St. Andrews Sojourn - by George Peper (Paperback)

About the Book

"A Year in Provence" for golfers, this wry, wonderfully entertaining account chronicles what happens when golf writer Peper buys a house alongside the venerable Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. of photos.

Book Synopsis

The Old Course at St. Andrews is the great hallowed ground of golf, and it was there that George Peper was playing in 1983 when he hit a slice so hideous that he never found the ball. But in looking for it, he came across a for sale sign on a stone town house alongside the famed 18th hole. Two months later he and his wife, Libby, became the proud owners of 9A Gibson Place.

The Old Course at St. Andrews is the great hallowed ground of golf, and it was there that George Peper was playing in 1983 when he hit a slice so hideous that he never found the ball. But in looking for it, he came across a for sale sign on a stone town house alongside the famed 18th hole. Two months later he and his wife, Libby, became the proud owners of 9A Gibson Place. Twenty years later, they moved in and settled in the "Auld Grey Toon," in the land of golf, single malt scotch, haggis, bagpipes, and television licenses, where the neighbors had accents thicker than a North Sea fog.

When he isn't attempting to break par on the Old Course, Peper immerses himself in the local golf culture: He learns the rituals for ordering a drink at the Royal & Ancient Golf Club (est. 1754), where he becomes the first American elected to the Club Committee; endures homesickness (in the form of "Pre-Masters Post-Partum Syndrome"); and meets intriguing locals such as his neighbor Gordon Murray, quite possibly the only caddie to store his caddie bib in the trunk of a Mercedes, and Wee Raymond Gatherum, a magnificent shotmaker whose diminutive stature belies his skills.

Wry, warm, and witty, St. Andrews Sojourn will delight anyone who has played--or dreamed of playing--the Old Course.

Review Quotes

"Under the Tuscan Sun for golfers." -- Booklist

"If you've ever played up the 18th fairway of the Old Course, alongside the stately stone dwellings that line it on the right, and wondered what it would be like to live there -- for a month or a year or a lifetime -- you will want to read this extraordinary book." -- James W. Finegan, author of Blasted Heaths and Blessed Greens

About the Author

George Peper, the editor of Links magazine, was editor-in-chief of Golf Magazine for twenty-five years and is the bestselling author of nineteen books. He lives in Charleston, South Carolina.