Links 386 Courses
Marthe Bernskoetter
A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. Links courses are generally built on sandy coastland that offers a firmer playing surface than parkland and heathland courses.[1]
The word "links" comes via the Scots language from the Old English word hlinc: "rising ground, ridge"[2] and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland; it is cognate with lynchet. "Links" can be treated as singular even though it has an "s" at the end and occurs in place names that precede the development of golf, for example Lundin Links in Fife.[3] It also retains this more general meaning in standard Scottish English. Links land is typically characterised by dunes, an undulating surface, and a sandy soil unsuitable for arable farming but which readily supports various indigenous browntop bent and red fescue grasses. Together, the soil and grasses result in the firm turf associated with links courses and the 'running' game. The hard surface typical of the links-style course allows balls to "run" out much farther than on softer turf course after a fairway landing. Often players will land the ball well before the green and allow it to run up onto the green rather than landing it on the green in the more targeted-landing style used on softer surfaces.
Links courses tend to be on, or at least very near to, a coast, and the term is typically associated with coastal courses, often amid dunes, with few water hazards and few, if any, trees. This reflects both the nature of the scenery where the sport originated and the limited resources available to golf course architects at that time. Soil movement, for example, had to be done by hand, and thus was kept to a minimum, as was irrigation. Even today, some links courses do not employ a greens staff, use only basic machinery such as hole cutters without boards, resulting in a hole that is cut unevenly, and use grazing animals to keep the grass cropped.[citation needed]
Although the term links is often used loosely to describe any golf course, few golf courses have all of the design elements of true links courses, including being built on linksland.[citation needed] The presence of a seaside location does not guarantee a links golf course.[citation needed] Many famous courses regarded as links do not, as presently constituted, have all of the necessary characteristics (e.g., Pebble Beach Golf Links, Old Head Golf Links at Kinsale, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island).[citation needed] On the other hand, some courses located hundreds of miles from a seacoast, such as Whistling Straits, near Kohler, Wisconsin, on the Great Lakes, can have all of the characteristics of a seaside links except for proximity to saltwater.
Links courses remain most common in Great Britain, especially in Scotland, as well as in Ireland. The Open Championship is always played on links courses, and this is one of the main features which differentiates it from the three major championships held in the United States. The first exception to this was the 2004 PGA Championship, which was played on a links-style course, Whistling Straits, located near Sheboygan, Wisconsin.[4] The 2015 U.S. Open was played at Chambers Bay, a British links-style course in University Place, Washington. Royal Adelaide Golf Club is a links course in Adelaide, South Australia, and was partly designed by Alister MacKenzie, who said of the location, "One finds a most delightful combination of sand dunes and fir trees. I have never seen a seaside course possess such magnificent sand craters, as those at Royal Adelaide."[5]
The unique nature of links courses necessitates a distinct style of play. The challenges links traits present fall into two categories: topography, which tends to be characterised by uneven fairways, thick rough, and small, deep "pot bunkers"; and climatic, dominated by windy conditions created by their coastal location and lack of trees, and frequent intermittent rain squalls.
Links topography favours a controlled style of golf, as hazards abound. Low and even bouncing shots allow balls to be skipped onto greens rather than high flights landed with strong backspin. Windy or blustery weather also calls for low, accurate shots.[6] Damp conditions demand concentration and caution.
As many traditional links courses consist of an "outward" nine in one direction along the coast, and an opposite "inward" nine returning, players often have to cope with contrasting wind patterns in each half of their round.
Some major clubs have par-3 courses that go along with their traditional, 18-hole course (Augusta National comes to mind). Many resorts are beginning to put in short courses including Sand Valley (the Sandbox), Pinehurst (The Cradle) and Bandon Dunes (The Preserve). There are great par-3 courses around the U.S. including the beautiful Palm Beach Par-3.
This is one way to imagine the relationship between the Old Course and the other six courses at the St Andrews Links. The other courses, especially the New Course and Jubilee Course, are overlooked and not given the credit they deserve. I would have added the Castle Course to that last sentence, but it has gained some limelight due to its recent construction and press. In this post I will be giving short write-ups of the other St Andrews Links Courses. At the end of each writeup, I link to the full review of each course.
The picturesque and very difficult ninth hole is a 225-yard par 3 from the medal tees. The green falls off steeply on the right side and has the tenth tee and OB lurking close on the left side. It is a very challenging hole leaving a difficult finish on the front 9. The short par 4 15th requires the player to think his way down the hole. The green is hidden from view off the tee by large dunes. A long iron off the tee leaves a short iron into a green with a massive false front and large dunes in the back.
The finish to the course is very enjoyable and the 17th hole adds a challenge to the end of the round. If you are in St Andrews and you miss out on the ballot, try to play the New Course. Tee times are made on a first-come first-serve basis on the day of play. Many of the University club medals are played on the New Course. My first round in Scotland, which started my UK golf love affair, was played on the New! If you want to see more, here is my full review of the St Andrews New Course.
The Castle Course is located ten minutes outside of St Andrews towards the Fairmont. David Kidd, the creator of Bandon Dunes in Oregon, designed the course that was opened in 2008. The course is set high above the water and features ocean views from nearly every single hole. The course opened to quite a bit of criticism because of its extremely tough and undulating greens. The greens were later redone and some of the unnecessarily difficult undulations were flattened out. Unlike many of the St Andrews locals and others who play the courses frequently, I really enjoy the Castle Course. I have been able to play it quite a few times and thoroughly enjoy getting out of town and playing the challenging beast. The course, even after multiple revisions, is still met with quite a bit of criticism from golfers.
The definition of a links course fluctuates wildly depending on the golfer. Some apply the strictest criteria: hugging the coastline, built on the sandy terrain that links farmland to the sea, holes cut primarily by wind and saltwater. And there are those with looser parameters: few trees, some wispy fescue, occasional bagpipe music in the grill room.
In the U.S., where the vast majority of golf is played inland, the courses in the conversation could be divided primarily into two categories: those that play like a links, and those that at least look the part. Both have their appeal, but only one would allow you to attempt the ground game on display each year in the Open Championship.
Running adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, Gearheart began as three holes in 1888, and is believed to be the oldest course west of the Mississippi. Its expansion to 18 holes in 1892, all on firm, sandy terrain, have made it a popular, more affordable alternative to the Bandon courses more than 200 miles to the south.
A links golf course is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes, and also sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect.
At Bruntsfield Links in Edinburgh, Scotland, the course (a considerable distance from the coast) is still used for pitch and putt golf, and boasts a sign erected by the City Council which asserts that golf may have been invented there.
Links courses remain most common in Ireland and also in the United Kingdom, especially in Scotland. The Open Championship is always played on links courses, even though there are some celebrated courses in the United Kingdom which are not links, and this is one of the main things which differentiates it from the three major championships held in the United States. There are also some well known links courses in other countries, including these courses in North America: Pebble Beach Golf Links (on the Pacific Ocean), Whistling Straits in Wisconsin (on Lake Michigan), Seaside Golf Course and Ocean Forest Golf Course (on Sea Island, Georgia), Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon, and Shinnecock Hills (between Peconic Bay and Shinnecock Bay) in Southampton, New York, all in the U.S.; and, in Canada, Harmon Seaside Links (in Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador).
Links courses tend to be on, or at least very near to, a coast, and the term is typically associated with coastal courses. However, links conditions can be duplicated on suitable ground, even hundreds of miles or kilometers inland. One especially notable example of an inland links-style course is Sand Hills Golf Club, a much-acclaimed early-2000s layout in the Sand Hills of Nebraska.
c80f0f1006