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Every golf course has a unique history with a story that deserves to be shared with all who love the game.

 

Strawn & Sampson was formed by two writers for the specific purpose of creating exceptionally well-written and designed club histories and commemorative golf-themed books. A great club deserves an exceptional book to tell its story. Strawn & Sampson will research, write, design and publish golf club and golf course histories. Strawn & Sampson will narrate the origin stories and pivotal events of great golf clubs, coupling striking design with exceptional writing to produce superb books reflecting the unique character and quality of each club and course.

“As a golf architect and collector for the past 50 years, I have seen how quickly important golf history can be lost, especially in this digital age where everything floats off on a cyber cloud. Documenting and preserving this vital heritage and information for future generations falls back to one of society’s oldest methods: the written word. No one is better at preserving club histories than John and Curt. The reason is their passion for golf, penchant for detail, and thrill of discovery of lost facts and personalities. Just read any one of the six books that they have collectively written to convince yourself that these are the guys that I want to write my history.”

– Dr. Michael J. Hurdzan
ASGCA Fellow, author of Golf Course Architecture, Golf Greens, and Golf Course Design, an Annotated Bibliography

About Strawn & Sampson

JOHN STRAWN

John Strawn was the CEO of Robert Trent Jones II during a rich period of its history, as the firm completed an impressive portfolio of projects around the world. This included the creation of the number one courses in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, along with leading courses in China, Korea, Portugal, and Italy. Chambers Bay, the first new public course ever awarded a US Open, was completed during John’s tenure. John’s path to his career in golf course architecture was a book he wrote called Driving the Green, published by HarperCollins in 1991. This was the first book ever written which chronicled the development, design and construction of a golf course.

Designed by Arthur Hills, Ironhorse was a classic Florida real estate development golf course. Pulitzer-prize winning author David Halberstam called Driving the Green “a wonderful account of our great national sports, playing golf and wheeling and dealing in real estate.” A New York Times’ review praised it for “chronicling this unusual process and never losing sight of the human element involved.”

CURT SAMPSON

Curt Sampson’s first best-selling book, The Eternal Summer, has remained in print since its initial publication nearly thirty years ago. It was the first of what is now a small library of Sampson books, from the best-selling Hogan to The War by the Shore and most recently the current best-seller, Roaring Back: The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods.

Curt has also appeared in documentary films about Ben Hogan, the Ryder Cup, and key events in USGA history. He and John also each wrote a chapter in the USGA’s 100th anniversary coffee table book Golf: The Greatest Game, with an Introduction by John Updike and Reflections on the Game by Arnold Palmer.

Books by John Strawn

The Coach’s Art, with Jack Ramsay, 1978

Driving the Green, 1991

Golf, The Greatest Game, 1995
Essay on the USGA’s history in its centennial book

Gearhart Golf Links, 1892-2017, The First 125 Years, 2017

Creating Calusa Pines,
A Story of Hope and Determination, 2019

Books by Curt Sampson

Texas Golf Legends, 1991

The Eternal Summer, 1992

Hogan*, 1996

The Masters*, 1998

Royal And Ancient, 2000

Chasing Tiger, 2002

The Slam, 2005

The Lost Masters, 2005

Golf Dads, 2008

The War by the Shore, 2012

Roaring Back. The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods, 2019

Full Court Pressure, 1995

Furious George*, 2017

A Vision – Not a Blueprint, Sage Valley Golf Club, South Carolina, 2006

Centennial, Texas Golf Association, 2006

Come Play in my Backyard, 2008

Lakewood, a Dallas Classic, 2011

JOHN STRAWN

John Strawn was the CEO of Robert Trent Jones II during a rich period of its history, as the firm completed an impressive portfolio of projects around the world. This included the creation of the number one courses in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, along with leading courses in China, Korea, Portugal, and Italy. Chambers Bay, the first new public course ever awarded a US Open, was completed during John’s tenure. John’s path to his career in golf course architecture was a book he wrote called Driving the Green, published by HarperCollins in 1991. This was the first book ever written which chronicled the development, design and construction of a golf course. Designed by Arthur Hills, Ironhorse was
a classic Florida real estate development golf course. Pulitzer-prize winning author David Halberstam called it “a wonderful account of our great national sports, playing golf and wheeling and dealing in real estate.” A New York Times’ review praised it for “chronicling this unusual process and never losing sight of the human element involved.”

Books by John Strawn

The Coach’s Art, with Jack Ramsay, 1978

Driving the Green, 1991

Golf, The Greatest Game, 1995
Essay on the USGA’s history in its centennial book

Gearhart Golf Links, 1892-2017, The First 125 Years, 2017

Creating Calusa Pines,
A Story of Hope and Determination, 2019

CURT SAMPSON

Curt Sampson’s first best-selling book, The Eternal Summer, has remained in print since its initial publication nearly thirty years ago. It was the first of what is now a small library of Sampson books, from the best-selling Hogan to The War by the Shore and most recently the current best-seller, Roaring Back: The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods.

Curt has also appeared in documentary films about Ben Hogan, the Ryder Cup, and key events in USGA history. He and John also each wrote a chapter in the USGA’s 100th anniversary coffee table book Golf: The Greatest Game, with an Introduction by John Updike and Reflections on the Game by Arnold Palmer.

Books by Curt Sampson

Texas Golf Legends, 1991

The Eternal Summer, 1992

Hogan*, 1996

The Masters*, 1998

Royal And Ancient, 2000

Chasing Tiger, 2002

The Slam, 2005

The Lost Masters, 2005

Golf Dads, 2008

The War by the Shore, 2012

Roaring Back. The Fall and Rise of Tiger Woods, 2019

Full Court Pressure, 1995

Furious George*, 2017

A Vision – Not a Blueprint, Sage Valley Golf Club, South Carolina, 2006

Centennial, Texas Golf Association, 2006

Come Play in my Backyard, 2008

Lakewood, a Dallas Classic, 2011

A Strawn & Sampson book does not simply reflect a club’s qualities and values, it amplifies and enriches them.