Prairie Dunes Country Club is an oddity. It sits in the heartland of America, but is considered by many to have the characteristics of a seaside links golf course. Its original designer, Perry Maxwell, was a banker. Its construction was begun in 1937, but it wasn’t fully completed until 20 years later. Yet, Prairie Dunes is one of the best golf courses in the world. In 2003, Golf Digest placed it at No. 25 in its annual “Top 100 Courses in America” list.

Perry Maxwell’s Prairie Dunes, by Mal Elliott, is the remarkable story of how this remarkable golf course came to be. Vintage photos, historical text, and beautiful full-color photography by John Johnson take the reader through every stage of development of this historic course — site of the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open.