David Croxton, is a busy owner/manager of Cold Ashby Golf Club, a 27 hole Golf complex in rural Northants. In addition he has spent seven years as a non-executive Director of England Golf where his expertise as a Golf Club Owner was widely respected, particularly when the Merger of Men’s and Women’s organisations took place. But David had a secret yearning he’d revealed to no-one. For almost twenty years he’d carried around in his head the plot of a novel he was convinced would be a bestseller, a thriller, with the European Professional circuit as its intriguing backdrop
He’d tried to write it a couple of times, but like many other would-be authors he just couldn’t find the time. Page 14 was as far as he got and like many a manuscript, it languished unread and forgotten in an office drawer. And then came one of those odd moments that almost make you believe in the great Green Keeper in the sky. David likes to keep in touch with his members and joins them in the club house most days. One day he found himself chatting to a member, Graham Jones, and in a rare moment of openness he revealed his cherished ambition to Graham, who said: ‘Well, there’s a coincidence. I write novels and am on the hunt for the subject of my next one!’
Incredible but absolutely true. There and then, the two men formed a partnership and with David providing the ideas and the background and Graham the words and the plot, six weeks and 121,000 words later the first draft was finished.
One year on and the book, Pin High, professionally published and in a shiny paperback format, has just been reviewed by BBC Northampton who pronounced it a ‘cracking read and a real page turner.’
David says: ‘I am amazed to see it as a real book after all those years locked in my head. And it’s a great read too. Members here are lapping it up and the feedback is very, very encouraging. One long-serving member, not known for being a soft touch, said he read it in a day, simply couldn’t put it down.’
Graham is pleased too: ‘I was at a bit of a loss for my next novel (his first two also have a golfing theme) and David’s idea hit me straight between the eyes. I just had to write it and am thrilled that it’s being so well received. We made a great team, I think. He has a vast knowledge of Golf and the way it is organised at all levels, while I had the time and experience to turn it into a novel’
The novel is a gripping thriller, with twists and turns, racy, funny and thoroughly entertaining. Temptation in more ways than one is put in front of a Group of high end Tour players. If they succumb, fame and fortune beckon, but not by the usual routes. And other more basic pleasures are there for the taking, too. Will they be tempted and, if they are, who else will be caught up in the web where success does not come without risk? David just hopes it doesn’t give his members the wrong idea of the etiquette expected on the course at Cold Ashby.
It makes a great Christmas present, for non-golfers as well as golfers, and you can buy the book online at http://www.mad4golf.co.uk/shop or by contacting Cold Ashby Golf Club at http://www.coldashbygolfclub.com