For many people, golf course rankings published by major magazines provide an introduction to golf course architecture. They communicate the basic notion that some courses might (or should) be considered “greater” than others. Since 1996, Jonathan Cummings has served on one of the panels responsible for those rankings. Last year, he gathered up his tremendous knowledge about the rating process and published it in the form of a book, The Rating Game. He and Garrett Morrison discuss the book, the different approaches taken by the magazines to the rankings, and whether the entire course rating industry has done more harm than good.

Jonathan Cummings, The Rating Game