The Seventh at St. Andrews: How Scotsman David McLay Kidd and His Ragtag Band Built the First New Course onGolf's Holy Soil in Nearly a Century | 
 enlarge | Author: Scott Gummer
Publisher: Gotham
Category: Book
List Price: $26.00
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Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 129583
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.35209411
ASIN: B001BCCOW8
Publication Date: October 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
An acclaimed Scottish golf course architect who had to go to America to make his name lands the most coveted commission in all of golf: to design the first new course in almost a century for the town of St. Andrews, the games ancestral home.
David McLay Kidd became a wunderkind golf course architect before he was thirty years old, thanks to his universally lauded design at Bandon Dunes on the Oregon coast. When the town of St. Andrews announced in 2001 that a new championship course was in the worksthe towns first since 1914Kidd fought off all comers and earned the right to make golf history. Author Scott Gummer was there to chronicle the days in the dirt and the nights in the pubs, the politics and histrionics, all with exclusive access to David Kidd, his team, and the St. Andrews Links Trust.
Unfolding in arresting you-are-there scenes, The Seventh at St. Andrews follows the young master at work as Kidd, with his sharp tongue, leads his accomplices in transforming a plot of flat, uninspiring farmlandsmack in the middle of which sits the towns sewage plantinto a rollicking golfing adventure and the most anticipated golf course opening in a generation.
Murphys Law seems to govern the process, however, as everything that can go wrong seemingly does: from epic wooly weather, to cattle grazing on the site, to vociferous opposition among the townsfolk, to bureaucrats so stuck in their ways they cannot be budged even with one of Kidds bulldozers.
The story chronicles the decade-long journey from the first notion of a seventh course to its official opening. Kidd & Co. exceed everyones expectations by building a magnificent throwback course that looks to have been shaped by the wind and rain and nature rather than modern machinery. The Seventh at St. Andrews brings the underappreciated art of golf course design to life, and along the way profiles an unforgettable cast of characters that includes Kidds jovial father, a golf legend in his own right; Kidds taciturn right-hand man; and the roustabout Scottish shaper, the Da Vinci in a dozer who is the heart of Kidds crew.
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| Customer Reviews:
 interesting dynamics, colorful characters -- but is the course good? June 14, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
the book suits my tastes well. i'm always interested in how passionate people come together to develop ideas, overcome obstacles, and get things done. double-bonus that the theme is golf.
i hope to play "the Seventh" someday and experience, first hand, whether the intense passion and unusual approach of the team and its leaders actually produced a good result.
The Seventh at St. Andrews November 24, 2007
0 out of 5 found this review helpful
I purchased this book as a favor for my great-aunt who wanted this book as a gift for her son. She was told by a friend this would be a great book for my cousin as he is an avid golfer.
Very Bias November 12, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Hi, I'm David McLay Kidd and I wanted you to know what fun is was working with Scott on this book, he captured both the artistic and social level of what I and my team do and MOST importantly WHY we do it. I have been amazed at the positive comments I have received from those that have read the book, it reallys seems to capture the imagination of golfers. I hope you enjoy it. David...
Scott Gummer Hits a Hole in One November 2, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
As a non golfer who has never even walked a course I enjoyed this book immensely. Mr. Gummer brings the entire process of course building to life and his book is populated with larger than life characters. A great read and a perfect present for any golfer.
A new chapter in Scotland golf history October 17, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RKVOPY91Y776E Believe it or not, golf architecture is one of the hottest topics in sports right now. Gummer's book brings this topic alive.
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