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- The SOCIETY Newsletter #98
The Society Newsletter Holiday Shopping Guide
Essential Reads for the Golf Historian in Your Life
As the holiday season approaches and we look for gifts with meaning, there’s no better place to turn than the rich literary landscape of golf history. Our game’s story is filled with pioneers, craftsmen, champions, characters, and forgotten greats—people whose lives shaped the sport we love.
This year’s Society Holiday Shopping Guide highlights three remarkable books, each offering a window into a different corner of golf’s past. Whether you’re shopping for the golf historian in your life, a curious newcomer to the game, or even building your own winter reading stack, these works deserve a place under the tree.
I list them in alphabetical order because there is no way to compare these three great works of golf history
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Allan Robertson of St Andrews: King of Clubs by Roger McStravick & Bill Williams
Roger McStravick’s award-winning biography is the definitive portrait of Allan Robertson—the man who bridged the ancient and modern eras of golf. Known as the greatest golfer of his time and the first true professional, Robertson helped usher the game from the age of featheries to gutties, from loosely governed local pastime to organized sport.
McStravick brings Robertson and 19th-century St Andrews vividly to life: the cobbled streets, the tradesmen, the caddies, the Old Course as it began to take the shape we recognize today. Few books capture the spirit of early golf as thoughtfully or as beautifully.
A perfect gift for anyone who wants to understand how the roots of golf took hold, who appreciates historical detail, or who simply loves St Andrews in all its romantic charm.
If you live in the USA you can purchase Roger’s amazing history of Allan Robertson from Auld Grey Toon Golf Books:
Use the following code for free shipping: SOCIETY
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Matchless: Joyce Wethered, Glenna Collett and the Rise of Women’s Golf By Stephen Proctor
A celebration long overdue.
Matchless is a dual biography of Joyce Wethered and Glenna Collett—two towering figures in women’s golf whose rivalry, friendship, and achievements helped propel the women’s game onto the world stage. Wethered, described by Bobby Jones as the greatest golfer he ever saw, and Collett, America’s dominant force, were icons whose grace and skill redefined what the game could be.
This book brings their stories to life—tournaments, triumphs, heartbreaks, and the social forces that shaped their era. More importantly, it spotlights the women who advanced golf with courage and elegance at a time when opportunities were limited and expectations even narrower.
An inspiring gift for golfers of all ages—especially those who want to explore the often overlooked but profoundly important history of women’s golf.
You can purchase Matchless at:
Use the following code for free shipping: SOCIETY
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Musselburgh: Cradle of Golf by Mungo Park
If there is a book that every golf historian should read this season, this is it.
In Musselburgh: Cradle of Golf, Mungo Park restores Musselburgh Links to its rightful place as one of the bedrock foundations of the game. For too long, the Ancient Links at Musselburgh—host to six Open Championships, home to legendary families like the Parks and Dunns, a proving ground of champions—has stood in the shadow of its more famous neighbors. Park’s book corrects that with authority, clarity, and passion.
Drawing on family heritage, archival research, maps, and storytelling, Park delivers not just a history, but an act of preservation—re-illuminating a course and community whose influence shaped golf as we know it.
A must-gift for lovers of early golf, linksland lore, and anyone who wants to understand where the game truly learned to walk.
If you live in the USA you can purchase Mungo’s amazing history of Museelburgh from Auld Grey Toon Golf Books at:
Use the following code for free shipping: SOCIETY
Final Thoughts: Gifts Rooted in Legacy
Golf history is an unending tapestry, woven across centuries by storytellers, champions, and visionaries. These three books—Robertson, Musselburgh, and Matchless—offer not just information, but connection. They let us walk the fairways of the past, meet the greats of their age, and remember that this game endures because its stories endure.
May your holidays be filled with good golf, good company, and good books.
ANTIQUITY GOLF CO.
The SOCIETY Newsletter is proud to introduce you to Antiquity Golf Co.—a new venture dedicated to celebrating the art, heritage, and craftsmanship of the game. Launching November 28, 2025, Antiquity Golf Co. will debut with an extraordinary collection featuring the PGA Championship’s Wanamaker Trophy, original golf artwork, and a curated line of vintage-inspired clothing and accessories.
Your chance to buy a 1930’s Wanamaker Trophy
Are you looking for something you can’t find anywhere else - we believe Antiquity is the first company to offer customized Apple Watch Bands around the history and design of the game of golf. We have Watch bands in stock or you can contact us about special customization projects for you or your club. Our Apple Watch Bands are stunning!
All Bands will be 20% off for out Black Friday Sale!!!
Collection of Apple Watch Bands
Spring has always felt like a new beginning. For so many golfers in the northern states, it’s the season of possibility—the first tee shot after a long winter, the first walk down a fairway thawed by sunlight.
And this year, we release our X MARKS THE SPOT design which celebrates the spirit of renewal—honoring the timeless places where golf history takes root and the journeys we’re all eager to begin again.
We are proud to introduce our line of X MARKS THE SPOT:
X MARKS THE SPOT HAT
The corner of Berckmans Road and Washington Road means different things to different people, but to me it’s more than a street corner in Augusta, Georgia- it was on this very corner where I introduced my daughter, Madeline to the importance of the game of golf and it’s history. It was there on that corner she fell in love with the game- there at her first Masters. After that tournament Madeline started playing golf- she joined a network of millions of golfers from around the world who love this game so this corner where it all started is important to me.
X Marks the Spot Hoodie Sweatshirt
Even if you don’t want to buy anything, come check out our Antiquity Golf Co website at www.antiquitygolfco.com.
It might be a bit of a hot mess in the beginning as we refine the website’s design, but we are doing our best to make it a unique market place for golf history enthusiasts and collectors of both antiquities and art.
THE GOLF GIFT OF THE YEAR
Royal County Down
Are you looking for more than a tangible gift? Are you looking to create a memory that will last a lifetime?
You can register right now to join us for the Society of Golf Historians’ GOLF HISTORY TRIP TO IRELAND! Join me and 7 other golfers to explore and play some of the most historic and stunning golf clubs/courses in Ireland!
The trip will run from September 21-29 and we will play
Portstewart - Strand Course
Royal Portrush - Dunluce
Royal County Down
Co. Louth
Royal Dublin
Portmarnock
This year’s golf history trip to Scotland was a smashing success - reserve your spot to join us in 2026!!!
Shoot me an email if you have an interest: [email protected]
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DONALD ROSS
A young Donald Ross
A happy 153rd birthday to one of the most prolific golf course architects in golf history, Donald Ross!!!
Thank you and Happy Holidays from The Society of Golf Historians!!!
