Preface by Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
Foreword by Jack Nicklaus
The most celebrated and historic golf clubhouses in America and Great Britain. If golf courses are the soul of a golf club, then the golf clubhouse is the heart of a golf club. The private inner sanctum for member camaraderie and refreshment appeared in golf’s earliest history, but purpose-built clubhouses didn’t exist until the nineteenth century. Focusing on the most celebrated golf clubhouses built from the late-nineteenth century and into the 1930s, Legendary Golf Clubhouses of the U.S. and Great Britain showcases the true golden age of golf clubhouse architecture. The clubhouses chosen for this book are stellar examples of expansive and lush private estates that were converted into golf courses, and the estate manors into golf clubhouses. Experience the turn-of-the-century coastal charm of thatched Maidstone Country Club located in chic Easthampton, New York; savor a view of the ocean from the locker rooms in the luxurious Mediterranean-influenced Gulfstream Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida; and behold the lavish grandeur of England’s Stoke Park, best remembered for its appearance in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. Diedrich gives the reader an insider’s view of these singular grand golf structures—their grounds, and the dining, sitting, and club rooms—clubhouses that are distinguished not only for their architectural beauty, but also for how they are symbolic of a particular golf club’s identity. This book is the perfect gift for avid golfers and golf enthusiasts alike.