The term “links” actually has Scots origins and means “rising ground” or “ridge”. The reason for this is because links courses really do play true to the contour of the course and is not usually very flat.
A true links course will consist of an “outward” nine in one direction along the coastline, and an “inward” nine which returns in the opposite direction. The challenge here lies in a player’s ability to play one set of nine holes with one wind direction and the next nine with the opposite wind pattern.
What Is a Links Style Golf Course?
What Is a Links Golf Course?
The difference between a links golf course and a regular course is that the golfer is forced to work with the natural elements of the course. The links course is not manufactured and maintains the original lay of the land. This emulates how it was in the earliest days of the game.
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.
"Links" and "links course" are terms that refer to a specific style of golf course whose hallmarks include being built on sandy soil along a coastline. Links courses are buffeted by strong winds that require deep bunkers to prevent the sand from blowing away. They are also completely or largely treeless.
MacKenzie and Bobby Jones, both having studied the Old Course, created Augusta National on the links principle of giving players options.
Whistling Straits is one of two 36-hole links-style golf courses associated with Destination Kohler, a luxury golf resort owned and operated by the Kohler Company in Kohler, Wisconsin.
American Golf Characteristics Regular American golf courses are basically the opposite of links courses. Regular golf courses will be built on large pieces of property, usually containing houses. These courses will likely have some water around the courses, but aren't usually purposely built around a sea or ocean.
Tournament Players ClubHome of THE PLAYERS Championship, birthplace of the TPC (Tournament Players Club) Network, and backdrop to the PGA TOUR headquarters, the TPC Sawgrass golf course in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., is perhaps the world's most famous golf course.
Andrews formalized the rules and stated, “One round of the Links, or 18 holes is reckoned a match, unless otherwise stipulated.” Legend has it that the reason for 18 holes is that a bottle of whiskey contained the same number of shots as holes on a course, thus providing just enough drink for a shot on each hole.
A 'links golf course' refers to the type of soil and terrain on which it is built. Only 92 of the golf courses in Scotland (17%) are true links courses, though this includes most of the historic courses. Another 5% of Scottish courses are coastal with some properties of 'links' courses and moorland vegetation.
Originally a 'links' was any rough grassy area between the sea and the land and the word itself is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word 'hlinc', of about 931 AD, meaning a ridge. Later the word was used to denote any common grassy area and today the term 'The Links' is commonly used to refer to any golf course. Montrose Links sand, grass and gorse as ...
Because there were no mechanical grass cutters before the mid-nineteenth century , golf was predominantly played in winter when the grass was naturally short following animal grazing. The links area on the east coast was accessible to the golfers of the time and coincides with the area of minimal rainfall in Scotland.
Another 5% of Scottish courses are coastal with some properties of 'links' courses and moorland vegetation. Apart from links courses, the other main types of Scottish golf courses are parkland (61%) and moorland (17%). The meaning of words changes over time.
The word "links" comes via the Scots language from the Old English word hlinc: "rising ground, ridge" and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland.
The first exception to this was the 2004 PGA Championship, which was played on a links-style course, Whistling Straits, located near Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 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 where he stated, "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."
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 18th hole at the Old Head Golf Links on the Old Head of Kinsale. This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2019) 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.
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.
Links courses are buffeted by strong winds that require deep bunkers to prevent the sand from blowing away. They are also completely or largely treeless. There are other criteria that specifically define a links course. All the first golf courses in the sport's history were links courses in Scotland.
Because they were built on narrow strips of land, early links courses often followed an "out and back" or "out and in" routing. The front nine went out from the clubhouse, one hole stringed after another until reaching the ninth green, which was the point on the golf course farthest from the clubhouse.
But such bunkers had to be deeply recessed to prevent sand from being blown away by the constant wind.
A true links course is not just any golf course that is treeless. The term "links" historically applies specifically to strips of land in seaside areas that feature sandy soil, dunes, and undulating topography, and where the land is not conducive to cultivated vegetation or trees.
The British Golf Museum says that "links" are coastal strips of land between the beaches and the inland agricultural areas. This term, in its purest sense, applies specifically to seaside areas in Scotland. So "links land" is land where the seaside transitions into farmland.
