diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 4baae8a..e461235 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 
 list(APPEND CMAKE_MODULE_PATH "${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/cmake/modules")
 set(GOLLVM_USE_SPLIT_STACK ON CACHE BOOL "use split stack by default")
+set(GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER gold CACHE STRING "default linker for Go links")
 
 include(CmakeUtils)
 include(AddGollvm)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b9881fa..0d5785f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 
+
 # Gollvm
 
 Gollvm is an LLVM-based Go compiler. It incorporates "gofrontend" (a Go language front end written in C++ and shared with GCCGO), a bridge component (which translates from gofrontend IR to LLVM IR), and a driver that sends the resulting IR through the LLVM back end.
@@ -80,7 +81,9 @@
 %
 ```
 
-This will build the various tools and libraries needed for Gollvm. To select a specific C/C++ compiler for the build, you can use the "-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER" and "-DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER" options to select your desired C/C++ compiler when invoking cmake (details [here](https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/community/wikis/FAQ#how-do-i-use-a-different-compiler)).
+This will build the various tools and libraries needed for Gollvm. To select a specific C/C++ compiler for the build, you can use the "-DCMAKE_C_COMPILER" and "-DCMAKE_CXX_COMPILER" options to select your desired C/C++ compiler when invoking cmake (details [here](https://gitlab.kitware.com/cmake/community/wikis/FAQ#how-do-i-use-a-different-compiler)). Use the "-DLLVM_USE_LINKER=<variant>" cmake variable to control which linker is selected to link the Gollvm compiler and tools (where variant is one of "bfd", "gold", "lld", etc).
+
+The Gollvm compiler driver defaults to using the gold linker when linking Go programs.  If some other linker is desired, this can be accomplished by passing "-DGOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER=<variant>" when running cmake. Note that this default can still be overridden on the command line using the "-fuse-ld" option.
 
 ## Installing gollvm <a name="installing"></a>
 
diff --git a/cmake/modules/AddGollvm.cmake b/cmake/modules/AddGollvm.cmake
index f5dd868..16c6e4f 100644
--- a/cmake/modules/AddGollvm.cmake
+++ b/cmake/modules/AddGollvm.cmake
@@ -20,7 +20,8 @@
 set(GOLLVM_LIBVERSION "${libversion}")
 set(GOLLVM_INSTALL_DIR "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}")
 set(GOLLVM_INSTALL_LIBDIR "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/${libsubdir}")
-set(GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER "${LLVM_USE_LINKER}")
+
+message(STATUS "default linker set to \"${GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER}\"")
 
 # Check to see whether the build compiler supports -fcf-protection=branch
 set(OLD_CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "${CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS}")
@@ -39,7 +40,11 @@
   # FIXME: update here once one day there is a linker that supports '-fsplit-stack'
   # on arm64.
   set(C_SUPPORTS_SPLIT_STACK 0)
-  set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "-fuse-ld=gold -fsplit-stack")
+  set(LVARIANT "")
+  if(GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER)
+  set(LVARIANT "-fuse-ld=${GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER}")
+  endif()
+  set(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "${LVARIANT} -fsplit-stack")
   check_c_source_compiles("#include<stdio.h>\nint main(){printf(\"hello\");\nreturn 0;}" SPLIT_STACK_FUNCTIONAL)
   if(NOT SPLIT_STACK_FUNCTIONAL)
     if(C_SUPPORTS_CF_PROTECTION_BRANCH)
@@ -47,7 +52,7 @@
       # can cause unpleasant interactions with gold (see
       # https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=25921 for details).
       message(STATUS "trying -fcf-protection=none workaround")
-      SET(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "-fuse-ld=gold -fsplit-stack -fcf-protection=none")
+      SET(CMAKE_REQUIRED_FLAGS "${LVARIANT} -fsplit-stack -fcf-protection=none")
       check_c_source_compiles("#include<stdio.h>\nint main(){printf(\"hello\");\nreturn 0;}" SPLIT_STACK_WORKAROUND)
       if(SPLIT_STACK_WORKAROUND)
         message(STATUS "applying -fcf-protection=none workaround")
diff --git a/driver/GnuTools.cpp b/driver/GnuTools.cpp
index 2fb63a1..ea148f5 100644
--- a/driver/GnuTools.cpp
+++ b/driver/GnuTools.cpp
@@ -339,11 +339,7 @@
   // will always look for "ld.ABC" on the path. With clang, however,
   // you can supply a full path (e.g. "-fuse-ld=/my/path/to/ld"). This
   // code is intended to be consistent with clang.
-#ifdef GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER
   const char *variant = GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER;
-#else
-  const char *variant = "gold";
-#endif
   const char *linker = nullptr;
   llvm::opt::Arg *ldarg = args.getLastArg(gollvm::options::OPT_fuse_ld_EQ);
   const char *executable = nullptr;
@@ -353,8 +349,13 @@
     else
       variant = args.MakeArgString(ldarg->getValue());
   }
-  if (linker == nullptr)
-    linker = args.MakeArgString(llvm::StringRef("ld.") + variant);
+  if (linker == nullptr) {
+    if (strlen(variant) != 0) {
+      linker = args.MakeArgString(llvm::StringRef("ld.") + variant);
+    } else {
+      linker = args.MakeArgString(llvm::StringRef("ld"));
+    }
+  }
   if (executable == nullptr)
     executable = args.MakeArgString(toolchain().getProgramPath(linker));
   if (! executable) {
diff --git a/driver/GollvmConfig.h.cmake b/driver/GollvmConfig.h.cmake
index b22caca..0b53513 100644
--- a/driver/GollvmConfig.h.cmake
+++ b/driver/GollvmConfig.h.cmake
@@ -22,6 +22,6 @@
 #define GOLLVM_COMPILERVERSION GOLLVM_LIBVERSION
 
 // Gollvm default linker
-#cmakedefine GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER "@GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER@"
+#define GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER "@GOLLVM_DEFAULT_LINKER@"
 
 #endif // GOLLVM_CONFIG_H