Grounds for Golf: The History and Fundamentals of Golf Course Design

Golfers dream of playing the legendary courses of the game: St. Andrews, Augusta National, Pinehurst, Pebble Beach. And anyone who has played the royal and ancient sport is an armchair architect at heart. From alterations for their home course to visions of their very own backyard dream course, most golfers would love to test their hands at course design.

What makes certain courses timeless? Unlike the venues of other popular recreational sports like tennis and racquetball, whose playing fields are bound by strict measurements that do not vary, each golf course is unique. Offering an endless topographical variety, from short to long, flat or hilly, wet or dry, every course represents a compelling blend of risks versus rewards, with decisions and challenges to test every golfer’s game and mental toughness.

Combining Geoff Shackelford’s informative narrative with detailed illustrations by architect Gil Hanse, Grounds for Golf explains the fundamentals of golf course design in an understandable and entertaining style. Modern photographs, anecdotal sidebars, and witty quotations augment a course design primer that will enhance readers’ enjoyment of golf's lore while introducing the fundamentals of course design. By explaining the golf course from the ground up, Grounds for Golf will not only help readers in their understanding of the game, but will help their games themselves.

Geoff Shackelford is the author of several golf books, and his writing has appeared in Golf Magazine, Links, Golf World, the Los Angeles Times, and Golfdom magazine. While writing Grounds for Golf, Shackelford codesigned Rustic Canyon Golf Course in Moorpark, California, with Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner. Golf Digest recently named Rustic Canyon the Best New Affordable Public Course in America. Geoff lives in Santa Monica, California.

Gil Hanse has a master’s degree in landscape architecture from Cornell and is the architect of several acclaimed courses, including Craighead Golf Links in Scotland, Applebrooke Golf Club near Philadelphia, and Rustic Canyon. Hanse has overseen restoration work at classic courses originally designed by Donald Ross, A. W. Tillinghast, and William Flynn. Gil and his wife, Tracey, live in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with their three children Chelsea, Tyler, and Caley.