A Course Called Home - by Tom Coyne (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From Tom Coyne, the New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called America, comes a powerful new story five years in the making about a century-old golf course, the heart of a small town, and one man's journey to bring them both back to life.

Tom Coyne has made a career out of travelling the world and playing golf with a trilogy of bestselling books titled A Course Called Scotland, A Course Called Ireland, and A Course Called America. But after checking every iconic destination off his list, Coyne decided to see what he could find in his own backyard. When he stumbled across the dilapidated Sullivan County Golf Club in New York's Catskills, he wasn't looking to buy a golf course--he was just chasing a feeling. But in an unexpected twist, he became the owner of a historic course on the brink of ruin, and with it, the keeper of its past, present, and future.

A Course Called Home is Coyne's most personal and profound book yet--a heartfelt and often humorous chronicle of restoration, resilience, and finding purpose in unexpected places. It's a story about digging in--literally and figuratively--as Coyne trades tee times for tractor hours, learning to mow fairways, rake bunkers, and revive a course rich in history but fading from memory.

The community that Coyne has found and cultivated is unlike the pristine, manicured version of the game you see on TV, played by millionaires in matching polos. The course is run by a tight-knit crew of groundskeepers who work long hours, not for prestige, but for pride. It's played by regulars and first-timers alike who pay in cash and play in jeans, and is a place where visitors quickly become part of the fold.

In the tradition of his beloved golf travel trilogy, Coyne again taps into what makes the game timeless and transformative. But this round, he doesn't have to travel far: just down the road from Woodstock, to a scrappy, 9-holer where golf once brought generations together. A Course Called Home delivers the perfect next chapter: a love letter to golf, community, and the places that still matter.

Review Quotes

PRAISE FOR A COURSE CALLED AMERICA:

"A heartfelt, rollicking ode to golf . . . Coyne describes playing golf in every state of the union, including Alaska: 295 courses, 5,182 holes, 1.7 million total yards. Along the way, he dives deep into the essence of the game--its joys, its agonies and addictions, its hold on golfers' souls. But most of what you'll remember after putting the book down are the people he encounters, in all their great American diversity and passion."
--John Paul Newport, The Wall Street Journal

"A Course Called America is an unequivocal pleasure. Tom Coyne gives a fresh perspective on many places I've been, and I had to pause a number of times to relish the way he reflects on what he encounters--the people, the history, and the humor. Here is a soulful and thoroughly entertaining journey that will give people a sense of what golf means to so many of our friends who love the game."
--Ben Crenshaw, two-time Masters Champion

"A Course Called America is a discovery of our country, our culture, our people and the diverse ways we come to the game of golf. As a golf course architect, I thought I would love the descriptions of the courses he discovered, and looked forward to finding out which would be crowned the Great American Golf Course. I quickly realized that the stars of this book are not the courses, but the people playing them. I became enthralled with the varied experiences of golf, the camaraderie, the matches. Tom Coyne is a wonderful storyteller, and the stories that unfold across this vast landscape called America--some laugh out loud funny, and some stirringly poignant--get to the soul of our game and the heart of our nation."
--Gil Hanse, renowned golf course architect

"As Tom uses his gift for storytelling to chronicle his journey through some of America's best golf courses, you'll find yourself remembering why you first fell in love with the game. A Course Called America is a beautifully woven together story that is somehow hilarious and moving all at once, and paints a vivid picture of all that golf in America has to offer."
--Stacy Lewis, two-time major champion

PRAISE FOR A COURSE CALLED IRELAND:

"Equal parts touching, wry, and hilarious."
--New York Times

"There is no golf trip like an Irish golf trip, and Tom Coyne has risen to meet that road. I look forward to reading this again. Pack it with your sticks."
--Bill Murray

"Witty and winning...A joy from start to finish."
--Wall Street Journal

PRAISE FOR A COURSE CALLED SCOTLAND:

"One of the best golf books this century."
--Golf Digest

"Tom Coyne has a knack for setting impossible tasks for himself. . . . Mr. Coyne is back at it again with A Course Called Scotland. This time he avails himself of cars, planes, and ferries, but the task he sets is no less preposterous: to play 107 courses in 56 days. . . . Readers who enjoyed Mr. Coyne's rollicking Irish book will be interested to learn how their fearless travel guide has fared in the intervening years. . . . There's no less wit in the writing--British weather forecasts, he concludes, are 'as useful as ashtrays on motorbikes'--and almost as many well-rendered characters, both locals he meets and friends and readers who join him along the way. . . . All the famous courses are here: St. Andrews, Dornoch, Turnberry, Carnoustie. But even seasoned golf travelers will be unfamiliar with many of the courses Mr. Coyne finds. He tees it up where nature carved holes that no architect would dream of, where 12 holes instead of 18 suit the members just fine, and where munching sheep, not mowers, keep the fairway grass short. Does he discover the secret to the game? He finds several, including, most practically, 'never, ever give up.' "
--John Paul Newport, The Wall Street Journal

"A fast-moving, insightful, often funny travelogue encompassing the width of much of the British Isles . . . One of the reasons A Course Called Scotland works so well is because Coyne extended an offhanded invitation to listeners of a radio show to join him in Scotland. . . . The eclectic cast of characters who pop up throughout the story underscore the deep connections forged through travel."
--Golfweek

About the Author

Tom Coyne is the New York Times bestselling author of A Course Called Ireland, A Course Called Scotland, A Course Called America, Paper Tiger, and the novel A Gentleman's Game, named one of the best twenty-five sports books of all time by The Philadelphia Daily News and adapted into a motion picture starring Gary Sinise. He is a partner in Smyers, Craig & Coyne Course Design, owner of CoyneGolf Travel, and the editor and podcast host of The Golfer's Journal. He earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Notre Dame, where he won the William Mitchell Award for distinguished achievement. He and his family now split their time between Philadelphia and the Catskills.