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Sandbridge Beach – www.siebert-realty.com – Virginia Beach, VA
Tags: hamptonroads, links, map, nova, parks
August 18th, 2009 by admin | No Comments | Filed in Uncategorized
Golf: Just out of interest, What exectly is a ‘links’ golf course?
I enjoy watching golf, (i have a handicap – two left hands!) so i only watch. When I do play, it’s more for the amusement of my friends! What exactly is A links course? is it just another name for a normal course or what?…..
“Links”
Definition: Many golfers use “links” and “golf course” interchangeably. But “links” is actually a specific type of golf course.
A traditional links course will have many – perhaps all – of the following features:
• The course is built along the seaside;
• The soil is sandy and drains easily;
• The course is laid out naturally, so that unusual bumps and slopes in the fairways and greens remain, rather than being smoothed over;
• The rough features natural seaside grasses;
• Bunkers are numerous, very small and very deep (to keep the seaside breezes from blowing the sand away)
• Fairways are rarely (if ever) watered and play firm and fast;
• Links courses usually have few if any trees;
• The course routes out and back, meaning, the No. 1 hole begins at the clubhouse and the front nine plays straight out so that No. 9 is farthest hole from the clubhouse; the direction turns back in at No. 10 and the course ends with No. 18 back at the clubhouse.
Criteria for “Links” Come from Long-Ago Scotland
Especially in the U.S., the term “links” is frequently misapplied. “Links” refers to a very specific type of course. But nowadays it is common for any golf course that is relatively treeless to call itself a links course. And that’s not accurate.
But in America, they get away with it. Most American golfers – and I am one – have never seen a links course … except for the ones we see each year while watching the British Open.
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 seaside transitions into farmland. Links land has sandy soil, making it unsuited for crops.
The land, in fact, was thought to be worthless because it was not arable for crops.
But back in the mists of Scotland, someone got the bright idea to put a golf course on that land. What else where they going to do with it? And links golf courses emerged.
Because they were close to the beach, lots of sand traps were a natural (the soil was very sandy, after all). But the traps had to be deeply recessed to prevent sand from being blown away by the constant wind. Because the soil was of a poor quality and constantly buffeted by the seaside winds, not much would grow on it – mostly just tall, reedy grasses, and certainly no trees.
So a true links course is not any 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.
Because they were built on narrow strips of land, links courses often followed an “out and back” routing. The front nine went out from the clubhouse, one hole stringed after another, until reaching the 9th green, which was the point on the golf course farthest from the clubhouse. The golfers would then turn around on the 10th tee, with the back nine holes leading straight back to the clubhouse.
In modern terms, a “links course” is more broadly defined by Ron Whitten, the great writer on golf course architecture for Golf Digest, to include golf courses built on sandy soil (whether seaside or not) and that are buffeted by winds. Whitten says a links course must play firm and fast, with sometimes crusty fairways and greens that feature many knolls and knobs to create odd bounces and angles. And, of course, a links course, in Whitten’s definition, needs to be relatively treeless with a native rough that is tall and thick.
Pebble Beach Golf Links Course Guide (3DO) Holes 1-9
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What is the difference between a “links” course and any other kind of golf course?
I’ve heard commentators on televised golf matches talk about links courses, but have never known how they are different from other kinds. What other kinds of courses are there?
A true links course is a seaside course with a firm sandy base. The course “links” the land to the sea. Because the wind blows hard along the sea, to effectively play links courses you must know how to hit the ball lower and run up to the hole. Links courses will be typified by rolling mounds and dunes throughout, lots of bunkering and very high rough off the path. The Scots believe that trees have no place on a golf course. There are many parts of the US that have made “links style” golf courses out of rolling farmland with many of the same features, although American operators generally over water their courses, effectively taking the lower running shot out of play.
World’s Longest Golf Course – Nullarbor Links
