BIOGRAPHY/BOOKS AUTHORED
Residing in Los Angeles, California, Daniel Wexler is one of America's leading golf historians and writers, having authored seven prominent books (outlined below) on a wide range of golfing subjects, including the American Private Golf Club Guide and the American Golf Resort Guide, cornerstones of a unique guidebook series published under the MT III Golf Media label. He has also penned numerous golf-related articles and served as co-editor of Sports Media Group’s Rare Golf Book Collection, reviving some of the game's oldest classic volumes and writing forewords/afterwords for titles such as Down The Fairway (Bobby Jones & O.B. Keeler), British Golf Links (Horace Hutchinson), The Walter Hagen Story (Walter Hagen) and Golf From The Times (Bernard Darwin). A member of the USGA's Architectural Archive committee, Mr. Wexler is frequently consulted regarding his research of the classic courses of golf design’s pre-World War II Golden Age, and owns one of the world’s finest private collections of books, period aerial golf course photos, scorecards and other historical materials.
A 1985 graduate of Middlebury College, Mr. Wexler has written for Golf World, the Los Angeles Times, ESPN.com and Links Magazine, and has had his work appear in Sports Illustrated, Fortune, The Golfer and numerous regional publications. Also a former golf professional in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire and Marco Island, Florida, he has taught at the Bretton Woods (NH) Golf Academy (a program developed by 1964 U.S. Open Champion Ken Venturi) and worked at Los Angeles’s Riviera Country Club, site of four Major championships and home of the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open.
He can be contacted at Midd23@aol.com.
BOOKS AUTHORED
A Timeless Game: Some Thoughts On Golf Topics Old And New (245pp, MT III Golf Media, 2020)
“A Timeless Game is a collection of essays (an overused word that I'm not fond of) on a range of golfing subjects, some historical, some highly contemporary. Its range of subject pretty well guarantees that there's something in here for every golfer, but hopefully the pieces covering the golfing lives of Willie Anderson and heavyweight champion Joe Louis, issues of modern equipment, the dominance of Korean women golfers, and a deep research dive into the vagaries of the PGA Tour's record book will be at least a little bit thought-provoking. This book should prove a quick - but hopefully deep - read.” – DW
The Missing Links: America's Greatest Lost Golf Courses and Holes (222pp, Sleeping Bear Press/John Wiley & Sons, 2000)
“The concept for Missing Links was sparked by a conversation that I had in 1998 with the late Dave Marr. We were discussing various classic courses and when the Lido's name was mentioned, he became very enthusiastic, saying that Claude Harmon had once told him that it was 'the greatest golf course ever.' That set me to thinking and pretty soon I was compiling a list of deceased courses built by the great Golden Age architects. I wasn't familiar with very many of these layouts but when the list quickly grew beyond 100, I began thinking in terms of a book…” – DW
SOME COMMENTS ON THE MISSING LINKS :
"The most historically significant golf book of the year." -- Golf.com
"A feat of excavation that is not just fascinating but deeply moving. What's revealed, in the end, is not just a lost Atlantis of beautiful courses, but a way of life that was stylish, romantic and probably gone forever." -- Golf & Travel Magazine
"Wexler narrates his tale with sophistication…and offers no quarter in chastising those responsible." -- PGATOUR..COM
"An eye-opener that shows just how many courses by famous American architects have been plowed under or paved over...One of my favorites of the year." -- Ron Whitten, Golf World Magazine
"Unreservedly recommended for the person who really loves and understands golf."
