Book Review: ‘Jewel in the Glen;’ Gleneagles to host 2014 Ryder Cup

I have dreams of taking a “Journey to Scotland and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles” later this year. So, of course, I made myself present for such discussions at the Travel Pavilion at the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando in January. Designated Booth #1973 VisitScotland in the Exhibitor Listings but simply Scotland- The Home of Golf to the golfers of the world! There I found David Connor, Golf PR Manager who is focusing on the Ryder Cup. Right there in the same booth I met Billy Murray, Marketing Manager for the Gleneagles Hotel. Caught up in my excitement to journey to Scotland for Ryder Cup, he graciously gave me a copy of Ed Hodges book, Jewel in the Glen. Enough of the diary documentarian stuff, let’s get to the book and golf! The subtitle of the book is Gleneagles, Golf & the Ryder Cup which quickly takes us ahead four months and further away, if you are American like me, from the ‘Misery at Medinah’ to a chance for redemption. Having ventured to Scotland on two previous occasions, I missed the Gleneagles area so this book was of immediate interest to me as a reference on planning this next trip. When considering to purchase this collectible volume one needs to look no further than who wrote the foreword. Jack Nicklaus did and he opened with the line “Gleneagles is among the great places in the world to visit and play golf.” Case closed, book acquired and opened to take us back to 1921 and then forward to the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.” In 1921 Gleneagles hosted the initial international match that was the precursor to the first official Ryder Cup match. This book is written by a special guy. Though a young whippersnapper of a sports journalist with a young family, he is obviously wise for his age and surrounded himself with a team that brought a sense of history and destiny to this story. Starting with the statement “Life is full of journeys in pursuit of reaching a desired destination” immediately brings in anyone and everyone who has connected golf with life, a day with a round and has an inkling to the spiritual essence of our game.  There is no doubt this is the first of many literary majors for Ed Hodges who came to the game through his dad and was inspired by his grandfather both on the course and in the writing arena. The PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles will host the 40^th Ryder Cup and was designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1993. Originally called The Monarch's Course it was renamed in 2001 to celebrate the centenary year of The Professional Golfer's Association of Great Britain and Ireland. This is the sister organization of the PGA of America, both partners in staging the Ryder Cup competition.  Since the opposing Ryder Cup team expanded to include Europe in 1979, the European Ryder Cup team has won ten times, the United States seven. The modern European dominance started at The Belfry, home to their PGA, with the debut of the Brabazon Course with the Euros winning ten of the last fourteen. The Ryder Cup has been played (officially) only one time before in 1973 at Muirfield with the USA winning. Credit author Hodge in that Chapter 6 well documents that American victory. Back to the book though I am getting as fired up as United States Captain Tom Watson. C’mon American team make golf our sport again not only our business! Chapter 1 of Ed Hodge’s book is a detailed account of Captain Jose Maria Olazabal engineered, Seve-inspired dramatic Sunday Singles comeback win after being down 10 to 6. Same as the 1999 American win at Brookline but on foreign soil. So from Chapter 2 on it is a good book! Actually it is an amazing book and a must-read prior to this year’s Ryder Cup. Chapter 2 documents the Ryder Cup before it was a Ryder Cup detailing how the matches at Gleneagles were an inspiration to continue to what we know as the Ryder Cup today. The book tells the history of Scottish golfing competitions at Gleneagles and the history of the ‘Palace in the Glen,’ which is celebrating its 90^th anniversary this year. There is a chapter on the Golden Bear and a hole-by-hole guide of the host venue by World Golf Hall of Fame member Colin Montgomerie. Something every American Ryder Cupper should read prior to teeing it up at Gleneagles! Ed’s old photo hunts were successful and 80 interview targets secured to make this an exceptional story and book! Will the tee be silent for the first tee shot or will we see more or will Ian Poulter and Bubba Watson or other members of the 2014 teams incite them to cheer loudly? No one knows for sure. But we do know for sure that Gleneagles will be a historic host to a memorable Ryder Cup that is coming home to its roots 93 years later. Head to the bookstore door or internet keyboard for your own copy of Ed Hodge’s “Jewel in the Glen” to fully enjoy the ‘Scotland Stage’ this September!