Is This What Home Is Called? The Adventures Of An Accidental Golf Course Owner

Tom Quinn, the globe-trotting golf writer, is preparing to settle down. For someone as passionate as him, it means fulfilling every golfer’s dream—or nightmare?—of owning his own golf course. And for some reason, it also involves Bill Murray and Jason Kelsey. The New York Times bestselling author of *A Course Called America* and numerous other masterpieces of contemporary golf literature, Quinn has spent his career traveling the world and playing golf on legendary courses from St. Andrews to Chinnicock. One day, at the urging of a course manager hoping to save his local nine-hole course from closure just over a century earlier, Quinn visits the Sullivan County Golf & Country Club in upstate New York. Upon arrival, the course is covered in ice and snow; what he sees of the clubhouse is that it’s on the verge of collapse. By the time he leaves, he’s seen only his next adventure: discovering how vastly different owning a golf course is from playing on one. “A Course Called Home” is Quinn’s most personal and profound book to date: a candid, often humorous, account of rebuilding, resilience, and finding purpose in unexpected places. It’s a story of holding onto the land—literally and figuratively—as Quinn swaps golfing hours for mowing the lawn, learning how to shape fairways, water lawns, and bring a historic but fading course to life. The Sullivan golf community Quinn joins is a far cry from the polished, glamorous version of the game you see on TV, played by millionaires in matching polo shirts. The course is run by a close-knit team of groundskeepers who work long hours—not for prestige, but for pride. Regulars who pay cash and play in casual attire frequent the course, and it welcomes visitors and newcomers who quickly become part of the group. The Sullivan team becomes like a family, united in their love for this humble and enduring place. However, decades of declining tourism and economic stagnation have left the club struggling to survive, and fighting for its future will require an unprecedented collective effort. Quinn is rallying golf enthusiasts to revive this course, which exemplifies how the sport can unite generations.