Augusta and Aiken boast a rich golf history.

Whether you are a casual golfer or one dedicated to the game, you will enjoy reading about the history of golf in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. The area has some of the finest golf courses in the world and can boast of a rich championship heritage. The first golf was played here in the early 1890s, and the first major championship was held at Cleveland's historic Euclid Club in 1907 when Jerome Travers won the U.S. Amateur. Canterbury, Firestone and other great courses in the area have been the site of a host of major PGA and amateur championships. All the great players from the past century-plus have walked the fairways of Northeast Ohio, including Hagen, Snead, Palmer, Nicklaus, Woods, and even Bobby Jones and Harry Vardon.

The Donald Ross-designed golf course at the Elks and Wyandot Country Clubs was celebrated as one of Ohio's best from its ballyhooed beginnings in 1923 until its closing in 1952. During its too-short history, the course and the two clubs associated with it overcame many obstacles, including a lack of money and resources during the Great Depression and lack of materials and manpower during World War II. Home to the 1931 Ohio Amateur and the 1948 Columbus Invitational, its membership roll included three-time major champion Denny Shute. Author Bill Case covers the birdies, bogeys and pars in this long-overdue chronicle of a lost jewel from golf's golden age.

East Lake Golf Club was heralded as "one of the finest in the United States" when its first holes were completed in 1907. Bobby Jones called East Lake his home course, as did Alexa Stirling, Watts Gunn, and Charlie Yates. It flourished in the early 1900s as the Atlanta Athletic Club's country club. However, as Atlanta's population shifted to the northern suburbs, East Lake suffered, and in the mid-1960s the AAC sold the property and moved to Johns Creek. In the 1990s, developer Tom Cousins stepped in to restore East Lake. Today, the historical East Lake Golf Club is again considered among the finest courses in the United States and is host to tournament play. The motto adopted at its rebirth rings true: "Golf with a Purpose."

The game of golf got its start in the Southeastern United States in 1892 on four holes with sand greens at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, South Carolina. Within five years, Palmetto had expanded to eighteen holes and the first nine-hole course in neighboring Augusta, Georgia was designed at the Hotel Bon Air. For half a century, the Augusta-Aiken area flourished as the winter destination of choice for the rich, famous, and powerful in America. Presidents Taft, Harding, and Eisenhower vacationed here. Baseball great Ty Cobb bought a home in Augusta's quaint Summerville neighborhood. It was here that Bobby Jones began the improbable journey towards a Grand Slam, then built his dream golf course. By the turn of the century, winter tourism and grand resort hotels in the Augusta-Aiken area were well established. A favorable winter climate and easy rail access drew vacationers to Highland Park Hotel (1866), Willcox Hotel (1898), and Park in the Pines (1900) in Aiken; Hotel Bon Air (1890) and Partridge Inn (1913) in Augusta; and Hampton Terrace Hotel and Golf Club (1903) in North Augusta. Resorts in Florida and the growth of the air travel industry later coupled to mark the area's decline in winter tourism, but not before Augusta-Aiken's place in golf history was secure. In this unique volume, vintage images and accompanying text recall the unfo rgettable legends, the meticulously maintained courses, and all of the grandeur associated with the game.