A Course Called Scotland: Searching the Home of Golf for the Secret to Its Game

by Tom Coyne

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “One of the best golf books this century.” — Golf Digest

From Tom Coyne—the author of the New York Times bestselling A Course Called Ireland , hailed as “a joy from start to finish” by The Wall Street Journal —comes the heartfelt and humorous celebration of his quest to play golf on every links course in Scotland, the birthplace of the game he loves.

For much of his adult life, bestselling author Tom Coyne has been chasing a golf ball around the globe. When he was in college, studying abroad in London, he entered the lottery for a prized tee time in Scotland, grabbing his clubs and jumping the train to St. Andrews as his friends partied in Amsterdam; later, he golfed the entirety of Ireland’s coastline, chased pros through the mini-tours, and attended grueling Qualifying Schools in Australia, Canada, and Latin America. Yet, as he watched the greats compete, he felt something was missing. Then one day a friend suggested he attempt to play every links course in Scotland, and qualify for the greatest championship in golf.

The result is A Course Called Scotland, a hilarious golf and travel adventure throughout the birthplace of the sport and home to some of the oldest and most beloved courses in the world, including St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Prestwick, Troon, and Carnoustie. With his signature blend of storytelling, humor, history, and insight, Coyne weaves together his journey to more than 100 legendary links courses in Scotland with compelling threads of golf history and witty insights into the contemporary home of golf. As he journeys Scotland in search of the game’s secrets, he discovers new and old friends, rediscovers the peace and power of the sport, and, most importantly, reaffirms the ultimate connection between the game and the soul. It is a rollicking love letter to Scotland and golf as no one has attempted it before.

Genres: Sports, Travel, Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook

336 pages, Hardcover

Published July 3, 2018

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

While books are often denoted as “good” or “bad”, this went beyond that and provided me with a feeling of comfort not typically experienced when reading. To me, reading has always been for the sake of entertainment, knowledge, or telling a pretty girl, “Hey, I read” (works like a charm) … but this book soothed the soul, stifled doubt, and opened up a new feeling to yearn for and obtain while hiding in pages. Golf is nowhere near as important to me as it is to Coyne, but I felt a conversational understanding and saw numerous thoughts (admittedly many in the self doubt/deprecatory nature) align with my own. Never quit. Simple and yet the only advice we ever truly need. It was a pleasure to have been taught by this author, or as I once referred to him, professor… in the most important class of my academic career: screenwriting. It’s nice to know that not all English professors are hacks; some can back it up.

[Calvin Hintz · Rating 5 out of 5]

After buying this book in 2021 just after moving to Minneapolis I had tried reading it multiple times, but couldn’t muster up the mental focus to get through a book quite like this.

I originally learned about the book and its author, Tom Coyne, critically acclaimed golf writer for Golf Digest magazine, while watching a YouTube video put out by Erik Anders Lang (who’s YouTube page is now known as Random Golf Club on YouTube and remains one of my favorites to this day). Erik was playing a round of golf at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in New York and they discussed Tom’s trips to the British Isles and to Ireland for his epic golf itineraries. His insights on life and how it intertwines with the game, his deep seeded competitive nature despite his calm demeanor as a golf writer, and the impeccable storytelling that Tom exhibited in that short YouTube video drove me to buy his most recent book at the time, A Course Named Scotland, to learn more about his epic trip to the home of golf.

After multiple attempts to read this book since purchasing it in 2021, I finally gained a foothold while giving it another shot this summer, and I think it is a testament to how I have changed as a person since first trying to read it.

Tom’s trip around Scotland, playing 109 rounds of golf in only 54 days, was an inspiring look into his insatiable desire to find the secret to golf itself in the place it was first officially played. His poignant commentary on the courses he played, the bustling cities and the barely-inhabited northern isles he visited, the cast of characters turned lifelong friends that he played with and was cheered on by along the way, and his never ending pursuit of qualifying for The Open at St Andrew’s was an unbelievable journey that I can only hope to experience a fraction of at some point in my life.

