A Difficult Par: Robert Trent Jones Sr. and the Making of Modern Golf

James R. Hansen (First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong) believes Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the subject of this definitive biography, was the greatest golf course architect of the 20th century. After reading this superb chronicle, it's hard to disagree.

The title comes from the architect's adage that every golf hole should be a "difficult par but an easy bogey." Trent (as he came to be known) emigrated from England to East Rochester, N.Y., and learned to play while caddying. He became quite good and soon decided golf course architecture was his calling. He attended Cornell University, creating his own curriculum (landscape architecture, hydraulics, surveying, agronomy, etc.), which gave him the skills he needed. In the 1930s, any kind of job was hard to get. He started out doing course remodeling, then got his first 18-hole design job in Penfield, N.Y. At that time, courses were built with New Deal and WPA labor using simple farm machinery.

His big breakthrough came in 1948 when the great Bobby Jones (no relation) asked him to help design the Peachtree course in Atlanta, Ga. It was there that his signature design elements took shape, especially his idea of "runway tees"--long teeing strips that can accommodate all levels of players. After doing some significant remodels of famous layouts (Winged Foot, Southern Hills) his greatest designs followed (Hazeltine, Spyglass Hill). It's likely every golfer and reader of this fine book has played one of Trent's courses--he designed more than 400 worldwide. For anyone serious about golf, the history of the game or course design, this fine biography is a must. --Tom Lavoie, former publisher

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