The town of Dornoch, Scotland, lies at nearly the same latitude as Juneau, Alaska. Though the town is bit too small and remote to host a British Open, it has hardly diminished Royal Dornoch' s mystique or renown. In an influential piece for The New Yorker in 1964 (and now included in this edition), Herbert Warren Wind wrote, " It is the most natural course in the world. No golfer has completed his education until he has played and studied Royal Dornoch."
Lorne spent a summer in Dornoch to rediscover the natural charms of the game he loves. But in the Highlands he also found a people shaped by the harshness of the land and the difficulty of drawing a living from it, and still haunted by a historic wrong inflicted on their ancestors nearly two centuries before. Rubenstein met many people of great thoughtfulness and spirit, eager to share their worldviews, their life stories, and a wee dram or two. He came to understand how the game of golf reflects the values, character, and history of the people who brought it into the world.
A SEASON IN DORNOCH is both the story of one man' s immersion in the game of golf and an exploration of the world from which it emerged. Part travelogue, part portraiture, part good old-fashioned tale of matches played and friendships made, it takes us on an unforgettable journey to a marvelous, moody, mystical place.