I will undoubtably be reading his first golfing-marathon book, titled A Course Called Ireland, and his most recent that sees him touring the contiguous United States, both of which I bought recently in anticipation of finishing this book.

For anyone who has ever asked me why do you like golf so much? Or, I don’t see the appeal to playing a sport so difficult or frustrating for 99.9% of the population who aren’t highly skilled tour professionals, I would urge them to read this book. I have always seen golf as an escape to the outdoors, a place where I can find solitude whether it be on a round by myself on a chilly morning in my 20s, a mid-day jaunt with some buddies on a hot summer day in college, or a twilight round with my dad and my grandpa at the country club in my hometown when I was younger. Golf is more than meets the eye, and I cannot wait to be able to travel to Scotland to experience it the same way that Tom did in this epic retelling of his once in a lifetime trip.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book after my own heart, this is a lovely joyride. The author, Tom Coyne, is a writer of golf articles for various publications, and an associate professor of English at a university in Philadelphia.

Being the golf fanatic that he is, Tom and an old friend are pondering the true secret of golf and hit upon the idea that if it can be found anywhere, surely it must exist somewhere in the old wind-swept and sandy links golf courses of Scotland, home, and spiritual soul of the game.

Tom, amazingly with permission from his wife, decides to embark on a search to find his answers. He will play 107 links courses (seaside) beginning with a handful in England and Wales, but with about 90 percent of them located in Scotland. There are of course the most famous venues, but also a number of small and hidden gems. Along his journey, he chronicles his witty, wise, and wonderful observations of the game, the people he encounters, and life itself. It is often hilarious, but also reflective, and a touching love letter to Scotland and the game of golf.

This book really hit home with me, having made my own Scottish golf pilgrimage about a decade ago. It made me feel as though I'm being called back, and hopefully one day I'll be able to return.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would like to have read more about the courses themselves. For that I would recommend James Finegan's Blasted Heaths and Blessed Green: A Golfer's Pilgrimage to the Courses of Scotland.

[Josh Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who is yearning to make a pilgrimage to the ancient home of my favorite sport to play, this book was like mainlining golf heroin. I felt like I was there with Tom Coyne on his whirlwind, 107 courses in 57 days or whatever it was, but then when I came down off that high I was left with the bleak reality that I am stuck in the dark back alley that is the game of golf here in the States (save the rare course), an expensive and time-consuming addiction that is a cruel charade of what life could be/the joy it could offer.

Currently considering uprooting my life to move there (or Ireland) to make this happen.

[Don Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Course Called Scotland is a great recount of Tom Coyne’s 60 day excursion playing links golf courses around parts of England and around the entire coast of Scotland. To truly enjoy this read, you must be a golf enthusiast and it helps to have taken at least one trip to Scotland. I was fortunate to have taken a buddies trip to St. Andrews and Aberdeen in 2014 and this trip allowed me to visualize all of the great stories and courses that were described as part of this adventure.

As a golfer, I admired Tom’s mental and physical stamina for playing so much golf over such a long period of time culminating in a qualifying round for The British Open.

I agreed with his high praise for Cruden Bay however I played a poor round there after shooting my personal best (78) at Royal Aberdeen. I was fascinated to learn that Royal Aberdeen was the sixth oldest club in the world. I would definitely take a trip back there to play these tracks together with hopefully another round at The Old Course.

The novel allowed me to travel on Tom’s adventure with him and to think about planning future buddies trips. Perhaps a trip centred around the exclusive Muirfield or North Berwick, provided we could get tee times. A possible trip to the north of Scotland centred around Royal Dornoch. I did enjoy Tom’s trip to the most northerly islands recounting the isolation and roughness of the tracks up there. I do not think this will work it’s way into a buddies trip however.

What intrigued me most of all, was Tom’s praise and description of the west coast of Scotland, most notably Machrihanish Golf Club. I could see a buddies trip to the west including this track together with Royal Troon, Prestwick, Dundonald and perhaps even a trip over to the Island of Arran to play the 12 hole course, Shiskine.

I really appreciated all of the insight that this book provided..

