The Story of Golf in Oklahoma

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: If you love golf, and golf courses, you will love this new book. Being an Oklahoman is not a necessity to enjoy this...just a golf fan. I especially liked this because of the detail behind Perry Maxwell, and the background of his courses. While this year's U.S. Open brought Southern Hills (Tulsa) into the spotlight again, Maxwell also designed (or redesigned) great courses such as Augusta National (redesign of several holes), Dornick Hills (Ardmore), Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club, and several others nationwide.

Rating:
Summary: A hole-in-one
Review: The University of Oklahoma Press hit a hole-in-one with this book. Amazingly, given Oklahoma's national prominence in golfing circles, until now there has not been a comprehensive history of golf in Oklahoma and the people and courses that have made the state a key player amoung amateurs and professionals in this royal and ancient game. This book corrects that oversight. The author combines a readable style with meticulous research and an obvious love for the game to chronicle the history of golf in Oklahoma from the pre-statehood (1900) course in Guthrie to the world championship courses in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Norman, Edmond, Stillwater and Broken Arrow. In addition, there are ample stories on the highly touted courses in Bartlesville, Ada, Ardmore and a host of other towns. Lemon devotes an entire chapter to the history and significance of Burneyville, located in Love County "about halfway between Oklahoma City and Dallas." I'll venture a guess that few golfers or Oklahomans know the significance of this Oklahoma hamlet to the golfing world. I won't give away the secret but it is an amazing story, sure to delight readers. The chapters on Southern Hills in Tulsa and Quail Creek in Oklahoma City are replete with the history of the courses and the personalities who helped establish them, as well as the many, if not all, great American golf champions who have graced local links. I was interested to read that Southern Hills was built by WPA labor at a cost of $100,000 and that W.K. Warren and Otis McClintok were instrumental in persuading oilman Waite Phillips to donate 300 acres of south Tulsa land for the project. In addition to the attention given to the history of the courses, there are chapters on varsity programs and players; women and their outstanding contributions to the game, including Susie Maxwell Berning; and, and up-to-date review of the modern era. Complete information is included on the 16 USGA championships played in Oklahoma, along with that of some 56 PGA, LPGA and USGA professional championships played here. Combine that with wonderful accounts of such players as Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Arnold Palmer, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Nancy Lopez and Tiger Woods and the result is a book that will be a benchmark for others that follow. The book contains some 400 pages with bibliography, appendices that include details about the players and events in Oklahoma golf; 15 color and 49 black and white photographs and illustrations; and the course layouts for Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Norman and Stillwater. The author is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and a correspondent and golf columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. He is a three-time award winner from the Texas Golf Writers Association. He has managed to combine a history of golf in Oklahoma with an engaging account of the many colorful personalities that contributed so much to its success in a state that now boasts 220 courses and an estimated 300,000 people who claim to play golf at least once each month. But then, you know about golfers and the truth. For anyone interested in golf or Oklahoma sports history, the book will make a wonderful read and, at the same time, make you proud.