The Greatest Game

by Colin Montgomerie , Hugh Dodd and Prof. David Purdie

The Greatest Game

£25.00

Did you know that Shakespeare was a golfer? And that Rembrandt was no stranger to the fairway?

Professor David Purdie takes a seriously humorous swipe at our collected knowledge of the game in this enlightening and entertaining compendium. Based on firm facts where available and on firm invention when not, the book examines the curious roles of the Golf Club, the golf ball and the golf player, explores the culture of the game across the world, including the USA, China and India – and sweeps aside all claims for the game’s origin outside of Scotland.

Accompanied by hilarious caricatures, The Greatest Game offers an alternative view of golf and tries to make some sense of the collective madness which pervades the links each day from dawn to sunset.

Professor David Purdie’s career in academic medicine -and golf – has ideally fitted him to describe the physical, and, especially, the mental afflictions of the golfer. His work as a journalist and as a speechwriter for Sam Torrance and Colin Montgomerie has given him insights into the game at the highest level. He can now be revealed as author of The Major, the legendary column in Golf International featuring the obsessions and outbursts of Major RJM Warren-Dawlish the explosive (and fictional) Secretary of Royal St. Luke’s Golf Club, the oldest, and oddest, club in the world.

Hugh Dodd’s illustrations for each chapter comprise full-colour plates plus pen-and-ink vignettes. A contemporary Scottish artist and illustrator, his recent work has focused on the art of golf. He has exhibited widely since 1980 and his work can be found in numerous private and public collections throughout the world and appears in books, prints and cards. His work has also appeared in most leading UK newspapers and magazines including the Daily Telegraph, Spectator, Scotsman, Herald, Scottish Field and others.