The Good Doctor Returns: Alister MacKenzie Comes Back to Golf

John Grant, the Howard Roark of golf course design, has been commissioned to draw the high-profile Pendleton Beach Golf Links. It's a career maker, but the idealistic young architect must somehow overcome the profit-minded tactics of his employer, Mario International Golf Course Design, which, like most corporate golf course design firms, is only interested in making money. When Grant submits a "carefully sketched dogleg left par-4," they strip it of "any semblance of architectural integrity." Originality is scrapped for reproductions of proven golf courses, threatening the purity of the game that Grant holds dear.

Enter Dr. Alister MacKenzie, the famous Scottish golf course architect who has returned from hibernation to design one last great course. After convincing Grant (and to a lesser extent, us readers) that his death in 1934 was staged, the 128-year-old doctor and his wide-eyed disciple set out to build a masterpiece and save golf's revered values and traditions. What ensues is a witty and often insightful look at the state of golf today (and to an equal extent, the esoteric methods of an architect). Author Geoff Shackelford's agenda is obvious but noble; links purists and literary landscapers alike will embrace The Good Doctor. --Rob McDonald