The Nature of the Game: Links Golf at Bandon Dunes and Far Beyond

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 147 ratings

Price: 15.75

Last update: 01-30-2025


About this item

Essential reading for every golfer from the sport’s most acclaimed course developer—a comprehensive, firsthand account of restoring the inherent satisfactions of this centuries-old game, from the beauty of natural courses to the joys of walking the course

“Mike Keiser is the best thing to happen to golf since the Big Bertha. He’s the guy who single-handedly saved us from the Fake 100-foot Waterfall Era. He gave us back nature, walking and buddy trips. This is a fascinating read on how in the world he did it.”—Rick Reilly, golf writer

An avid golfer with a demanding career in the greeting card business, Mike Keiser found a new calling on the authentic links courses of Scotland and Ireland. Seized by the beauty of the landscape and the holes running through it, he determined this was how golf was meant to be: inclusive, not private; played on foot, not riding a cart; the courses natural, neither lavish nor contrived. Vowing to transplant this experience to the States, Keiser entered the golf business and, ignoring the advice of experts, built a true links course in Oregon. Bandon Dunes has redefined the game here and become a destination for golfers everywhere.

Those same convictions have now produced other top-ranked courses by Keiser—in Wisconsin, Nova Scotia, Tasmania, and elsewhere—whose magical allure demonstrates what the world’s most gifted golf course architects can accomplish by working on designs that hew to the natural landscape. Keiser’s further commitments—to the caddies, greens crews, and staff at his resorts; to the communities in which they’re located; and to deep environmental stewardship—enhance the singular appeal of these immensely popular courses.

At once an account of inventing a new, life-changing business, a guide to historic course design, and a paean to the sport that has recently experienced a surge of growth, The Nature of the Game is essential listening for every golfer.

*Includes a downloadable PDF containing beautiful photographs and mementos from the printed book

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Gary C.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Book
    Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2024
    Very good book about the endeavors of Mike Keiser, the most prolific developer of American links golf resorts.
  • Skip
    5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating stories about playable golf shrines
    Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2022
    In an entrancing way, the reader is taken through the challenges of a career pivot from a successful business to passion project… that turns into a successful business in golf.

    I was just as interested in the twists and turns of putting the projects together as the difficulty of the golf architecture itself.

    I remember intimately the rise of overly manufactured golf courses in the 1970s and 1980s as a young guy, and love the direction the “Bandon school” architects have taken.

    A great book for anyone interested in golf, golf architecture and the twists and turns of turning an idea into a success.
  • Miklós Breitner
    5.0 out of 5 stars Even a book for PR purposes can be worthy & useful
    Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2022
    A couple of years ago I read the book Dream Golf (by Stephen Goodwin). I could not imagine that he and Mike Keiser can tell me so many new things about Bandon Dunes and other Mike Keiser golf course development projects.

    Kudos to the authors! Thank you, Mike Keiser, for these out-of-this-world golf courses.

    This is a good example of even a book for PR purposes can be noteworthy and useful.
  • Dennis OMalley
    5.0 out of 5 stars Keiser is my idol
    Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2022
    If you want to read the story of golf's greatest developer, here it is. Learn how the Bandon phenomenon came to be, and learn what motivates Mr Keiser. Lots of great nuggets and insight from Doak, Coore, Crenshaw, Mackay Kidd and others. I promise you will enjoy this book!
  • Tom Daniels
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great story & great read!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2023
    Love this book and the story! Went to Sand Valley, WI in May, great fun, going to Bandon Dunes in March 2024 with my son and brothers.
    Easy to read!
  • J No
    5.0 out of 5 stars A very good book about the best golf anywhere !
    Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2022
    The inside scoop from the founder/owner of Bandon Dunes, the best public access golf in the world, humbly located on the Oregon coast. Greatness doesn't just happen by accident.
  • Eliza McCarthy
    5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired to try to go to Bandon Dunes
    Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2022
    Remote southern Oregon seems like a dream place to play links golf, and it's inspiring to read about the man (and family) who created Bandon Dunes and many other intriguing courses
  • James White
    5.0 out of 5 stars Insights from premiere golf resort developer of our time.
    Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2022
    Some aspects of this book are redundant to other related works, but it's expanded beyond Bandon Dunes to cover subsequent Keiser projects.

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