'The Creed Of The Amateur'

When I was in Pinehurst last month I ventured into the pro shop at #2 to look around. I really wasn't planning to buy anything, just browsing really. I've got a closet full of golf hats and shirts, and I bought my share of memorabilia last year at the Senior Open and Walker Cup, so I was pretty much all set.

I wandered over to the book section and there were the usual coffee-table style books detailing the history of Pinehurst, etc. Then I happened upon a small hard-cover book titled The Creed of the Amateur. It had a nice green cover, collage photo of US Amateur trophy, '08 Amateur ball marker, '62 Amateur scorecard. I picked it up and leafed through it - it was less than 150 pages. It was bound nicely and looked like it had been published locally. It seemed interesting so I decided to take a chance since it was only $20.

What really sold me were some of the photos. In the back of the book there are black and white photos and one-page bios of many of the great amateurs from days done by - Francis Oiumet, Harvie Ward, Bill Campbell and Billy Joe Patton to name a few. Plus, there was a photo in the middle of the book of Harvie Ward receiving the US Amateur trophy in 1955 with runner-up, Bill Hyndman, looking on. Hyndman was from Pennsylvania and had a storied amateur career, twice finishing runner-up in the US Amateur before twice winning the US Senior Amateur. I actually shagged balls for Mr. Hyndman one day in the early 70's during the Northeast Amateur. He was near the end of his prime, but he could still flat play. He won the Northeast Amateur in 1974 when Gary Koch blew a four-shot lead with two to play, but that's another story.

The book extols the virtues of amateur golf within a smaller framework of championship golf played at Pinehurst. The author is Lee Pace and the book was published in 2008. If you enjoy reading books on golf, The Creed Of The Amateur is a must. And if you typically don't read many golf books, this is one you should consider picking up.