Missing Links - by Rick Reilly (Paperback)

About the Book

The hilarious and surprise bestselling golf novel of 1996, "Missing Links" is the story of four middle class buddies who are a regular foursome at the single worst golf course in America. Adjacent to these municipal links lies the Mayflower Country Club, the most exclusive private course in all of Boston. Soon there's a bet of $1,000 a piece--the first man to finagle his way onto the Mayflower takes all.

Book Synopsis

When a group of middle-class buddies obsessed with golf set up a bet to see who can finagle their way onto the nearby private course, their friendship is tested in ways they had never expected in this humorous novel from Rick Reilly, one of America's most popular sportswriters.

Missing Links is the story of four middle class buddies who live outside of Boston and for years have been 1) utterly obsessed with golf and 2) a regular foursome at Ponkaquoque Municipal Course and Deli, not so fondly known as Ponky, the single worst golf course in America. Just adjacent to these municipal links lies the Mayflower Country Club, the most exclusive private course in all of Boston and a major needle in their collective sides. Frustrated by the Mayflower's finely manicured greens and snooty members, three of Ponky's finest and most courageous--Two Down, Dannie, and Stick--set up a bet: $1,000.00 apiece, and the first man to somehow finagle his way on to the Mayflower course takes all. Lying, cheating, and forgery are encouraged, to put it mildly, and with the constant heckling and rare aid of Chunkin' Charlie, Hoover, and Bluto--a few more of Ponky's elite--the games begin.

One of the three will eventually play the Mayflower's course, but their friendships--and everything else--will change as various truths unravel and the old Ponky starts looking like the home they never should have left.

Review Quotes

"Don't get started reading this book. It will take three burly men
to pull you away from it."
--Bob Costas, NBC commentator

"You don't need to know your bogeys from your birdies to find at least three laughs per page in this novel."
--The New York Times Book Review

"If you're obsessed with the 'green game, ' and it's raining or snowing, or we're under nuclear attack so you can't get out on the course, Missing Links should give you a temporary fix."
--Rocky Mountain News

"Snappy prose, believable characters, and the funniest take on blue-collar hacking and gambling since Dan Jenkins's The Glory Game at Goat Hill...it's social satire and pure irreverence that keep this story in the groove."
--Los Angeles Times

"Part Damon Runyon, part Raymond Chandler, and part Caddyshack...I was hooked for the full 18."
--Entertainment Weekly

"A great piece of fiction."
--Denver Post

About the Author

Rick Reilly has been voted National Sportswriter of the Year eleven times. Formerly a writer for Sports Illustrated and ESPN.com, he continues to deliver his opinion essays and features on ESPN SportsCenter. He is also the author of eleven books, several of which have been New York Times bestsellers. His Sports From Hell, My Search for the World's Dumbest Competition was a finalist for the Thurber Prize. Reilly lives in Denver, Colorado.