A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee Reviews
A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee
The hysterical story bestseller about one man’s epic Celtic sojourn in search of ancestors, nostalgia, and the world’s greatest round of golf
By turns hilarious and poetic, A Course Called Ireland is a magnificent tour of a vibrant land and paean to the world’s greatest game in the tradition of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods. In his thirties, married, and staring down impending fatherhood, Tom Coyne was familiar with the last refuge of the adult male: the golfing trip. Intent on designing a golf trip to end all others, Coyne looked to Ireland, the place where his father has taught him to love the game years before. As he studied a map of the island and plotted his itinerary, it dawn on Coyne that Ireland was ringed with golf holes. The country began to look like one giant round of golf, so Coyne packed up his clubs and set off to play all of it-on foot.
A Course Called Ireland is the story of a walking-averse golfer who treks his way around an entire country, spe
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(out of 25 reviews)
List Price: $ 16.00
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janson.com The Carinthia Golf Club Dellach is one of Austrias three oldest golf clubs. It is situated on the southern shores of the Wörthersee, nestling in an extremely imposing landscape. This is the golf course with the richest tradition in the Austrian province of Carinthia. The course distinguishes itself through its wavy structure and often very impressive gradients. Club Dellach is part of the Carinthia Golf Club. Designed by a French golf course architect as a 9-hole course in the 1920s, it was reconstructed in 1954 and is now an 18-hole course. Golf Course Dellach harmoniously blends into the landscape of extremely appealing scenery of flowering meadows, woods and lake a natural setting that is without equal.
Video Rating: 5 / 5
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Review by Brian Fantana for A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee
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Tom Coyne has not added to the landfill of ho-hum Irish travel and golf books. Rather, he has penned 300 pages of interesting, and often hilaroius, insights gleaned from walking more than 1,000 miles in the land of his great-grandparents with golf clubs strapped to his back.
While golfers will find plenty to love in Coyne’s four-month quest to play every one of the Emerald Isle’s links courses, the rest will laugh at his run-ins with mountain goats, Irish sausage and the British Army while gaining a better understanding for a people who have drawn the short straw throughout much of history.
Whether he’s negotiating a sideways rain with a 6 iron in his hands beside the Irish Sea or sitting at a dinner table with distant cousins he has never met, Coyne relays all the redeeming and regretful aspects of his journey with disarming honesty and great feeling.
“A Course Called Ireland” is a pleasure to read and I recommend it highly.
Review by M. Regan for A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee
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With his third published effort, Tom Coyne continues to grow as an observer and storyteller, this time taking his audience for an enjoyable – and insightful – walking tour of the entire perimeter of Ireland.
Though the cohesive theme is golf, this is not a typical “golf book”, as evidenced by my wife’s enjoyment of the book, despite her complete disinterest in golf. Tom Coyne spends an appropriate amount of time on the golf courses to appeal to the golf-interested reader, but also shares his “tales from the road” in such a way that even the non-golfing reader is thoroughly entertained.
Walking the entire route produces a thoroughly rewarding experience, and the author does an excellent job of immersing his reader in the Irish experience at every stop along the journey. Even when describing some of the challenges of the road – wild dogs, narrow bridges, military exercises, and the poorly chosen “Bog Road” – this book feels more like a rewarding walk down a finishing fairway, putter in hand.
This is a fast-moving read, littered with numerous “chuckle-out-loud” moments. It’s a must for anyone traveling to Ireland – golf or not – and a should-read for just about anyone else regardless.
Review by Sylvester J. Gorman for A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee
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I was marvelling to my mother the other day about how Tom Coyne has had three books published by major publishers, and he hasn’t even sniffed his 35th birthday. That in itself is a huge accomplishment, but what really sets him apart from other young writers is that his writing and the maturity with which he expresses ideas and emotions have improved with each book.
Disclaimer: I’m a golf fanatic, so I pre-ordered the book. However, if you’re hoping for a traditional golf book, you might be disappointed. This is a book about life on the road, the Irish people, the changing (or maybe not changing, depending on how you interpret Coyne’s observations) culture in Ireland, Irish history, and what one can accomplish if he sets his mind to it and puts one foot out in front of the other. Golf is the vehicle that drives all of these other things, and Coyne makes sure that golf nuts get their share of anecdotes about the 50+ courses he plays. He digs into many of the courses enough to make the reader extremely envious.
I don’t know what this kind of book is officially called. It’s not a travelogue, a memoir, or a documentary. The only phraseology that sounds appropriate is “vicarious literature.” Coyne goes out and creates an unique experience, and then the reader gets to relive it through him with the added bonus of his reflections after he has removed himself from the experience.
Without giving away the ending, I’ll say that the surprise finish actually choked me up a bit. It’s possible that the Irish sentimentalism he describes throughout the book is contagious.
Review by Sacramento Book Review for A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee
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Absolutely entertaining, fun, and not overly-superficial, //A Course Called Ireland// by Tom Coyne is a chronicle of the greatest golf he has ever or will ever play in his life. Realizing that he is aging and getting ready to start a family with his wife, Coyne knows his ability to take an overseas golf trip to Ireland is dwindling quickly, so he decides to take that trip. Walking around the edge of the entire island, Coyne plays some great golf, but more importantly, he retouches with his Irish roots, sight sees, and, of course, visits more than a few pubs.
Written in a fairly quick voice that moves the story along at a brisk pace, //A Course Called Ireland// keeps your attention throughout. It is entirely evident through his writings that Coyne experienced some of the best times of his life on that trip, and he communicates that in an interesting and often smile-arousing way.
Reviewed by
Jordan Dacayanan
Review by M. Troske for A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee
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Coyne’s latest book is easily the most fun I’ve ever had reading about golf, maybe even more fun than playing the game! But to be sure, it is much more than a golf book. This almost absurd idea to trek around Ireland on foot would certainly make for an interesting book concept on its own, but told in Coyne’s poignant, witty, self-deprecating, and heartfelt style, this book is utterly enjoyable to anyone – be they golfer, Irish, dreamer, or simply fans of a great story. I finished the book in just two days, disappointed to reach the end. It’s a rare non-fiction book that can make you laugh out loud as often as this wonderful story does.
Coyne’s writing comes across so effortless, yet void of pretense, that you truly feel and wish that you were experiencing the journey with him – as physically and mentally torturous as it obviously was!
I challenge anyone to read this book and not simultaneously wish that they were golfing, vacationing in Ireland, and wondering more about their own heritage and craziest dreams.