[Michael Northington · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the first few chapters Tom Coyne became one of my favorite golf writers. The last few chapters made him one of my favorite authors. If there wasn’t so much golf involved, I’d recommend this book to anyone.

[Dave Fransen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shockingly good book. Not even sure why I picked it, but really glad I did. Great story telling set in some pretty amazing places across Scotland, England and Wales. Big thumbs up.

[Tony Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Coyne paints wonderful word pictures while tackling an ambitious goal. Play all the links courses in Scotland. I enjoyed the book and learned a lot about Scotland as well.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tom Coyne is the author of the novel “A Gentleman’s Game”, and two previous non-fiction books – “Paper Tiger”, about a year spent pursuing a plus-number handicap and a toehold in professional golf; and “A Course Called Ireland”, which chronicles a journey, on foot, around the coast of Ireland, playing every course that he encountered along the way. Now he has returned with another book about another journey through golf, this time in the ancestral land of the game, Scotland. The book is “A Course Called Scotland”.

It would not be unfair to say that Tom Coyne is obsessed with golf, though in that characteristic he is far from alone. Where he stands out is in acting on his obsession, and then bringing us all along for the ride through his words. His lofty goal, this time around, was to play his way around the links courses of Scotland, 111 rounds of golf in 57 days, logging 36 and often 54 holes per day – and on one memorable occasion, 72 – on a quest for the Secret of Golf, and incidentally, a chance at qualifying for the 2015 Open Championship at St Andrews.

He expanded his quest beyond Scotland in order to tick off all of the courses in the Open Championship rota, six of which are in England, and shoehorned in some non-rota tracks in the south – in Cornwall and Wales – before heading north. Accompanied along the way, for a few rounds here and there, by a rotating cast of friends and strangers-who-became-friends, Coyne pursues his quest for golf’s secret through a string of well-known, not-so-well-known, and virtually unknown links courses – always links, or at least coastal, courses – in fair weather and in foul, under sunny skies and through wind and rain (of course, this is Scotland, after all), carding scores ranging from 82 to 62 (full disclosure: it was a par-62 course.)

The book chronicles not only the physical journey, but also a spiritual or metaphysical journey as Coyne, who strikes me as a restless soul, sought to find a match between his inner feelings for the game and their outward manifestation. I think that he found it, in the end, with little pushes along the way from his playing companions, and the serendipity that is an inevitable part of epic quests of this kind.

Coyne is candid, along the way, about his up-and-down relationship with the game of golf, and about other issues. A promising player as a teen, he self-destructed during a tryout for his college golf team, then, in his late twenties pushed himself to achieve the pinnacle of his game on a quest to make it through PGA Tour Qualifying School (a quest chronicled in his 2006 book, “Paper Tiger”). A couple of years later he undertook a four-month-long walking journey around the coast of Ireland playing links courses along the way (see his 2009 book, “A Course Called Ireland”) and in the interval between that journey/book and this one, lost his golf game, and almost lost his life as an addiction to alcohol overtook his addiction to golf.

There is a somber moment or two in the book when the latter subject comes up, but they pass with a quiet solemnity followed by a lighthearted comment as the conversation returns to golf.

The cavalcade of playing companions who joined the author along the way is a fascinating cross-section of people with the time, spare cash, and inclination to take part in this eccentric journey. My favorites among them are Paddy the Caddie, an ex-pat Philadelphian who lives in Kinsale, Ireland, and who featured in “A Course Called Ireland”; and Garth, a Philly local, new to the game but newly married into a golf-mad family, who accompanied Coyne along the stretch from Aberdeen to Inverness. Garth of the 38.4 handicap, who greeted every day on the trip with, “Guess what, Tom? We get to golf today.” Garth, who broke 100 for the first time on his last round of the trip and proudly texted his wife back home to report the feat – only to have his 2-handicap brother-in-law ask him what he shot on the back nine.

