The Bottom Line
Pros
- Each hole gets its own brief description, which is usually interesting and well-written.
- More famous holes get about twice the words.
- Many great photos of these great golf holes.
- Perfect book for browsing.
Cons
- Some photos depict golfers, rather than the hole being described.
- A book that lists 1,001 of anything can sound a little repetitious after a while.
Description
- Title says it all: short blurbs about 1,001 "best of the best" golf holes.
- Book's editor is Jeff Barr, who writes the travel section for Golfweek magazine.
- Individual hole blurbs are authored by a team of golf experts.
- Holes are grouped by numbers, progressing from the No. 1 holes through the No. 18 holes.
- Index in front of book provides easy reference for golf courses listed.
- Index in back of book provides easy reference for architects whose designs are listed.
- Book includes more than 600 full-color photos.
Guide Review - "1001 Golf Holes You Must Play Before You Die"
As the title makes clear, this is a book about the best-of-the-best golf holes (as chosen by a team of experts) at courses around the world. The holes are grouped by number (No. 1 holes start the book and No. 18 holes close the book).
Each hole gets its own brief blurb. The holes included are a mixture of ones from the most famous courses in the world and ones from courses you've never heard of. One thing is certain - after browsing this book, there will be many more "must play" golf courses on your list.
Two quibbles: first, as with any book that lists 1,001 of anything, the text can become a little monotonous at times. After all, how many ways are there to describe a par 3, even if the par 3s are quite different? Readers will start to notice some of the same language being used as they progress through the book.
Second, of the 600-plus photos in the book, quite a few are inexplicably of golfers, rather than the hole being described. Those that are of the holes are wonderful, and make the book a great purchase all by themselves. But if Hole No. 6 at World's Greatest Golf Club is being described, why is it accompanied by a photo of Ernie Els in a sand trap? Show me the golf course, not the famous golfer who's playing there.
