"Pennell’s lifetime in the game as a devoted golfer, greenkeeper, and club Secretary/General Manager/Membership Secretary produced a breadth of knowledge and range of experiences worth writing about, and thank goodness the Englishman did so. Sometimes an author’s deep love of a subject results in writing so delightful and gratifying it’s hard to put down" LINKS Magazine
"This is a gorgeous and uplifting collection of golf essays, each laden with unapologetically positive musings. Buy the book, pronto." Joe McDonnell; Clayton, DeVries & Pont
"Spirit of place is difficult to evoke in words. But that hasn't stopped this gifted writer from repeatedly making the attempt. Fortunately for us, this restless, questing soul has yet to discover, as Wodehouse wrote, 'that perfect peace, that peace beyond all understanding, which comes to its maximum only to the man who has given up golf'" Michael Estorick in Golf Quarterly
"Take my word for it – read Grass Routes, it is a delight. Like John Betjeman’s Seaside Golf and a well-judged final approach to the 18th on a warm summer’s evening, resting “two paces from the pin” – it is pitch perfect" Robin Down, Northumberland
One of the great things about Sounder is the people that we've met along the way. People we connected with on Instagram or Twitter, and people who started as customers and have become golfing partners and friends. Richard Pennell is a great example - a true golf addict, who took up writing about the game after a long career that started in greenkeeping before moving into club management. Turns out that he's annoyingly good at it too - we're proud to have hosted some of his early pieces in our Players' Journal, and now he's published Grass Routes, a collection of 18 essays covering his travels around the golf courses of the British Isles. It's a wonderfully evocative read, and a great gift idea for anyone who loves the game. Jon Davie, Sounder Golf
"Grass Routes is a gem of a publication, beautifully written and published. The rich prose within makes me want to visit the featured golf courses." Paul Daley, Australia
"A handsome paperback in a slip cover has just arrived and it's a delight. Richard will be known to many on GolfClubAtlas.com and they will not be surprised he writes with warmth, gentle humour, a love of history and more than somewhat stylishly" Tony Muldoon, London
"A book such as this stands or falls by the quality and variety of the clubs and courses described and Pennell's choice is exemplary...it was his descriptions of the lesser-known courses of Minchinhampton, Painswick and Cleeve Hill that had your reviewer itching to immediately throw the clubs in the car and head off to these delights. There are two tests a book of this kind has to satisfy - does the reader want to play the courses described and would they wish to do so in the company of the author either on the page or in person? For this reviewer, the answer to both is an emphatic yes." Richard Williams, Through The Green (Journal of the British Golf Collectors Society)
I could have dashed through Grass Routes in a day or so, but like a fine wine or whiskey it deserves to be sipped and savored so I read it only a little bit at a time. It is extraordinary—beautiful, evocative, inspiring—really more like poetry disguised as golf writing! Please keep writing! Thomas James. USA
"Grass Routes" is now available. Do yourself the honour of supporting a great writer, independent business and an even better human being." Jasper Miners, @evalu18.com
"The carpenter and the sculptor use the same tools. The carpenter builds staircases and houses with his hammer and chisel while the sculptor creates unique works of art that move people emotionally. Both are important but the latter is arguably more enduringly powerful. In the media world, most of us are closer to carpenters than sculptors but Pennell clearly stands on the other side. A sculptor of words. And there really aren't many of those." Rod Morri, TalkinGolf Network
"Don't start reading this unless you have a few spare hours. Once you're sucked in, it's devilish hard to put down. This sort of writing leaves you smiling, nodding, and blissfully relaxed" Tony Dear, USA
"Whenever I read a piece I’m transported. The prose calls to mind great English writing from bygone days. The words paint pictures in my imagination. Marvellous." John Francis, Shivas Irons Society
"Putting Rye into words is so hard; I think this is the best I've read since Darwin. I moved to New Zealand 24 years ago and have retained my Rye membership; it's the umbilical cord I cannot cut. Thank you for taking me home to a place I yearn for. To borrow from your latest column, I have a longing for something that I dearly love. And it’s not just a place I know well that you make me yearn for; your descriptions of golf courses I’ve not yet visited compel me to discover them for myself.
Richard has such a unique approach to golf writing. For him, golf is about the place and the playing and not at all about the modern appendages of score, equipment and technology. Every piece manages to blend something of nature, something of the land, something of history and something of the game we love. It’s the essence of golf, beautifully articulated." Ant Salmon, Auckland.
"I just finished the prologue of Grass Routes and it really moved me...It is truly wonderful when someone like him comes along and shares something in a way that gives voice to so many things I have been feeling but unable to articulate. Clearly the loss of a parent, the process of clearing out the material accumulation of a lifetime, and the reflection on how we have evolved from children to adults — these are universal themes that resonate with many of us I’m sure. But selfishly it felt like he was speaking directly to me, which is the wizardry of his writing." Brian Fearnow, USA
"Richard couldn't sell water in the desert. Lucky what he's selling is gold" PBauldy, Australia
"Beautifully boxed and presented by Grant Books. This is an absolute delight. It's sort of a book that I picked up and immediately lost two hours. That time however was a great investment as it left me with a warm glow and smile and a desire to throw the clubs in the car and get golfing immediately...Richard has the ability to create golfing imagery in your mind’s eye; the rhythm of his writing is astonishing. Andy Picken, Golfshake
"I read another of your pieces earlier. When I get near your stuff, my mind starts to race..." D.M. Wilson III, publisher of Grant Books.
The author at play, Ceredigion, 1988. From the Prologue, "Grass Routes".