A Course Called Home: Adventures of an Accidental Golf Course Owner | Simon & Schuster

In A Course Called Home, globe-trotting golf writer Tom Coyne trades tee times for mower hours as he becomes the owner of a small, ice-locked nine-holer outside Woodstock, New York. What begins as a practical challenge becomes a deeply human quest about restoration, resilience, and belonging.

Set against a century of memories, the Sullivan County Golf & Country Club is weathered but alive. The bunkers stubborn as old stories, the clubhouse clinging to its last lean year, and the rhythms of visitors and locals create a living, imperfect portrait of golf beyond pristine TV fairways.

Coyne's days swing between hands-on work—contouring a fairway, watering a green, mowing between rakes—and quiet, humorous observations about a crew that treats the course like family. Through challenges big and small, the book captures how ownership can reveal purpose in unexpected places.

What makes this book special

• A personal, funny, and moving account of restoration, friendship, and community pride.
• Behind-the-scenes details of maintaining an aging course and reviving its history.
• Vivid scenes of seasons turning, snow on the links, and the hum of course equipment in action.
• Guest appearances and cameos that add warmth without overshadowing the core story.

Why readers connect

• Reads like a love letter to golf, place, and the people who care for them.
• Shows how a small course can become a gathering place for locals and visitors alike.
• Offers a hopeful, real-world glimpse at community-led renewal and teamwork.
• Fits the spirit of Coyne's golf travel writing with a homegrown twist.

If you enjoy stories about dedication, community, and the quiet drama of daily work, this book invites you to imagine what might happen when a course becomes a home.