Book Review "The Houston Dynasty" Tales from College Golf's Greatest Team

 "Forward by Jim Nantz".......you had me at "Hello"!

Jim Nantz is, and always will be, the greatest commentator of sports...especially in golf. He has a connection to Houston golf, via his time rooming with Freddie Couples at the University of Houston.

But this book is not about his time at Houston...it is about an earlier era, when Dave Williams joined the University of Houston in 1951...as a volunteer head coach for the golf team.

Coach Williams would go on to create a dynasty that involved many of the greats of the game from the 50's through the 80's. His legacy not only changed golf for U of H but has become a template of how to run a golf team at the college level.

"The Houston Dynasty" carves-out a specific time from those years. The years when Jim McLean joined the team.

In 1968 Jim joined the Cougars when Coach Williams offered him a full scholarship and coming to terms with Texas heat. and humidity. He would play for him until 1973...earning multiple golf team badges of honor such as All American in 1972. Most recently, Jim was inducted into the golf Hall of Fame in 2025.

Jim had a front-row seat to this era of Cougar golf, and he gives us an awesome inside-look of college golf life, the characters that populated Baldwin House which was dorm for the golf team, and why U of H was the place to be if you were a kid out of high school being recruited.

Great photos of the teams and Coach Williams...a kick is the prize money newsclipping from one of Jim McLeans' early pro victories in 1970. Points to the growth of this fabulous sport. Stories of his roommates you can't make up, and random golf tips from a world class teacher, are scattered into this well written and fast-paced book.

If you want a behind-the-scenes look from one of the top golf talents of his era about the top college team of its era...please seek this book out. I loved it because I played for my high school golf team back in the day, and reading this brought out some great memories!!!

Keep it in the short grass,

MyDailySlice