As of today, there are 62 Type A personalities that have played the top 100 golf courses in the world. Bob McCoy was the second person to complete the feat, in 1988. In itself, this is a noteworthy accomplishment. Bob’s real claim to fame, however, is playing the top 100 again, but this time in 100 consecutive days. The idea behind the “100 in 100” was a lark, something he made up when a Japanese golf magazine journalist asked him what he would do as an encore after playing the top 100.
Tom Wolfe coined the term “A Man in Full” in his second novel. Wolfe’s character is one of fiction, but Bob is indeed “The Real McCoy.” A talented hockey player who grew up in upstate New York, he was able to get into Harvard based on his hockey skills, not his academic prowess. He stayed on the get to an MBA at Harvard as well, before starting a successful career on Wall Street. With an entrepreneurial bug, Bob retired early to start a popular research and information service for the electrical and power industry. He also started a successful and widely read newsletter titled The Golf Odyssey, where he shared his stories and tips about his golf travels with paying readers for decades.
The book chronicles Bob’s planning for and playing the top 100 courses and is adapted from his Golf Odyssey, thus the title of the book.
So, to state the obvious, how exactly do you plan and then play the top 100 courses in 100 consecutive days? Remember, this is not just the top 100 in the United States, which, while also logistically challenging, would be easier; it is the world. It’s not like you can call Augusta and just book in a tee time. Or, book the three über-private Japanese courses on the same trip and make the timing work. Beyond Augusta, there are other courses that are painfully difficult to get a game on, notably Cypress Point and Morfontaine in France. And, as we all know, travel snafus such as missed flights and connections as well as weather problems, make this an endeavor that sounds good, but to pull it off is a feather in the cap indeed. It does help if you are a member of Pine Valley, Baltusrol, Royal St. George’s, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and Oakmont, as McCoy was.
The book mixes in Bob’s fanatical level of planning and obsessiveness with his impressive bio, and with stories of the enduring friendships he has made through golf travels over a lifetime. One of the most interesting parts of the story is that it brings you back in time. Bob played the “100 in 100,” in 1997. Difficult as it is to imagine now, his was an era before cell phones, GPSs and even the printing of MapQuest routes before you leave. He did it the old-fashioned way, organizing and planning through land line phone calls and faxes. He did it with dog-eared and crumpled maps. Not the most efficient way to travel, but that was all there was. He had to stop for directions often and as we’ve all experienced, you get directions from someone who is completely confident in their veracity, and they are totally wrong!
What is also impressive is that McCoy set a rule for himself: walk every hole. No carts. I don’t know about you, but the stamina required to do this after flying and driving for long hours is incredible. Also, no private jets; commercial air travel only.
Ben Crenshaw, said about this driven golf lunatic, “Bob McCoy sure knows how to do it right, and I always enjoy his comments on courses I haven’t played.” Herbert Warren Wind was also a fan, noting, “He is one of the great travelers of all time, like the hero of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days.” Gil Hanse wrote the book’s foreword and said, “His pursuit of 100 in 100 is only one chapter in a life well-lived, it is a story worth telling and one that will enthrall travelers and golfers alike.”
Beyond the fastidiousness of Bob’s behavior and pure luck of his feat, what also comes through in A Golf Odyssey is how gentlemanly McCoy is. There is never even a hint of boasting or ego, just thankfulness and humbleness. The book is a great read.
Click to see the book on Amazon
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