The Old Course at St. Andrews is the "home of golf" and the most famous links. Others links golf courses in the Open rota featured in photo galleries include Royal St. George's, Royal Birkdale, and Royal Troon. Two more links that have been the sites of multiple British Opens are Turnberry and Muirfield. All of these are the type of golf course ...
A golf course built on sandy soil that is buffeted by the wind. Has few, if any, trees, but has a tall, thick rough of native grasses. Features many bunkers, with many of them deep (including pot bunkers) to prevent sand from blowing away. Plays firm and fast with sometimes crusty fairways and greens that feature many knolls ...
What is a Links Golf Course? A links golf course is regarded today as a golf course that has few trees, a lot of wind, thick grasses or thick heather, and a lot of bunkers. They are built on sandy soil and in most cases are on a coastline of a body of water. The term “links” actually has Scots origins and means “rising ground” or “ridge”.
The term “links” actually has Scots origins and means “rising ground” or “ridge”. The reason for this is because links courses really do play true to the contour of the course and is not usually very flat. Some people might argue that links golf courses have fewer or more characteristics, but that seems to be the general consensus ...
The main differences are that a parkland golf course is heavily developed by an architect and not as natural as a links golf course. The fairways tend to be more forgiving and flatter when compared to the rolling fairways on a links golf course. The best examples of each type would be St Andrews for links courses and Augusta National ...
There are several reasons for links golf courses and why they are popular, but the main reason is because of the challenge and uniqueness of the course. The high winds and rolling fairways make the course play different each time because you never know how the course is going to turn out on that particular day.
There are links, parkland, and desert golf courses and even executive courses. The type of golf course that I am going to talk about today is a links golf course.
The home of links golf is Scotland. The links golf courses in Scotland are the earliest recollection of golf and those courses were similar to links golf courses today. The Old Course at St Andrew’s is where the modern game started in 1764. The country of Scotland is where golf originated, and it has a ton of history with the game ...
The country of Scotland is where golf originated, and it has a ton of history with the game of golf and its traditions. Flash forward to today, and there are links golf courses all over in the United States and in Europe. The majority of links golf courses are usually on the coastline of major bodies of water.
A links course is along the sea, consists of sandy soil and has little vegetation other than tall sea grasses and gorse, a hearty low-growing evergreen plant. The natural terrain is used to develop the golf holes. Many of the bunkers were once natural windswept dunes. The layout of the holes is also part ...
St. Andrews, Royal Troon, and Royal Dornach are considered three of Scotland's most famous and most traditional links courses. In Ireland, there are also traditional links, including Waterville, Ballybunion and Lahinch. The United States also has several famous links courses. One of them is the highly ranked Pebble Beach. Sinnecock Hills in New York and Bandon Dunes in Oregon are also traditional links.
Generally, the game is played closer to the ground. Since the terrain on a links course is naturally firm , players employ more bump-and-run shots. Putting from close off the green is also encouraged. And keeping your ball flight low helps to lessen the effects the usually brisk coastal winds have on your ball flight.
One reason the game originated on this type of land was because it suited play. Course designers had limited resources for moving earth to shape a course. Many modern links-style courses are not necessarily coastal and have been shaped to take on traditional links characteristics.
Links golf courses are situated along coastal regions. A links golf course is the oldest style of course. The word “links” is derived from ancient Scotland and refers to an area along a coast that often includes sand dunes and few, if any, trees. One reason the game originated on this type of land was because it suited play.
Andrews. Ireland, Wales and England also have true links courses, but Scotland is believed to have the most.
Links History. In Scotland, where golf is believed to have originated in the 15th century, the first courses were developed on stretches of land known as links. Farmers deemed these coastal lands useless because of the sandy soil, so golf course designers began to make use of them. There are a number of true links courses still open ...
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.
The word "links" comes via the Scots language from the Old English word hlinc: "rising ground, ridge" and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometim…
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 …
Links courses remain most common in Ireland and Great Britain, especially in Scotland. 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. The 2015 U.S. Open was played at Chambers Bay, a …
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 …