REMINISCENCES OF GOLF ON ST. ANDREWS LINKS

First edition. 12mo. Rebound in recent full red calf with black titles and blind stamped borders to upper cover and marbled endpapers. A very good copy, with a little wear to the corners of the preliminaries, a chip to the upper corner of the half title and scattered foxing throughout. This book has long been regarded as one of the great rarities of golf literature. Murdoch refers to it as "one of the rarest of all golf items". It charts the development of golf in St Andrews, the architectural development of the Old Course during Balfour's forty-five years playing there, and the great development in equipment over this period. Perhaps chief among the changes that Balfour records, and disapproves of, is the introduction of dual-greens and wider fairways in order to better accommodate games playing their second nine as the popularity of the sport soared in the mid-eighteenth century. Balfour was one of the noted golfers of his age and member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, where he won the Club's gold medal three times between 1853 and 1861. His son, Leslie won the British Amateur Championship in 1895. Murdoch 30.…