Ancestral Links

One man’s “poignant and revealing” quest to uncover the roots of his family’s obsession with golf-in Ireland, Scotland, and the American heartland.

In Ancestral Links, senior Sports Illustrated writer John Garrity takes readers on a fascinating golfing odyssey. First he returns to the majestic seaside Carne Golf Links in a remote corner of Ireland, from which his great-grandfather left for America. Next he visits Musselburgh, Scotland, where his maternal ancestors played golf before the first thirteen rules of the game were written there in 1774. And in Wisconsin’s St. Croix River Valley, Garrity revisits the New Richmond Golf Club, where his father learned the ancient game. At every stop on his journey, Garrity reflects on the life and career of his beloved late older brother, Tom, a former tour player.

Part memoir, part travelogue, and all golf, Garrity’s story of how the sport altered three small-town landscapes and forever changed one family is a captivating and unforgettable tour of the links.