Golf Books #256 (St Mellion: The Bond Legacy)

Cornish farmers Martin and Hermon Bond were once very good at farming, breeding pigs and growing potatoes. More than 45 years ago they decided to diversify by growing grass for something completely different – the fairways and greens of a golf course.

The brothers soon developed one of the first Golf and Country Clubs in Britain, on farmland just outside the Cornish village of St Mellion. That was only the beginning. They convinced arguably the world’s greatest golfer of all time, Jack Nicklaus, to design his first course in the United Kingdom on their land in Cornwall.

So Martin and Hermon moved, rather reluctantly – from being down-to-earth Westcountry farmers to internationally renowned entrepreneurs. They created a resort which is known all over the world, now in the proud ownership of Crown Golf UK Ltd. Hermon died of a heart attack on Christmas Eve 2000. He was 64.

Martin died on February 16, 2016, aged 81, from cancer. This book – “St Mellion – The Bond Legacy” – is the remarkable and intriguing story of Martin and Hermon Bond achievements. Uplifting and inspirational, sometimes sad more often funny, the tale is told to mark the 30th anniversary of the official opening of the Nicklaus course.

Publication date: April 26, 2018 (source)