Review: The Art of Scottish Golf is a “heart-felt love letter” to Scotland’s national sport

Long-time readers of bunkered might recall our former editor, Martin Dempster.

The man at the helm between 2003 and 2009, Martin is currently the golf correspondent for the Scotsman and is a tireless supporter of the game at all levels.

This week marks the release of his first-ever book, The Art of Scottish Golf, and it promises to be a ‘must read’ for fans of the sport, both die-hard and casual.

It combines golfing lore, history, iconic Scottish golf courses, brilliant anecdotes from players and caddies past and present, and much more. The content is beautifully accompanied by a fantastic array of photographs throughout.

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Martin has described writing this book as “the project of my dreams” and an opportunity to add a book to “the hundreds of thousands of words” he has written about Scottish golf and Scottish golfers over the last 30-plus years.

His enthusiasm for the sport radiates from the very first page, where, describing the game as “Scotland’s national sport”, he states: “Forget football. Forget rugby. In fact, forget any sport you can come up with. Because golf is what most people around the world think of when Scotland is mentioned in a sporting capacity.”

What follows over the next 250 pages is, in effect, a heart-felt love letter to the sport; a comprehensive re-telling of the game’s origins and subsequent expansion, as well as its myriad characters, from celebrated professionals such as Colin Montgomerie and Catriona Matthew to unsung greenkeeping and caddying heroes.

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As the peerless Catriona Matthew puts it on the book’s cover, The Art of Scottish Golf is “not your normal golf book”. It explores the ways in which the sport influences aspects of life in Scotland that extend beyond the fairways of the country’s 560-plus courses.

It is, in short, a gem of a book, where the smell of freshly mown grass and fresh sea air rise up from every page; a book that demonstrates what those of us who have ever worked alongside Martin have long known: that, in him, the sport has a faithful and passionate advocate.

The Art of Scottish Golf by Martin Dempster is on-sale from all good book stores and online from November 7.

£16.99 (Black & White Publishing)

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor