This collection builds on the success of The Gentry Links Trilogy (Grant Books, 2023) and carries its story into the modern era.

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Each book traces how the 'modern game' of golf emerged:

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• from its leap in affordability with the change from featherie to gutty in 1847;

• to its coming of age with the creation of uniform rules in the 1890s; and

• to the parity reached between amateur and professional golfers in the 1930s.

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These turning points are brought to life through the characters captured in art and remembered in history.

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The Trilogy takes readers on a journey from The Golfers,1847, with analysis supported by The First Meeting of North Berwick Golf Club, 1832, to Medal Day,1894. The evolution of the 'modern game' continues with Origins1926, which portrayed far more than the birth of a famous sporting occasion: the painting includes the leading golfers of the age, linking the pre- and post- First World War eras.

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Interpretation of these art masterpieces is followed by A Life’s Two Nines. William Niel Brown Loudon, OBE, served on the executive of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club during its critical years between 1963 and 1982. This volume carries forward the development of the 'modern game' into the 1970s by identifying the 'titans' of golf who shaped its international rule base and affiliations. 

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In essence, A Life’s Two Nines helps to explain how a geographically remote ancient organisation came to be a respected leader of golf governance throughout the world.

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A companion volume entitled The Clyde Within Us traces key ingredients of Scottish DNA, as a memoir-biography of Niel  Loudon.