The Links - by Robert Hunter (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Students of golf course architecture are well aware of Robert Hunter -- and it's all because of The Links. This scholarly work was different from other architecture books of the day because Hunter was not a designer attempting to attract commissions through his writing. His goal -- through the use of detailed drawings, contemporary photographs and thoughtful text -- was not only to explain what made the classic holes so great but why they would stand the test of time.

This exact reprint of The Linksbelongs in the libraries of all aficionados of golf course architecture.

From the Back Cover

English and American opinion of The Links

From the leading English authority
A. MACKENZIE, author of Golf Architecture, and the designer of over five hundred golf courses in the British islands, writes: "I have read The Links with the greatest interest. Mr. Hunter is familiar with all the great courses in the world and he has written a most entertaining book, which I am sure every golfer will read with profit. I do not hesitate to say that it is the classic of the subject."

From an American champion
WALTER J. TRAVIS writes: "I have read your manuscript with the liveliest interest and pleasure, and I heartily congratulate you on the production of such a fine piece of work, unique of its kind."

THE LINKS
By Robert Hunter

With 49 full-page illustrations and 10 plates of plans and maps

Mr. Hunter has gathered all the undying charm and glory of golf into The Links, something altogether new in books on golf, that communicates everywhere the secret and contagious charm of the game. It explains fully why one course or an individual hole is dramatic and colorful to play, and shows how the insipid and uninspiring may be eliminated or improved. Golf architect and its relation to good play is an important and valuable feature, and The Links will be in that respect indispensable to any one undertaking to construct or change a golf course. But rarely has a book contained so much of general golf wisdom, of its true spirit, so much that will delight every golfer whether his handicap be high or low. The long list of full-page illustrations show unexcelled views of noted holes on English, Scotch, and American courses, and are quite as instructive as the text. Every golfer will find aid and inspiration in the suggestions of Mr. Hunter's book and will be sure to find it a touchstone to greater zest and joy in the game.

About the Author

Robert Hunter?was a great intellect from a Midwest family, but neither a golf course architect nor a golfing professional. So while he is the most unlikely author of this book, it is considered by many golf course designers as the "Bible" of the trade. Hunter was best known as a socialist reformer, especially in Chicago and New York. His understanding of golf was the product of a six-month trip to Great Britain, where he toured courses using his great mind to gain understanding of the relationship between the playing surface and the game. He concluded that the diversity of golf's terrain is what made the game so difficult and enjoyable. He set down his new knowledge on course architecture in this most valuable text.