Richard Latham, author of the definitive guide to Woodhall Spa's Hotchkin course, has done it again. His book on the famous links of Royal County Down, especially timely given the 2007 Walker Cup, brings together a detailed architectural history of the golf course along with a comprehensive guide on how to play it. With a wide range of archive photography showing the course through the years, as well as the people responsible for its creation and development, Latham's book will be essential reading for golfers planning either to play Royal County Down themselves, or to visit during the Walker Cup this autumn.

For those who haven't visited the Northern Ireland jewel, the photography in this book will illustrate only too clearly why it is voted among the world's top ten courses in almost every survey. And even those who know the course inside out will surely find something new in Latham's in-depth study.

Radial Sports Publishing, £45 www.radialsportspublishing.com