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.

Lowe takes us along the rugged eastern coast, from St. Andrews up to Montrose and Cruden Bay and Royal Aberdeen, "from heather, whin and sand, to points north," to Nairn and Dornoch. Then to the west coast, to Prestwick and Troon. It's not only the courses themselves that Lowe illuminates along the way, but the winding roads, the ancient villages, the farms and whiskey distilleries, and the people who call this land their home as well. Each step of his pilgrimage is given its due.

This text is part practical guide to Ireland's finest golf courses and part travel guide. The chapters on individual courses, their histories and characteristics are interspersed with anecdotes that bring Ireland and its golfers to life. Information on food and drink, and accomodation is also included.

One man's "poignant and revealing" quest to uncover the roots of his family's obsession with golf-in Ireland, Scotland, and the American heartland. In Ancestral Links, senior Sports Illustrated writer John Garrity takes readers on a fascinating golfing odyssey. First he returns to the majestic seaside Carne Golf Links in a remote corner of Ireland, from which his great-grandfather left for America. Next he visits Musselburgh, Scotland, where his maternal ancestors played golf before the first thirteen rules of the game were written there in 1774. And in Wisconsin's St. Croix River Valley, Garrity revisits the New Richmond Golf Club, where his father learned the ancient game. At every stop on his journey, Garrity reflects on the life and career of his beloved late older brother, Tom, a former tour player. Part memoir, part travelogue, and all golf, Garrity's story of how the sport altered three small-town landscapes and forever changed one family is a captivating and unforgettable tour of the links.

“Encompassing the history, tradition, and images of the great links, this book is a worthy travelling companion, and guide, on your golfing journey.” —Ian Baker-Finch, Australian professional golfer and sports commentator On the short list for the 2000 USGA International Book Award for “outstanding golf book of the year,” Links Golf: The Inside Story describes the beautiful land on which the links courses are built. Daley explains the term “links” and discusses their architecture, style, and great clusters. This behind-the-scenes look at the health of links golf in Britain puts an emphasis on elements that are undermining its viability and long-term future. In a time when many treeless courses are claiming to be genuine, Daley explains how to determine what is and what is not a links course. Concentrating on Great Britain and Ireland, he also examines the unique characteristics of this early form of seaside golf, how geological processes helped shaped the land, and how links golf differs from inland golf. “Links are the soul of the game—the greatest places on which to play, and they teach us much about the way the game ought to be. So does this book.” —Michael Clayton, Australian professional golfer, golf course architect, and sports commentator

A players visual guide to Pebble Beach Golf Links emphasizing the beauty and challenge of the course with hole-by-hole photos and graphics

The most challenging, most invigorating holes a golfer can tackle. In this beautiful book, Peper and Campbell, two writers who know golf inside and out, provide a concise and entertaining tour of the world's best links courses. Full color.

Reflections on the game and getting through life’s hazards and roughs. In a game where players are expected to call their own penalties and scoring the least points leads to victory, decorum takes precedence over showmanship and philosophical questions become par for the course. Few other sports are as suited for ethical and metaphysical examination as golf. It is a game defined by dichotomies—relaxing, yet frustrating, social, yet solitary—and between these extremes there is room for much philosophical inquiry. In Golf and Philosophy: Lessons from the Links, a clubhouse full of skilled contributors tee off on a range of philosophical topics within the framework of the fairway. The book’s chapters are arranged in the style of an eighteen-hole golf course, with the front nine exploring ethical matters of rationality and social civility in a world of moral hazards and roughs. The back nine pries even deeper, slicing into matters of the metaphysical, including chapters on mysticism, idealism, identity, and meaning. Taken together, the collection examines the intellectual nature of this beloved pastime, considering the many nuances of a sport that requires high levels of concentration, patience, and consistency, as well as upstanding character. Golf and Philosophy celebrates the joys and complexities of the game, demonstrating that golf has much to teach both its spectators and participants about modern life. “Any volume built on the premise that if Aristotle and Plato were still here they’d likely be ardent golfers is apt to tickle a few brain cells.” ―Golf Magazine

Seaside links courses offer golfers unmatched challenges and enchanting scenery. And while they can be found in many parts of the world, the links of the British Isles are the most famous in their class. Donald Steel takes readers on a tour of seventy-five spectacular greens along windswept beaches and sheer cliffs of Britain and Ireland. These links prove true the old belief that courses are for expanding a player's abilities, rather than defining and confining them as in so many other sports. Steel offers up destinations like St. Andrews, Royal St. George's, and Formby, Ballybunion, and Muirfield among the seaside playing fields that have been the home to championship tournaments and amateur aspirations. With scorecards, maps, color photos, and helpful hints for most holes, this guide is an essential reference tool for the traveling golfer. It tells the history of the courses it covers and provides information on the designers who built them and the pros who have set their records. Brian Morgan's stunning photography handsomely captures the majestic layout of the courses. From the deceptive lengths to the treacherous traps, his visual log of the courses prepares golfers for the beauty and challenges that await them. His award-winning and world-renowned pictures have appeared in golf journals on both sides of the Atlantic and in several exhibitions.