The variety of courses that Coyne pegged-up on ran the gamut from the near-holy ground of St Andrews Old Course itself to literal sheep tracks in the outer islands – places that in my mind’s eye I pictured as looking something like Luke Skywalker’s refuge in the Star Wars re-boots. He had the good grace to be unimpressed by the two courses he played which are owned by the current POTUS – or as he is known in my household: “He Who Must Not Be Named”– both the travesty which he has foisted upon the Aberdeen coast in a formerly protected dune-lands preserve, and the unfortunate Turnberry, which he has befouled with the vulgar trappings of his other properties – outré fountains, a faux crest, and his name writ large, and first, at every opportunity.

The heart and soul of this book, however, is Coyne’s running commentary about the sights, sounds, and experiences of his golf vision-quest, and his inner monologue as he flirts with the highs and lows of the game; swings that sometimes rival the amplitude of the Highland hillsides and valleys that he encounters. Golf is a game that can beat you down, if you let it, with lost golf balls and missed birdie (or par) putts, and in the next moment lift your spirits at the sight of the soaring flight of a golf ball fairly singing its way to a brilliant position on a distant green, and Coyne has a gift for describing all of those highs and lows. (My only niggling complaint about his prose is the constant use of “golf” as a verb – a Midwestern, and I suppose, Philadelphia, usage that grates on my California ears.)

Coyne communicates that range of experiences and emotions beautifully in this jewel of a book, and never better than in the ultimate culmination of his journey – which I will not describe any more than I would give away the ending of a much-anticipated movie.

Buy this book; read this book. And even if you never make your own pilgrimage to the ancestral home of the game we love (and in my case, the literal home of my ancestors) you will get a glimpse, a wee taste, of the beating heart, and maybe the secret, of the game of golf.

[Don Gorman · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2) Warning: This book is for serious UK golf enthusiasts only! I happen to qualify in that category, and I was very interested in reading about the courses that I had played and maybe get some insight to others that I had not. This book is a veritable travel guide for golfing in the UK. That being said, parts of it are terribly boring and Coyne's always interesting combination of trying to combine golf and life as equal partners gets a little sappy at times. But it sure did give me an agenda for some places I would like to play over there!

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, I’m not a golfer. But I have been charmed by Coyne’s books, A Course Called Ireland and A Course Calked Scotland, and I don’t need to be more than a mild fan of the game. Coyne’s humor, his drive/obsession to complete his goal, the people he brings and meets along the way are all priceless. He is driven, yet vulnerable. Truly likable yet frustrating, and laugh out loud funny! He brings you along for the ride and shows you his humanity, humor and charm. I have recommended both of these books so many times I ought to earn royalties! A must read for anyone; golfer or not.

[Ethan Liebermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such an incredibly enjoyable read. It felt like meditation to turn the audiobook on, sit back, and be transformed into a different world. Beautifully written, with just the right balance of golf course architecture nerdy Ness combined with history combine with touching anecdotes. I plan to read his two others about Ireland and the United States. Very much enjoy this special book.

[John Matthew IV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book so well written that after you are finished if you don't want to go golfing in Scotland, you have no soul.

