Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects by Michael Patrick Shiels

“Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects – Inside Stories from the Masters of Design”

In Secrets of the Great Golf Course Architects, America’s most celebrated designers pull back the curtain on the art—and occasional chaos—of creating the world’s finest courses. From contending with unforgiving terrain and unpredictable weather to navigating budget constraints and bold creative visions, every hole has its own story.

Legends like Tom Fazio, Jack Nicklaus, Pete Dye, Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Arthur Hills, and Arnold Palmer share candid, behind-the-scenes tales—from snakes slithering across fairways to bulldozers swallowed by quicksand, and even the happy accidents that gave us icons like the island green seventeenth at TPC Sawgrass. Part history, part memoir, and part love letter to the game, this is a rare insider’s view of how the challenges faced by course architects become the tests golfers cherish.