This compendium is a singular triumph in the athenaeum of women's golf literature. It is the grandest collection of writingson women's golf yet published with 122 pieces extending over 128 years enhancedby 170 photographs with additional illustrations. Through the diligence of editors Macdonald and Wind, the book's scope is broader than a muni's first fairway with a focus keener than Annika's over a putt. Through the intermediacy of the clubs, courses, tournaments and personalities, the glorious history of ladies golf unfolds, revealing a story of the love of the game itself.

Who then was the first lady golfer? When, and over what links did she play? Alas, as with men's golf, the answers to these questions are lost to recorded history. There are early references however, to Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife, and to Mary Queen of Scots, playing at different times in the 1500's. Enid Wilson, contributor of fourarticles, writes that widespread familiarity with the game did not occur until the 1800's, with ladies clubs * appearing in the latter half of the century. Henry Cotton expounds further in Women's Golf Spreads around the World, that by the 1890's Women's Amateur Championships were held in Great Britain, the United States and elsewhere. "The liberationof the sporting woman had advanced a step." The first American 'phenom' appeared in 1896 in the form of 16 year old Beatrix Hoyt from the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. She defeated fellow member Mrs. A. Turnure to win the USGA Women's Amateur Championship at the Morris County Golf Club.

Hoyt repeated in 1897 and again 1898, was medalist in 1899, and then surprisingly retired from tournament golf. Wow! How great Hoyt might have been is left to conjecture, but the older guard had its notice: the kids were gunning for them.

There are marvelous stories for every name this limited space allows: the formidable Curtis * sisters Harriot and Margaret, beautiful Wanda Morgan, Dorothy Campbell who won both the British and AmericanLadies Championship in 1909, the first power-hitter Cecil Leitch, Alexa Stirling from Atlanta who broke Boston's near monopoly on the Championship,Molly Gourlay, Enid Wilson, Edith Cummings, Virginia Van Wie, Joyce Wethered,Pam Barton, Marion Hollins, Helen Hicks and Glenna Collett. The latter's My First National Championship for example, is a wonderful introspection and a tribute to the tenacity of youngwomen striving to play to their best abilities.

The mid-20^th century players may soon be ancient history to some, but they were the women who gave the modern game its presence and deserve recognition for their perseverance during the lean years. Golfers such as Anne Quast, Betsy Rawls, Peggy Kirk Bell, Barbara McIntire, the Bauer sisters Marlene and Alice, Joanne Carner, Carol Mann, Donna Caponi and others left a tremendous legacy. Mildred (Babe) Didrikson Zaharias won Olympic gold medals in 1932 with a world record javelin toss and a world record in the 80-meter hurdles. A third world record (by several inches) in the high jump wasnot allowed to stand because Zaharias used a then controversial Western rollstyle, a style officially accepted some years later. So when this superstarturned her full attention to golf, the world took notice.* Enid Wilson writes,"The dynamic personality of The Babe was largely responsible for the success and development of the Ladies Professional Golf Association in America.

Her phenomenal power proved a great draw for spectators, and one of her delights was to wisecrack with the galleries." Rather than be put off her shot or annoyed with anover-zealous photographer on the first tee she once replied, "I would have been worried if he didn't want my photograph."

Barbara Heilmen's 1961 article, On the Road with the Pros, gives a candid, eye-opening view of the tour player's world. "The units into which the tournament pros break down seem to be the bridge players, the poker players, the new girls, the loners,and Patty Berg." Like all athletes, these women itch to compete, but with varying degrees of patience and enthusiasm. The young players remain full offun for the new life, but for many of the veterans, the tour only grinds on into another work day. For an upbeat look at top tier golf, read Peter Ryde's article and Frank Hannigan's articles on Miss Catherine LaCoste. In 1967 on the Cascades Course at beautiful Virginia Hot Springs Golf and Tennis Club, with atwo stoke margin * over Miss Beth Stone and Miss Susie Maxwell, Lacoste became the youngest, the first amateur and the first foreign player to win the USGA Women's Open.

The variety of subjects covered in The Great Women Golfers is diverse,from the first Curtis Cup Match to Glenna Collett Vare's sixth American Amateur Championship, from the development of the USGA Girls' Junior championships to how Beth Daniel tamed her temper to win big. It is of course the recent stars with whom we are most familiar. Remember Patty Sheehan birdied the last two holes at the 1992 U. S. Open at Oakmont to force a playoff that she won? That same year Betsy King won the LPGA Championship with an 11-stroke margin after outdistancing the field with rounds of 67, 66, 68 and 66 over the narrow demanding course of Bethesda Country Club. Read about the remarkable sportswoman Juli Inkster, the incomparable Carol Semple Thomson, Beth Danielswho won the U. S. Amateur in her first attempt, the vivacious and dramatic Nancy Lopez, theatrical slammer JoAnne Carner, no-nonsense Pat Bradley, the intelligent Amy Alcott, the booming Laura Davies, fantastic Kathy Whitworth,and the perfect-swinging Mickey Wright. In addition, peppered throughout the book are bits of prose, humor and instruction, all carefully chosen by the Classics of Golf able compilers, Wind and Macdonald. Visualizing the Shot by Joyce Wethered and It All Depends on the Backswing by Louise Suggs offer the type of advanced advice you can expect to find in these selections. Male authors have also been included in this anthology for balance: quality contributors like Bernard Darwin, Dave Anderson, O. B. Keeler, Al Laney, Francis Ouimet, F. ScottFitzgerald, Grantland Rice, Peter Ryde and Clare Briggs.* Whether it is entertainment, insight or facts you seek concerning women's golf, this book issure to please.

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