p. 20: True Links
p. 20: Golf on the Rocks (Also page 212)
p. 30: "Putts don't drip into the hole over here, rather, they drove down to safety as if burrowing for cover."
p. 49: "Tempo and Target were my preferred swing thoughts when I remembered to think them."
p. 59: Tommy’s Honour: The Extraordinary Story of Golf’s Founding Father and Son
p. 68: Dr. Frank Stableford invented his scoring system at Wallasey Golf Club.
p. 77: "It was a lesson I had learned more than any other in golf, to stick around until the good happened."
p. 88: "Most Scottish golf clubs have an official necktie that's worn by members, and if you can buy one in the pro shop, it's a far cooler souvenir than another hat."
p. 91: "Make sure to pack plenty (of tees), because in Scotland, you won't find any spares scattered around the tee boxes."
p. 107: "The Ghost Course" by David Owen in the New Yorker (And page 287) (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...)
p. 108: Golf on Gullane Hill: A Celebration of 100 Years of Gullane Golf Club
p. 110: John Panton: ginger beer and lime
p. 113: ScottishGolfHistory.org
p. 113: Golfers Land pub in Edinburgh
p. 114: Five clubs use St. Andrews Links:
1) The Royal and Ancient
2) The New Golf Club
3) The St. Andrews Golf Club
4) The St. Regulus Ladies Golf Club
5) The St. Rule Club
p. 126: "The challenge of St. Andrews's courses ascended from Balgove to Strathtyrum to Eden to Jubilee, then to the New and Old, and finally up to a wild storm of a course newly built above the town."
p. 127: Balcomie course at Crail
p. 130: Munch at St. Andrews
p. 142: Fife Golf Trust (https://fifegolftrust.co.uk/)
p. 167: "I often advised people to forget about their scores, or to play Stableford; don't let not playing to your handicap ruin your one trip around god's courses."
p. 169: "Thou shalt grind."
p. 169: "The putter is three times more important than any other club in the bag."
p. 170: Murcar Links (https://murcarlinks.com/)
p. 173: "It was reinforcement of the old golf adage that they don't ask how, but how many."
p. 177: "Between the two of them, they knew every ounce of Newburgh history, reminding me that if you played with a local, every course in Scotland held enough legends to rival St. Andrews."
p. 180: Driving the Green
p. 180: Newburgh-on-Ythan Links (https://newburghgolfclub.co.uk/)
p. 180: Cruden Bay Golf Club (https://crudenbaygolfclub.co.uk/)
p. 185: DrMulligans.com: American used golf ball site
p. 263: Campbeltown's Royal Hotel (https://machrihanishdunes.com/stay/th...)
p. 265: Machrihanish Dunes (https://machrihanishdunes.com/)
p. 268: Ballpark Blueprints (https://ballparkblueprints.com/)
p. 268: "He carried seven clubs, persimmon woods and some hickory shafts, and was aesthetically obsessed that he eschewed the scorecard and didn't have a handicap."
p. 279: "He reminded me that the best day of this adventure was the one I was in, and whether we qualified or not, we would have played a course called Scotland."
p. 297: "BE PRESENT."
p. 306: Ardglass Golf Club
p. 310: "I've met design pundits who think Augusta is an overrated layout, and I pray for their darkened and irredeemable souls."
p. 321: The Story of Golf
p. 321: Links Golf: The Inside Story

[Cormac Healy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure if I am being overly generous to Mr. Coyne with this 5-star rating. As a golf-obsessed Scotsman, was there ever really a chance of me disliking a book about a well-regarded American writer travelling around this beautiful country and waxing lyrical about the golf and the people? Realistically, probably not. But who cares! I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this book, and it sparked in me a burning desire to see more of the courses in Scotland, which I imagine is as big a compliment as you can pay to a book about travelling to play golf.

The premise is simple enough, playing all [or nearly all] the links courses in Scotland in preparation for trying to qualify for the Open, with a couple of courses in England and Wales thrown in as well? Why? Why bloody not! I have to admit serious admiration for Tom Coyne on two counts. One, his stamina in playing 2 courses a day whilst travelling around the country for well over a month is seriously impressive, and two, his ability to separate how he played from how much he enjoyed a course, an ability I myself am completely lacking.

I don't think I would agree with him on his favourite courses, and his (relatively) disparaging comments about Turnberry (regularly voted the best course in the UK) suggest he is probably in the minority, which I imagine is just how he likes it. I did appreciate his regard for Kinghorn and Anstruther, two of my favourite small courses in Fife, and hope to cross off a few of the more out-of-the-way courses on a trip around the North Coast this year (the number entirely dependent on how much permission is granted from my girlfriend).

But this is an enjoyable book, funny and meaningful. Golf can often seem like a game of the elite, although I feel less so in Scotland than elsewhere, and it was a rare treat to have someone unpack it in such depth and with such fondness as in here.

5/5: would recommend for any golfer. Probably not for the average punter.

[Emily Mae Dilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really cannot put into words how much I love Tom Coyne as an author. I thought nothing would top A Course Called Ireland (especially as I felt my love of that book was conflated by an upcoming golf trip in which I was “supposed” to play four of his favorite courses, thanks CoVid), but I really believe this is the first time I think the sequel is better than the original.

