Strokes of Genius

The word OEgolf' is synonymous with both Scotland and St Andrews. The legendary home of golf spawned some of the greatest courses and the greatest golfers in the history of a game rich in literature. And Scotland was the original home of perhaps the greatest of the golf majors...The Open. Wherever a golf club is swung, a nineteenth hole gin and tonic - or single malt - sipped, the conversation will inevitably turn to The Open. In the days of hickory clubs, the OEguttie' ball and tournaments at Prestwick, Musselburgh and St Andrews, Scots dominated. The first ever Open was won by Willie Park snr of Musselburgh in 1860, and marked the start of a magical run of success from Scots who swung their way into the history of the game. The story of the golfing legends of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth, together with that of modern giants like Sandy Lyle and Paul Lawrie is told in Strokes of Genius. The men made the game and the game shaped the men. This is a new, insightful look at the greatest golfing championship in the world and the Scots who won it.