Flipping back the large, smooth cover, I’m suddenly transported to a world of rolling, wind-whipped greens and rugged, sea-lined courses. I’m dreaming of standing on the bright, dewy grass before a misty, peaked horizon, and I can feel the cold metal of the club in my hands; taste the salty tang in the air as the spray scatters the rocks; and I think to myself that these books might just be, as a scrolled, hand-written slogan tells me, the greatest golf books in the world.
A labour of love in the purest sense, the 18 Greatest Golf collection celebrates all that’s visually stunning and sensually indulgent about golfing in Scotland and Ireland. Packed with images of sprawling landscapes captured by world class photographer John Kernick, and contributions from the countries’ most notable players including Colin Montgomery and Padraig Harrington, the two books take readers on a highly visual journey round the 18 Greatest Holes in each Isles location, both renowned for their spectacular courses and breathtaking natural beauty.

Authors Craig Morrison and Andrew Ross spent months criss-crossing each country, gathering stories and opinions from every architect, club professional and head green keeper available, to pin down just 18 holes of the type golfing dreams are made of. The result is two beautiful, sentimental works of art that exude pure passion for the sport, and reveal years of loving work and deep exploration. Craig Morrison told Puff about the spectacular journey he and his co-author went on to produce the books, and revealed how his unwavering adoration for the sport led to the creation of 18 Greatest Golf...





“I grew up playing golf in the west of Scotland. Firstly it was just about playing the game. But soon it was about playing as many courses as I could all over Scotland, not just the marquis names but also each and every obscure Highland nine-holer. I moved to England 15 years ago and I’ve now played or walked almost all courses of note south of the border. Anglo-Scots (you become an Anglo-Scot when you move south) always seem to get good golfing invitations.

“Compiling the books was, really, to live the dream.”

I always wrote freelance golf and travel articles, really so I could play the sort of golf courses most publicists can ill-afford. I used to contribute stories to a magazine called London Sport. I became friends with its editor, Andrew Ross. We had a shared interest in sports literature, golf especially, and over many nights in bars across London we developed the notion of creating beautiful golf books, the sort of books which the game deserved. Like lots of Scots in the British capital our talk turned to home and we agreed that no books on golf in Scotland had entirely done it justice. We came up with a concept, 18 Greatest Golf Holes, but in some ways the concept is arbitrary and our true focus has been on producing the finest books imaginable.