In A Course Called Scotland, Coyne sets off on another, crazy golf expedition. While Ireland’s main challenge was walking the full course (read: walking around the entire continent), Scotland’s main challenge is going to be over 100 rounds of golf in half as many days.

True to the first book, TC spins the golf courses of Scotland into epic stories of people, history and landscape. Even to an uninitiated person who knows nothing of the golf world, this book will leave you enlightened, educated and thoroughly entertained. I am not one to outwardly emote while reading, but I lost count of how many times I literally laughed out loud or read hilarious excerpts to my husband.

Where A Course Called Scotland differs from TC’s previous book on Ireland is that this time around he is searching golf’s homeland for the “secret to the game,” and in doing so he looks for secrets to his own happiness. By confronting his own demons, TC quietly encourages the reader to challenge their own, and ultimately puts forward a novel that is simultaneously all about golf, and at the same time all about life.

There is a lot more I can say about this one, but I’ll end it here. This was a great book to start 2021 off with and I can’t wait to read A Course Called America this summer!

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I enjoyed this even more than A Course Called Ireland (which I loved). Coyne has grown as a writer and some of his descriptions of Scotland and the golf experiences are truly imaginative. This passage in particular about the Scottish Highlands really struck me:
It was four days of little golf and much driving on my way down from Scotland's summit through the isles of Skye and Mull to the southern tip of Kintyre, but no stretch of the country was burned more deeply into memory than those ninety hours headed south. The landscape was not just scenic, it was preposterous. I climbed granite peaks in my station wagon, scooted along cliffside roads like a timid pack mule, rolled down hillsides, parachuted my car into soft, green glens, and then snaked my way around lochs whose still surfaces were mirrors beneath cloudless skies. I dodged sheep on one-lane roads and scarcely saw a home or another human being, aside from a black Volkswagen following me at a distance.
Add to it all a very personal story woven throughout about his friend Robert, and this is a powerful story that will stick with you. Any golf fan will love this book.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

No one would ever call me a golf fan; unless one counts miniature golf (and I'm sure one doesn't!), I've never lifted a club. Yet, I did find this an enjoyable ramble across Scotland. I learned about the history of the game--which, of course, originated there--and big-name players as well as the important courses and why golfers love or loathe them. Coyne is a bit of a fanatic, setting himself up to play 107 courses in just 56 days, which meant 3 courses a day sometimes. But his enjoyment of the game, both pleasures and pain (not only from muscle aches but also the weather and the gorse), makes this an interesting kind of travelogue. Witty and charming, this quirky look at the sport was surprisingly enjoyable and well-narrated by Jacques Roy. Certainly it's a book for golfers--Coyne has written a similar book about Irish courses--but it's also a genuinely entertaining read (or listen).

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

You would think that you have to really love golf to read this book. It is after all about a man who, in the space of a few months, plays over a hundred golf courses in Scotland. And I suppose you do. But there is so much more here than an account of this odyssey. Coyne's love of the game is matched by his love of the natural settings in which it is played in Scotland. And many of the people who join him for a portion of the trip are an inspiration. (Garth for example)...But what you enjoy the most is Tom Coyne and his honesty. He is somebody you want to meet and tell him personally how much you loved his book.

[Stephen Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

My undisputed favorite. An absolute gem. As expected, the book covers unbelievable golf courses, golf history, and unique golf experiences. But more than that, the author connects with the reader on a personal level. He writes in a way that one moment feels like you’re walking the fairway with him and the next you’re sitting fire-side listening to a great story. The mark of a good book is to learn a lot and enjoy it. The mark of a great book is to learn about yourself. @coynewriter accomplishes all this. Not to mention his wit and creativity is second to none; a book guaranteed to be enjoyed by readers of all tastes.

[Bryce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stunt non-fiction and as a golfer this book is as close as you can get to a golf trip without actually going anywhere. The storytelling is light and fun, and the writing has a deft touch. I definitely found myself looking up flights and greens fees a couple times... Juuuuust to see.

