People might not think of Indiana as a place to jet off for a golf vacation, but golf writer Chris Clouser is doing his best to change that. Best known as the biogropher of pre-eminent golf architect Perry Maxwell, Clouser’s second book, “A Month of Saturdays” is a helpful guide to the best of public golf in the state of Indiana.
The book is a travel guide to 35 of the best public courses around the state, ranging from ancient courses such as French Lick, Donald Ross’s 1917 gem, to Pete Dye’s redesign of the famous Brickyard Crossing Course which has four holes, (7-10), inside the oval of the Indianapolis Motor Speeday, to many of the terrific new Tim Liddy courses which are taking the state by storm.
Clouser – with whom I had the pleasure of writing an article comparing and contrasting Maxwell’s Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club and major championship venue Southern Hills – provides the history of each course, discusses its architecture, analyzes several critical holes, has some good photographs, and lists options for dining, sight-seeing, and lodging. There is even a sublime forward written by Tim Liddy himself. It’s a great comprehensive analysis of which courses are the best to play, the best bargains, and why.
Perhaps the most critical chapters are those that discuss the work of Liddy and his former mentor, Indiana native Pete Dye. Indeed, Hickory Stick, The Fort, The Trophy Club, Brichyard, Rock Hollow and Sultan’s Run are some of the most affordable and enjoyable courses in Indiana.
Best of all, nearly every course in the book is priced under $80, so playing in Indiana is a great way to get bang for your buck in a nasty economic downturn. I not only use it to plan my trips to Indiana, but it will also assist me in my own writing when trying to remember truicky details about a course I may have played only once. The book should have a broad appeal to travellers, historians, golf architecture junkies, and even casual golfers.
If there are any drawbacks, the book is a hardcover and is irregularly shaped – 11 inches across, but 8 inches down, almost a coffee table size and shape. A paperback would be much easier to throw in your carry-on luggage, shoulder bag, or even golf bag for when you really need it – on the go. Finally, one of these days Chris will dust off his Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and start writing more in the active voice, but none of that detracts much from how useful the book is in planning your golf trip, either for a day, week, or extended period.
Chris is delight not only as a writer, but as a person, as humble, homespun, and hard-working as any of his idols, including Dye and Liddy. Unquestionably, when his caeer is over his name will be spoken of with as much reverence as any of the great Hoosier sportsmen or writers. “A Month of Saturdays” is $49.95 and is available only through New Century Publishing, www.newcenturypublishing.org.
