The Suggestion Book

Lifetime golfers Duncan Ferguson and John Wilson have drawn upon club suggestion books from all over the country to compile this snapshot portrait of golf club life. With amusing illustrations by John Raymer and a foreword by the late Bill Deedes, The Suggestion Book is the ideal companion for all club golfers who, whatever their age, background or handicap, will surely appreciate the peculiar charm of the entries within. Often trivial, frequently witty, though sometimes rather terse, these suggestions - and the replies from the club secretaries - provide an entertaining insight into social change over the years and show how golfers’ priorities have altered. We no longer leave our bicycles in the Smoking Room, nor do we request that the brake meets the 9.30 a.m. train. And as for the price and quality of a glass of port or the smartness of the caddies’ shoes, these matters of concern would be comically out of place in today’s world. But their inclusion here is fabulously revealing of the axes ground by golfers of the past. By contrast, the modern-day entries in the suggestion books are more concerned with handicaps, competitions and winter rules.