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Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th Hole

Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th HoleAuthor: George Peper
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Category: Book

List Price: $25.00
Buy New: $5.75
as of 7/30/2010 13:27 MDT details
You Save: $19.25 (77%)



New (10) Used (15) from $5.51

Seller: bookcloseouts_us
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars 15 reviews
Sales Rank: 86037

Media: Hardcover
Pages: 336
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.4 x 1.2

ISBN: 0743262824
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.3520684129
EAN: 9780743262828
ASIN: 0743262824

Publication Date: May 30, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Also Available In:

  • Hardcover - Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th Hole
  • Kindle Edition - Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th Hole

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
The Old Course at St. Andrews is to golfers what St. Peter's is to Catholics or the Western Wall is to Jews: hallowed ground, the course every golfer longs to play -- and master. In 1983 George Peper was playing the Old Course 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 eighteenth hole. Two months later he and his wife, Libby, became the proud owners of 9A Gibson Place.

In 2003 Peper retired after twenty-five years as the editor in chief of Golf magazine. With the younger of their two sons off to college, the Pepers decided to sell their house in the United States and relocate temporarily to the town house in St. Andrews. And so they left for the land of golf -- and single malt scotch, haggis, bagpipes, television licenses, and accents thicker than a North Sea fog. While Libby struggled with renovating an apartment that for years had been rented to students at the local university, George began his quest to break par on the Old Course.

Their new neighbors were friendly, helpful, charmingly eccentric, and always serious about golf. In no time George was welcomed into the local golf crowd, joining the likes of Gordon Murray, the man who knows everyone; Sir Michael Bonallack, Britain's premier amateur golfer of the last century; and Wee Raymond Gatherum, a magnificent shotmaker whose diminutive stature belies his skills.

For anyone who has ever dreamed of playing the Old Course -- and what golfer hasn't? -- this book is the next best thing. And for those who have had that privilege, Two Years in St. Andrews will revive old memories and confirm Bobby Jones's tribute, "If I were to set down to play on one golf course for the remainder of my life, I should choose the Old Course at St. Andrews."


Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 15



4 out of 5 stars Nice book for the plane to St Andrews   June 23, 2010
Eugenio Gomez-acebo (Barcelona, Spain)
I read this book as we were travelling for a golf weekend. It is so much better than a travel guide. Lots of good stories, jokes, golf dissertations, the spirit of the town and the spirit of golf. It reads with a combination of envy and pleasure. I like how he describes golf as a pure sport, not exactly what the Old Course has become (as expensive as it is to play there today).


5 out of 5 stars If you are going to St. Andrews or love golf, this is a must read...   November 23, 2009
IanB
Peper allows you to understand the social fabric of the town, from the perspective of a transplant, to really understand and enjoy the experience.


3 out of 5 stars Shallow and disappointing   July 11, 2008
Fred Fernatt (Urbandale, Iowa United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

I purchased this book on a recommendation while ordering "Tommy's Honor" through Amazon. If "Tommy's Honor" was a stroll around the Old Course, "Two Years" was a heavy laden trudge thru a muddy field.

My daughter spent four years studying at St Andrews and that provided a good excuse to visit. Beyond the golf, I enjoyed late night walks aroud the town, visits to the pubs and swimming in the rich local history. My daughter graduated in 2005 and we spent most of the summer in the flat she had shared with her roommates. Its very probable that I passed the author on the street.

This book includes tedious packing lists and innocous names but outside his own flat, the R & A, and the Old Course disappointing little about the town itself or surrounding Fife. The author peppered his writing with often sophomoric remarks that were meant to humor but I found entirely flat.

I very much wanted to enjoy this book but was greatly disappointed.



5 out of 5 stars Two Years in St. Andrews   June 7, 2008
par4parks (Memphis, TN)
George Peper has captured, for all of us stateside hackers, the essence of what golf retirement dreams are made...living on the Old Course at St. Andrews and being enfolded into the Scottish golfing community. This book is a delightful read that I have passed around my golfing group with unanimous praise, and envy. With a lifetime of connections from his days as editor of GOLF DIGEST, Peper takes you from the inner sanctum of the R&A, hob nobbing with the guardians of the game, to the rowdy clubhouses and pubs with his many colorful golfing groups, squaring their bets over more than a few pints. The author's gift is his ability to recount all these experiences with a wonderful humor and evenhandedness, even at his own expense. Many golf readers may long for a Shavius Irons experience in life, but, in retirement, I want to move into Peper's neighborhood.


4 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read, however ...   May 20, 2008
hicksmc (Newberry, FL United States)
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is well written and offers many insights into the world of golf.... which can be both good and bad. As for his writing style, humor, and penchant for witty observations, I give Mr. Peper 5 stars. However, by the end of the book I was annoyed by the author's thinly veiled anti-American tone. Given the opportunity our nation has afforded him (what golfer would not want to live overlooking The Old Course?), it was disappointing to read his dismissal of American life and of a polarized American society. Ironic, since Mr. Peper does offer us some background about why the Scots are polarized by golfing clubs, land-use issues, aristocracy, and their English counterparts. Perhaps he misses golf's biggest lesson: that mankind's nature is immutable and inevitable no matter which course we play. Otherwise, it is a fine book.

Showing reviews 1-5 of 15


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