DISCOVERING ALEX RUSSELL

By Neil Crafter & John Green Alex Russell is regarded as perhaps Australia’s finest ever home-grown golf course architect. He served as the Australian partner of the famed Scottish architect Dr Alister MacKenzie in the design and construction of the West Course at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, and was solely responsible for the design of Yarra Yarra, Royal Melbourne’s East Course, Lake Karrinyup in Perth and Paraparaumu Beach in New Zealand, all highly rated courses.

However, he is important to the story of Australian golf for much more than just golf course design as he was a champion golfer, winning the 1924 Australian Open as an amateur, amongst numerous other national and state titles.

Discovering Alex Russell: The Man and his Legacy by Neil Crafter and John Green uses detailed text, period archival photographs, maps and plans to bring together the many threads of Russell’s life. The book commences by discussing the emigration of several of Alex Russell’s forebears from Scotland to Tasmania. Philip Russell (Alex Russell’s great half-uncle) was the first of several brothers to migrate to central Tasmania in 1831, and other brothers and cousins followed, initially to Tasmania, and then to the Western Districts of Victoria.

The biography naturally has a bias towards his golfing exploits, both as a player and a golf course architect, with separate chapters on his golf career, his main golf courses and his golf design philosophies. The book is beautifully illustrated and detailed biography of a man who did so much for golf in Australia. It is a fascinating way to discover more about Alex Russell the man, his life and his golf courses.

If you enjoy learning about the history of Australian golf and its great courses, you will love this book.

Discovering Alex Russell: The Man and his Legacy can be purchased for $95 via the website www.discoveringalexrussell.com