New Book Coming Soon!
Excited to announce my memoir A Quick Nine Before Dark
I want subscribers of The Albatross to be the first to hear about my forthcoming memoir A Quick Nine Before Dark: A Life in Golf. Publication date is March 15, 2026, but it’s available for pre-order now at a number of sites, including those listed at the bottom of this post.
Here’s a brief description:
Distinct among golf writers for having been born in Pinehurst, arguably America’s golf capital, Bill Fields brings to life growing up during the 1960s and ’70s in the Sandhills of North Carolina, where his early ties to the game were a springboard for a long, award-winning career chronicling it. A Quick Nine Before Dark: A Life in Golf is a richly detailed memoir: poignant sketches of a lost small-town world; introducing his blue-collar dad to golf; the culture shock and awe of a new arrival in 1980s New York City; an insider’s vantage of an evolving golf media world. Fields interviewed a 15-year-old Tiger Woods and played 18 holes with Sam Snead when he was 84. Having walked Pinehurst’s fairways as a tour-event standard bearer when he was a teen, Fields went on to photograph 40 major championships and has reported from twice that many as a fixture on the golf scene for four decades. A Quick Nine Before Dark is a vivid account of that journey and the charms and challenges along the way.
I first considered doing this book nearly 20 years ago—drafting a few chapters at that time—but the bulk of the writing was accomplished over the last year after connecting with Chris Sulavik, publisher of Tatra Press, who was eager to see it come to fruition.
Here’s the cover:
There is, naturally, a lot of golf on the pages of A Quick Nine Before Dark because the game has been a big aspect of my life for a long time. I’ve been fortunate to see and do a lot of things because of golf. But there is more than golf within this memoir, and I hope readers will be able to relate to those parts of my story too.
I haven’t posted much on The Albatross in recent months while working on the memoir. I apologize for the absence and appreciate your sticking with me; I’m getting back in the newsletter saddle very soon. In the meantime, hope you check out A Quick Nine Before Dark. Here are some places you can find it online:
Ordered my copy! Congratulation, Bill.
My latest book.. 55 Cool Golf Experiences is now Available on Amazon!
Here's a description.
55 Cool Golf Experiences is a journey through the joy, humor, and heart of a lifetime spent chasing the game. From windswept links in Scotland to the sunlit fairways of California, from playing golf as a dinosaur to walking among kangaroos in Australia, these stories celebrate golf not just as a sport, but as a way of life — one filled with camaraderie, travel, laughter, and the occasional well-struck shot.
Each chapter captures a different facet of the game: the pilgrimages to legendary courses like St. Andrews and Pebble Beach; the quirky, unforgettable moments that only golf can produce; the personal bests and quiet triumphs that keep us coming back; and the friendships forged across continents and generations. Along the way, the reader meets pros, caddies, and fellow adventurers — the people who give the game its character and charm.
Told with warmth, wit, and a deep appreciation for the spirit of golf, 55 Cool Golf Experiences is part memoir, part travelogue, and part love letter to the game that connects us all. Whether you’ve played a thousand rounds or are still dreaming of your first tee shot at dawn, this book reminds you that the best part of golf isn’t the score — it’s the story that comes after.