The book is raring to go

Two weeks ago I was slaving away over proofs, correcting numerous little things and missing hundreds more. Thanks to the eagle eyes of Paula, at Collins Press, and Jonathan, my agent, all of these have been identified and are being corrected as I write. It's a difficult thing, though, going through all the pages, thinking about changes you'd like to make, scores you want to revise, that sort of thing. The word 'undulating' appears all over the place and because I was reading all 349 courses in one go, it was unavoidable finding words that are repeated time and again. After all, you can only describe a golf course in so many ways.

There's also the matter of the recesssion. Since I submitted the manuscript, Luttrellstown Castle has announced its closure, Tulfarris and Blarney have gone into receivership, and who knows what the summer will bring. I imagine another horrible summer will see a few more courses fall by the wayside. Green fees are changing too, which is excellent news for golfers everywhere. And, as I say in my book, there's never been a better time to negotiate.

The book is out there, available for pre-ordering (published in April), if you're interested. It appeared yesterday on the Collins Press website
Collins Press
and on
Amazon.co.uk


PRICE
The price is €15.95 and if that isn't value for money I don't know what is. Think about it: a book on Irish golf courses or 16 Mars Bars. And to think I can remember when Mars Bars were 12p!

It was a real rush seeing it on the sites, but I have to confess that I am extremely concerned by one particular thing: if you go on to amazon.co.uk and type in 'Kevin Markham', my book appears, but it's second on the list. What's first on the list? Baywatch. No, I'm not kidding. And The Hoff isn't even holding a golf club. Still, mustn't grumble.