A
Brief summary of the contents of The Carnoustie
Story...
“The Carnoustie Story” – an irresistible project
- A slice of nostalgia from the author, recalling regular August holidays spent in Carnoustie as a boy, which prompted his very first tentative steps into golf and began a lifetime attachment to the little Angus town. In equal amounts, each of these was responsible for his decision to write this book.
Creation of a legend
- Nature’s job in the original formation of the Carnoustie links
- The early work of the ‘course designers’
- The very earliest ( sixteenth-century ) recorded golfing adventures
- The family who laid the foundations of it all
- Blissful ignorance of the long-term repercussions of recreational activities on the links
Birth of a community
- Golf is established first – the Carnoustie township comes later
- A weary Barry joiner, walking home after a hard day, “stakes his claim” on a parcel of ground and a new community is born
- The dramatic, nineteenth-century developments of industry, commerce, the coming of the railway and utilities
- The establishment of schools, churches, housing, social and other sporting activities.
The
development of the Carnoustie links
- Allan Robertson structures a recognisable course
- Old Tom Morris designs the first eighteen-hole layout
- The crucial influence of the Dalhousie Golf Club
- Legendary Carnoustie names are etched into clubmaking, golfing folklore and achievements at committee
- James Wright and James Braid put flesh on the bones of a great links course
- Carnoustie prepares for its first Open Championship.
The 1931 Open Championship at Carnoustie
- A native Scot takes Carnoustie’s first Open title
- One of the town’s favourite sons loses out
- Royalty makes an appearance but H.R.H.’s new-found golfing colleague has a seventy-second hole tragedy
- The closing holes, as widely anticipated, wreak havoc with many scorecards - and not for the last time!
- How the locals handled the reflected glory from the inaugural visit of the world’s best golfers
The 1937 Open Championship at Carnoustie
- The entire U.S. Ryder Cup team arrives in Carnoustie for the Open
- Pundits give the home contestants little or no chance of success
- Appalling weather forces near-abandonment
- An Englishman defies the experts, the odds – and the wind and rain – to take Carnoustie’s second Open.
The 1953 Open Championship at Carnoustie
- “The Wee Ice-Man” from Texas captivates the entire town with a masterly display
- Displaying exceptional control from tee to green, Hogan conquers all
- Four pinpoint drives at one hole spawn a new Carnoustie legend
- The victory creates new standards for all who aspire to be future Open Champions
- Post-tournament disappointment for the huge band of admirers on whom Hogan forged indelible memories
The 1968 Open Championship at Carnoustie
- A new breed of golfer arrives to challenge the links
- The Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and Trevino era creates fresh excitement
- A controversial new clubhouse greets the contestants
- The “short” sixteenth wrecks more scorecards
- A South African triumph is put down to “the shot of my life”.
The 1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie
- The links are fast after a hot, dry Carnoustie summer
- Nicklaus reduces Carnoustie’s outward nine holes to thirty strokes
- Scottish hearts beat fast as a home-based professional leads at halfway
- A new course record; then, in the following round, another!
- The links bite back as the weather breaks down
- A tie forces a Sunday play-off
- Watson triumphs at the eighteenth – a heartbreaking postscript follows
The decline of the links – twenty barren years
- A financial contretemps with the R & A
- Management of the links is removed from local control
- Course maintenance and presentation deteriorates markedly
- Swingeing criticism of the links provokes a steep fall in visitor rounds
- More gloom as the town loses a major accommodation facility
- Financial storm clouds gather
- Widespread local dismay galvanises key people into concerted action
- Angus District Council makes a crucial contribution
- Light at the end of the tunnel - critical appointments restore optimism
Enter- the cavalry
- Much effort and some hard talking halt the slide
- The infectious enthusiasm of a determined Chairman adds essential impetus
- The rescue slowly gathers pace – glimmers of hope
- An inspired choice brings a prospective greenkeeping genius to the links
- Financial stability returns
- The R & A is forced to sit up and take notice
- Plans for a new hotel take shape
- Ambitions are fulfilled, the ultimate goal is achieved, but not without sadness
The 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie
- The objective is reached at last – the world’s greatest golfers return
- Heavy criticism of the course set-up
- The stern examination claims many casualties among the favourites
- An almost unknown Frenchman leads into the final round
- The astonishing last hole climax – a three-way tie
- Watching millions find it almost impossible to digest
- Two wonderful birdies – and a Scotsman wins the play-off
- Post-tournament assessment and reaction
The
hardest links in the world - the Carnoustie Championship Course
- The Championship course comes under the microscope
- How the professional tackles the challenge
- The degree of forethought required and the “shot by shot” approach
- Trying to prevent disaster and, inevitably, having to cope with it
- The mental approach to the legendary Carnoustie finish
- Wonderful accompanying photographs of key holes and hazards
The Carnoustie Burnside course
- A critical examination of the main supporting act to the Championship course
- Why the Burnside is so widely admired and enjoyed
- The tightness which puts accuracy at the top of the agenda
- Captivating challenges, grasping heather and gorse – and some wicked greens
- One of Scotland’s greatest par threes
- A lovely portfolio of pictures from around this exhilarating adventure
Carnoustie's Buddon Links
- The “junior” member of the triumvirate undergoes detailed analysis
- The conception and re-vamp of the original Alliss/Thomas design
- Poignancy and respect dictate choices for hole names
- Characteristics which yield splendid sport and great enjoyment
- The influence, yet again, of water hazards
- Ideal recreation for beginners or those not in search of course records
- More of the author’s characterful and colourful photographs from this alluring companion course
Famous Carnoustie golfers and characters
- A list of many who have entered Carnoustie’s “hall of fame”
- The early pioneers who unwittingly set the ball rolling
- The nineteenth century heroes – on the course and in Committee rooms
- Those whose far-sightedness in the twentieth century elevated the links to greatness
- The tireless locals who strove to resurrect the course and its reputation
- Some of the vast numbers from the “supporting cast”
- The golfing champions from Carnoustie, both at home and abroad
- More than a few of the real “Carnoustie characters”
Things people said about Carnoustie
- A collection of more than sixty quotes from over four centuries of golf on Carnoustie’s links
- Pathos and comedy from the mouths of golfers and members of the media
- Things – good and bad - that the golfing greats have had to say
- Criticisms and soundbites from committees and various levels of officialdom
What of the future?
- A tentative look into Carnoustie’s “crystal ball”
- Plans for the links, the courses and their management
- Attentions to the fostering of young talent and future champions
- The foreseeable future of commerce and industry in the town
- Effects of geological changes on the local environment
- Dealing with the population growth of a highly desirable location
- Developing links with places near and far
Memorable dates and events
- A summary of key dates and milestones reached over nearly five hundred years of Carnoustie’s roller-coaster ride, culminating in its ultimate attainment of greatness
Don't Delay!
To be published in hardback in May 2006, The Carnoustie Story will be printed as a limited edition of 3000 copies - each numbered and signed by the author, with a beautifully illustrated dustjacket.
Before any announcement of its impending publication was made, orders for
more than 850 copies had already been taken.
Reserve your copy of Donald
Ford's "The Carnoustie Story" today.