pictures of The cClubhouse, 7, 12, 11 and 16.
I have to confess that I’m disappointed. It’s virtually impossible to get a copy of the earlier book by Hawtree, Colt & Co, which maddening though it can be, gives much more information and a better appreciation of the man and his many accomplishments. The text here us mostly a 'lite' version of it served up lukewarm, with some very average course reports added. New information is secreted here and there, and is mostly from club histories quoted. This is not the book I was hoping for, although I can see it’s been designed to reach out beyond the 1500 on here. If you have nothing on Colt and are interested then you’ll want a copy, but please remember it’s far from the last word on one of, if not the, most important figure(s) in GCA history.
Text 3/10. Pictures 6/10