The Links

Robert Hunter partnered with the legendary designer Alistair McKenzie on such classic courses as Cypress Point. The Links, first published in 1926, is his elegantly written paean to golf course design, and it remains a Fort Knox of golfing knowledge. Hunter explains and extols the glories of a good golf course, what makes that course good, the thinking that goes into individual holes to make them interesting, and, in the end, the wisdom that puts all of it together to create a fair test for the golfer. Understanding the hows and whys of the demonic challenges that designers subtly and not so subtly integrate into their layouts will certainly save an observant golfer a stroke or two. And high-handicappers who have heretofore communed with the game primarily through their ignorance can now get on the long cart path to enlightenment. --Jeff Silverman