-- New York Observer
Named: INGMA Media Awards Book-Of-The-Year
GolfClubAtlas.com Book-Of-The-Year
USGA Book Award Finalist
Lost Links: Forgotten Treasures From Golf's Golden Age (240 pp, Clock Tower Press/John Wiley & Sons, 2003)
“I had not originally planned a second book on lost courses, figuring, if anything, that maybe we'd do a revised edition of The Missing Links at some point. But the more research I did, the more I began to realize just how many really strong courses had disappeared over the years – far, far more than had been covered in The Missing Links. So for Lost Links, I ended up highlighting 12 more courses in a manner similar to the first book, then mapping and describing 62 others, plus a number of lost holes from famous courses (Pinehurst, Quaker Ridge, Merion, etc.). In the end, there was so much material that we actually had to drop a few courses.” – DW
SOME COMMENTS ON LOST LINKS:
“One of the best architecture books we’ve seen.” -- Golf News
“Whatever the topic of his third book, I’ll be first in line.” -- GolfClubAtlas.com
“His narrative has all the sequencing and action of a good TV drama, tightly written, with every detail counting....Of all the many books I’ve seen on Augusta National and the Masters, this chapter in a thoroughly engaging book gives the most acute sense of the place” -- Golf 365 (UK)
“Wexler....has really done his homework and we are the better for it. This is a book to be savored by all golfers and sports fans interested in the history of golf’s golden age.” -- Frommer Sports Book Reviews
The Golfer's Library: A Reader's Guide to Three Centuries of Golf Literature (247 pp, Sports Media Group, 2004)
"The Golfer’s Library was really an outgrowth of the research done while writing The Missing Links and Lost Links, a process which turned me into a dedicated collector. It was in the building of my own library that I discovered the need for a buyer’s guidebook, something that would provide a useful, detailed survey of the entire field. As a result, The Golfer’s Library profiles 400 books dating from the mid-1800s through 2003, providing full descriptions of each book, as well as bibliographic, reprint and pricing information. My favorite aspect of the book, however, is its readability; I was determined that this not be a dry textbook, but rather an easy journey offering a real taste of the game’s unique ambience and history as well.” – DW
SOME COMMENTS ON THE GOLFER’S LIBRARY:
“There have been books about golf books before, including Herbert Warren wind’s 1996 primer, An Introduction to the Literature of Golf, but none quite like this...[It] will appeal to anyone with a golfer’s library or a desire to start one.” -- Travel & Leisure Golf
“Wexler once again combines his unmatched talent for research with his concise, to-the-point writing style to provide the reader with a guide to 400 of the finest golf books written in the past three centuries” -- GolfClubAtlas.com
“Wexler...has earned a reputation for his ability to “dig up the facts” even though they may be obscure. He also has an uncanny knack for the timing of publications just when they are needed.” -- Golf Today Magazine
The Book of Golfers: A Biographical History of the Royal & Ancient Game (479 pp, Sports Media Group, 2005)
“In setting out to write The Book of Golfers, the goal was to assemble, under a single cover, profiles and records of every significant figure in the game’s long and rich history. The result – nearly 1,300 entries covering players, architects, journalists and many others, plus extensive appendices – should amount to as thorough a volume as has ever been assembled. I sincerely hope that golfers everywhere will gain as much enjoyment from reading it as I did from researching and writing it.” – DW
SOME COMMENTS ON THE BOOK OF GOLFERS:
“The Book of Golfers is destined to be a classic.” -- GolfObserver.com
“A weapon of knowledge.” -- Golfers Guide
“Its lively anecdotes, informative stats and thought-provoking appendix listings will settle virtually any 19th-hole debate.” -- Links Magazine
“The operative words are detail and style as Daniel Wexler provides enough information to make the book invaluable as a reference, yet easy and pleasant enough to be a surprisingly good read. These types of books periodically surface and this one is a cut above.” -- Golf Today Magazine
“The ultimate reference for anyone who ever had a question about any of golf's important figures.” -- Golf Course Superintendents Association of America
The New World Atlas Of Golf (with Michael Clayton, Ran Morrissett, et.al.) (302 pp, Hamlyn Publishing, 2008)
“It was an honor to be involved with the 2005 editing of the seventh edition of this, one of the game’s most widely loved books. But having the opportunity to pen large segments of an entirely new version (the first in 32 years) surely ranks among my biggest thrills as a writer. Following in the footsteps of Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, Pat Ward-Thomas and Peter Thomson was certainly a daunting task, but working with Mike Clayton and Ran Morrissett, plus editor Mark Rowlinson – men whose knowledge of the great courses worldwide is unmatched - certainly gave one a sense of confidence. With new state-of-the-art maps and photographs, and a really inspiring selection of courses, the New World Atlas is poised to take its place among the new millennium’s very best golf books upon its international release in the autmn of 2008.” – DW
The American Private Golf Club Guide (660pp, MT III Golf Media, 2018)
“Considering that about 85% of America’s top golf courses are private – and that published guidebooks have always covered only public-access facilities – I’ve long believed a guide tailored specifically to private clubs was in order. In putting together this book, the goal was to provide detailed and candid profiles of 1,100 clubs from across the country – profiles that highlight a course’s design, history, ambience, etc., without descending into the usual P.R. flack that portrays every layout as a “gem” or “masterpiece.” One thing I can guarantee: there has never been another golf book quite like it.” – DW
The American Golf Resort Guide (374pp, MT II Golf Media, 2011)
"A follow-up the Private Club Guide, the Resort Guide covers nearly 900 resort facilities throught the U.S. and the Caribbean, using the same candid style (and unique Collectability Rating) that were the hallmarks of its predecessor. Also unique, I believe, for being the first title to cover every public-access facility in the topics, it is the second title in the expanding MT III Guidebook series, with a number of national and regional guides to follow." - DW