What is a "links" style course?

[Michael]

What is a "links" style course?

[noback]

Here are 2 pics of the Old Course at St.Andrews. This is a links style golf course. Your typical golf course in Canada and the US has a lot of trees and water but theses are mostly undulating wide fairways with pot bunkers that can kill ya.:eek:

[Special_K]

Here are 2 pics of the Old Course at St.Andrews. This is a links style golf course. Your typical golf course in Canada and the US has a lot of trees and water but theses are mostly undulating wide fairways with pot bunkers that can kill ya.:eek:
Yep...nice illustration. In a previous thread, I think some people were slightly misled about what the links style course is. True links styled courses don't have many trees, but like the picture shows, undulating fairways. They are not neccesarily wide either. They might look wide because there are no trees framing it but anywhere off the fairway is death. The rough is usually brutal on links styled courses and the second cut of rough is this deep grass called the fescue (you should be able to see it in the picture) where its hard to find the ball and hit out of.

Links courses will drive you nuts. Imagine driving the ball perfectly straight and long down the middle of the fairway only to come to your ball sitting on a severe sidehill lie! haha.

But yes.... beautiful to look at....and there aren't too many true links styled around in the GTA. Angus Glen and Ballantrae come to mind......

[Michael]

Here are 2 pics of the Old Course at St.Andrews. This is a links style golf course. Your typical golf course in Canada and the US has a lot of trees and water but theses are mostly undulating wide fairways with pot bunkers that can kill ya.:eek:very clearly explained, thanks!

[noback]

We have a few around here and they are a joy to play. If my memeory serves me correctly, the first tme I played a loinks style course, the wind was blowing so much that as sooon as we got out of the car our hats blew off.:rofl: To me that's the best way to play them, in the most wind you can get.:D

[HackNSLice]

The term "LINKS" refers to a very specific geographic land form found in Scotland. Such tracts of low-lying seaside land are characteristically sandy, treeless, and undulating, often with lines of dunes or dune ridges, and covered by bent grass and gorse. To be a true links, the land tract
must lie near the mouth of a river - that is, in an estuarine environment. From the Middle Ages onward, linksland (generally speaking, poor land for farming) were common grounds used for sports, including archery, bowls, and golf. The term may be traced as far back as the fifteenth century in Scotland to describe the common lands. Therefore, a links golf course is simply defined as a course that is built on linksland. You will note that many of the golf courses that claim to be a "golf links" are not true links courses.

Royal Troon is one of the most famous Scottish golf courses, located on the west coast of Scotland on true, rugged, linksland. Royal Troon is part of the British Open rotation, and so is host to the British Open every six years or so.

In the UK, the term "parklands course" is used to describe an inland golf course (i.e., to distinguish it from a links course). Likewise, the term "heathlands course" was popular in the early decades of the 20th century in England to describe new courses that were being built in the heathlands (again, a geographer's term). Lately, it has become common to describe some courses as "stadium courses" - pointing to the new design principles popularized by architects such as Pete Dye to make courses more "friendly" for tournament spectators.

[openflows]

Osprey Valley's Heathlands (http://www.ospreyvalley.com/heathlands.php) course is a really neat local example of a links style course (or Heathlands to be explicit as HackNSlice points out above). It is one of three courses that make up the Osprey Valley Resort just north of Toronto (designed by Doug Carrick (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/golfonline/travel/architects/carrick.html)). Unfortunately there have been financial difficulties with the resort, and it has at times affected the quality of play. However when I played the Heathlands course it was a lot of fun, and super difficult if you strayed from the short grass.

If you've never played a links course before, then this provides an opportunity close to home to try it out.

[mikejb]

I could have sworn I responded to this topic. But one of the greatest courses IMHO in ontario that is an example of a links course is Devil's Paintbrush. Good it is Awesome.

[Shadow]

I could have sworn I responded to this topic. But one of the greatest courses IMHO in ontario that is an example of a links course is Devil's Paintbrush. Good it is Awesome. Would it be correct to add to the definition that a links style course is open, that is from most anywhere on the course, you can see all or most of the other holes?

[laxgolf]

I believe I've posted this before. I think this is as close as you're going to get to 'links' golf in Canada.

www.hunterspointe.ca (http://www.hunterspointe.ca)

www.greysilo.ca (http://www.greysilo.ca)

Of these two, I think Hunters Pointe is more of a links course because it seems to always be windy.

[haribo]

I'll second Hunter's Pointe. Pure links (as much as possible on this side of the pond), pure evil. One SOB of a golf course. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!


haribo