My only complaint is that is gets a bit too long and repetitive. The courses and the stories start to blur together. At 200 pages this would be fantastic, but at 300 it drags toward the end. That being said, if I ever manage to make it to Scotland for golf, I'm sure I'll have to revisit parts of this book.

[Drew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read Book 1 (Ireland, a delightful idea turned into a delightful travel book) and then Book 3 (USA, far less coherent than Ireland, and far less about the local culture than 'Ireland' was, but decent as a look at famous American golf courses), I figured that I might as well read Book 2 (Scotland).

I found it very strange that a book titled "A Course Called Scotland" involved playing golf courses not in Scotland. As a result, we learn far less about Scottish culture than we learned in about Irish culture in Book 1.

Having said all that, I found the 'twist' at the end to be *deeply* emotionally moving.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look into a Golf writer's/Poetry teacher's look into the world of golf in it's founding home of Scotland. I am not an avid golfer, but have many family members who are, and even still I enjoyed the this novel. Part memoir, part travel guide Coyne walks you through the old, the new, the sacred, and the not so sacred golf courses that have shaped and are still shaping golfers all over the world. As a mecca for all things golf I found Coyne's experiences on Scotland's coursed to be insightful, funny, and over all an encouraging way to approach the multitude of courses and which ones are worth their hype.

[Thomas Radigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The cover looked intriguing, and the idea of covering golf in Scotland, not where it was actually invented (as the author admits), but where it was presumably modernized. The author claims to have visited and played at over a hundred golf courses in the United Kingdom in two months, and he mentions some shadow character called "Robert" and how his wife and young daughters willingly go with him, though they are not golfers themselves.

I did not like the author's writing much, and his descriptions sound more than a little hokey, especially of the people he says are his friends. This put me off the book, and I cannot figure out its popularity.

[Geoffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coyne can golf, write, and apparently used to be a professional boozer as well (Tom aka Robert). If you love golf, independence, dreaming about getting away from your daily routine, and have interest in planning a links tour of Scotland, this is a must read. Coyne is THE golf writer of our generation (sorry Feinstein - but Coyne doesn't just eloquently rehash existing information - he actually creates new and unique content). Hopefully Tom (Robert) can continue to control his addictive personality and cranking out excellent golf books.

[John Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coyne is a good writer, I like his prose but the Adventure/Travelogue left me unsatisfied. Perhaps the journey was just too broad and he made the most of it but I really wanted more depth. There are moments when he spends an adequate (for me!) amount of time on the locale, but mostly he is rushed as I am sure he was in real-time while accomplishing this feat. Must admit the brevity of some of the places on his course has me yearning to follow in his footsteps. The ending is anticlimactic and somewhat disjointed. Lucky him though to get to play Augusta!

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you truly love golf, you must read this book!

Tom Coyne has written a masterpiece. I couldn't and wouldn't duplicate his marathon trek but loved reading experiencing it through his words. I've been on two different golf trips to Scotland and felt deja vu all over again! I've recommended this book to all of my golfing buddies. Only wish I could have read it before either of my trips.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who loves golf and has played golf in Scotland, this is a good read. The author takes on golfing trip all around Scotland. Instead of dwelling on the specific rounds, the book does an extremely good job of telling the history of links golf in the area that it was played. I would highly recommend this book. I was also have to add that I've played golf in Scotland and his book brought great memories.

[David Haley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Read Drop the Politics

I enjoyed the writing and the clear love of golf and people. I was frustrated by the need to pick at President Trump. He bought Turnberry at a great price from Leisure Corp part of Dubi Corp. The author makes you think he bought it from the local farmers. Last I read Turnberry was the number one course in GB&I according to Golf World.
Just seems so unnecessary in an otherwise great read.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Received as a 2023 gift!

Did not expect a major literary twist in this Scotland golf travel log, but I was surprised and impressed! I think this book would be better as a 200-pager - it felt repetitive in patches as we went to (yet another) of 100+ golf courses. Why are all major-publisher books almost exactly 300 pages?

Anyway, very cool to finish the story in Augusta. Scotland sounds cool but can’t beat Georgia.