The Seventh at St. Andrews: How Scotsman David McLay Kidd and His Ragtag Band Built theFirst New Course onGolf's Holy Soil in Nearly a Century

not just about the construction of a new course in St. Andrews, but also about Kidd's construction crew, etc...I was first introduced to Mr. Kidd in the book Dream Golf and his involvement at Bandon Dunes. Now, a native of Scotland, Kidd gets to role up his sleeves and leave his mark in Scotland.This is a fairly personal account. It wouldn't appear that many details were left out.A very fine read...

If you are interested in how a golf course is designed, then this book would be of interest. But it's not laid out in the most logical of ways in my opinion. It is kind of confusing that there are 18 chapters that start by detailing the 18 holes on the course but the descriptions start before the discussion of the course itself. I could even live with that but then there are 22 chapters total. Something was amiss. The author could even have done 19 chapters, since they built an extra alternate hole (as explained in the book). I enjoyed it, but it just didn't flow well.The book could also be improved by now adding an addendum. The course has been open for several years, and the St. Andrews Links Trust has made some of the greens less severe and also removed some of the "features" that David McLay KIdd added to the course. It would be fasicinating to get some thoughts from Kidd about how he feels about those changes.I am heading to Scotland to play in the spring, and I was on the fence about playing the Castle Course. I figured that after I read this book and seeing how the course came alive, I would really want to play it. I'm still on the fence about whether to play it or not.

I know nothing about golf, but I purchased this as a gift for my dad who had recently been to St. Andrew's and he said it was fantastic.

I bought this book as preparation for a golfing trip to where else St Andrews. We booked Castle course witout ever having seen the course but offcourse knowing the architect by reputation (Bandon sound familiar?).The book turns out to be even better than we hoped its a great read just do not start reading late at night cause it is hard to put away...

The Seventh at St. Andrews is the story of the design and building of the Castle Course, the first new public championship course at St. Andrews since 1914. The architect responsible for the course was David McLay Kidd, the same young designer who designed the first course at Bandon Dunes in Oregon. I have not seen Bandon Dunes, but the golf courses there have received rave reviews. Mr. Kidd has established a significant reputation already.I have been to St. Andrews a couple of times, and I am very interested in the golf courses there. I found Mr. Gummer's book to be a fascinating account of the process involved in fashioning the Castle Course. The book goes behind the scenes, describes the selection process for picking a course designer, gives an excellent picture of how the course was constructed, and also pulls no punches in describing the inevitable personality clashes that occur in a project of this magnitude. The reader also gets to experience the pubs of St. Andrews.The Seventh at St. Andrews is an extremely good book for the golf enthusiast.

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.

Before reading this article I did not realize there was a new number seven golf course. As a golf and this was a very interesting read. The story was so data field that I had to put the book down after each chapter to organize my thoughts of what I’ve just read.For anybody who is interested And golf course designed this is an exceptional read.

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.

such a great book to read. tells you alot about how much time and work that goes into building a golf course. st andews and history there. loved it.

Very interesting read. As a golfer you think you can build a course your self. (EASILY) but this book will open your eyes to just how much goes in to creating a near perfect new golf course.

This tells the story of how the Castle Course came into being. It starts off with the decision of the St Andrews Links Trust to build a new course with all the attendant paperwork and hoop jumping that a project like this entails. It finishes off with the naming and opening of the course.Inbetween it covers the trials and tribulations of building the course hampered by the weather, staff problems and other things. It doesn't cover much in detail of how the course was designed which I would have liked. There are eighteen pages spread throughout the book written by the architect himself giving descriptions of the holes. Overall I book I would reccommend.