The Austin Country Club (ACC), founded in 1899, is the oldest and more prestigious club in Texas. The ACC is known for its rich golfing traditions, boasting four hall-of-fame golfers on its membership list. Beloved above all the club’s golf lore and legends, however, is the memory of longtime club pro and internationally renowned golf instructor Harvey Penick.
Known around the ACC as Mr. Penick, never as Harvey, the club’s most celebrated character passed away twenty years ago. Mr. Penick’s collection of golf tips and lessons, titled simply The Little Red Book, is the best-selling golf instruction manual in history.
He taught generations of club members, from child protégés to adults who came to the game late in life. He was best known, however, for his kindness, honesty, and gentle humor. As one club member noted, “Mr. Penick cared about you, not just your golf.”
In his new book, In the Grill Room Contemporary Austin Country Club in the Wake of Harvey Penick, Roger L. Terry, MD, collects club members’ many warm memories of Mr. Penick into a single anecdotal volume. The compilation illustrates the life of a great man and preserves firsthand accounts of his character for golf lovers everywhere.