A Course Called Ireland, Tom Coyne
A Course Called Ireland, Tom Coyne
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A Course Called Ireland
A Long Walk in Search of a Country, a Pint, and the Next Tee

Author: Tom Coyne

Narrator: Kyle Tait

Unabridged: 11 hr 32 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/07/2020


Synopsis

The must-listen bestseller about one man's epic Celtic sojourn in search of ancestors, nostalgia, and the world's greatest round of golf

By turns hilarious and poetic, A Course Called Ireland is a magnificent tour of a vibrant land and paean to the world's greatest game in the tradition of Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. In his thirties, married, and staring down impending fatherhood, Tom Coyne was familiar with the last refuge of the adult male: the golfing trip. Intent on designing a golf trip to end all others, Coyne looked to Ireland, the place where his father had taught him to love the game years before. As he studied a map of the island and plotted his itinerary, it dawned on Coyne that Ireland was ringed with golf holes. The country began to look like one giant round of golf, so Coyne packed up his clubs and set off to play all of it—on foot.

A Course Called Ireland is the story of a walking-averse golfer who treks his way around an entire country, spending sixteen weeks playing every seaside hole in Ireland. Along the way, he searches out his family's roots, discovers that a once-poor country has been transformed by an economic boom, and finds that the only thing tougher to escape than Irish sand traps are Irish pubs.

About Tom Coyne

Tom Coyne is the author of the New York Times bestsellers A Course Called Ireland and A Course Called Scotland; Paper Tiger; and the novel A Gentleman's Game, named one of the best twenty-five sports books of all time by the Philadelphia Daily News and adapted into a motion picture starring Gary Sinise. He has written for Golf magazine, Sports Illustrated, the Golfer's Journal, and numerous other publications. He earned an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Notre Dame, where he won the William Mitchell Award for distinguished achievement. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters, and he is an associate professor of English at St. Joseph's University.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Andrew on April 17, 2025

this book is basically an advertisement for Guinness, walking, and the Good People of Ireland. even if you don’t care for golf, it’s a great read......more

Goodreads review by Spencer on July 31, 2024

On a pilgrimage of epic proportions, Tom Coyne interweaves two of my favorite things - travel and the game of golf - as he walks around the perimeter of Ireland, playing any links course in his path. This book was such an enjoyable read from start to finish, and the spontaneity the author encounters......more

Goodreads review by Keith on June 09, 2024

Nothing has made me want to both travel and golf more......more

Goodreads review by Dustin on April 11, 2017

I enjoyed this well enough. It's a concept I'd rather experience than read, but all the same, a good book. I envy his being able to spend a month in Ireland, playing as many courses as he can, and visiting as many pubs as he can. By the end of the story, you're convinced that Coyne really did experi......more

Goodreads review by Theresa on November 17, 2024

My daughter and I went on trip a year ago to see where our ancestors called home and where a lot of history happened. There’s magic in those castles and ruins, so many stories to uncover. Whether you’re a golfer or not, this book leaves you with a sense of place, a view into the people, their kindne......more