Ran:
Really, there are probably more grievous errors than that one in The Confidential Guide. Two or three people threatened to sue me over something I'd written there; surely those comments would have had a more grievous effect if I'd had to go to court over my opinions!
But, you are right, Lundin Links deserved more than a 3. How much more, I can't really say ... sadly, I've only walked the first three and last three holes since I saw it in 1982. The rating was partly punitive for them having broken up the original course and added nine holes that nobody would ever look forward to. And, while it was very cool to figure out the 17th hole's role in the history of golf architecture, it is less relevant to a traveling golfer considering that even you could hit your hickory-shafted driver past most of the interesting part of that hole today.
Having looked carefully at the first six holes, though, I cannot agree with your implication that I should have given the course a 7 on the Doak scale. Somewhere in between our two ridiculous opinions is probably about right.