To the Nines
Pioppi proves size doesn't matter when it comes to golf  courses.Ask any golfer and you will find that many have a love of the game rooted  in playing a nine-hole layout.  Yet the modern golfer has been conditioned  to believe that in order for a course to achieve greatness, it must be able  to host a major tournament, be longer than 7,600 yards from the tips, and  play to a par of 72. A waterfall is always a bonus.  But greatness still  comes in small packages, nine holes at a time, as evidenced in Anthony  Pioppi's new book,To the Nines.Nearly every great architect of the Golden Age has brilliant nine-holers to  his credit.  Prairie Dunes began its life as a magnificent nine-hole course  before expanding to eighteen. Nine-holers are an integral part of golf  history in the United States. Fourteen courses, from Maine to California,  with historical stories and details of the courses today, are featured in  the book.  According to Brad Faxon "with To the Nines you will not only  feel the shots, the holes, and the courses Anthony describes, but you will  get caught up in their unique and intriguing stories, all the while trying  to figure out how you are going to get in your next nine holes."To the Nineschronicles courses like the long forgotten Ocean Links,  perhaps the best nine-hole course ever, and Fenwick, Katherine Hepburn's  playground, Whitinsville, a Donald Ross gem, and The Dunes Club, where Mike  Keiser cut his teeth before creating Bandon Dunes.  Pioppi also reveals the  little known fact the legendary architect George Thomas, creator of  Riviera, began his career with a nine-holer called Marion - and you can  still play it!This is Anthony Pioppi's first book.  His research entailed hundreds of  hours, many of the leading experts in the golf industry, and thousands of  miles of travel.  He has become one of the leading authorities on the  history and architectural features of nine-hole courses across the country.