Links golf

[rsj1360]

Is there anywhere in the US that is truly links golf? Not just some course that calls itself MacSomebody's Scottish Links?

[dartboss04]

Bandon/Pacific Dunes

[rsj1360]

Thanks

I saw this: "[b]All courses are walking only[/b]" on their website ... nice :-)

[Another Steelers Fan]

Twisted Gun in Southern West Virginia.

 

[rsj1360]

Looks links-y - but it can't truly be links if it isn't by the sea. Anyway, a lot cheaper than [color=#282828]Bandon/Pacific Dunes.[/color]

[Another Steelers Fan]

[quote name='rsj1360' timestamp='1348516253' post='5687135']
Looks links-y - but it can't truly be links if it isn't by the sea.[/quote]

True. Thought of that after I posted.

[jaskanski]

[quote name='rsj1360' timestamp='1348513457' post='5686791']
Is there anywhere in the US that is truly links golf? Not just some course that calls itself MacSomebody's Scottish Links?
[/quote]

IMHO - no.

[SilverBullets]

Would you consider Whistling Straits a true links course? What about Arcadia?

Other than Bandon those are the closest I can think of

[SterlingArcher]

Highland Links on Cape Cod is fun. http://trurolinks.com/

No pot bunkers though.

[mallrat]

I can't imagine golf gets more "Links" than Old Macdonald @ Bandon. Fescue and all.

[option720]

True links courses are hard to come by in the US. It is a combo of soil, grass, architecture, topography, proximity to the ocean (not a great lake).

See the list here...
http://www.migrantgolfer.com/the-true-links-courses-of-the-world/

[teejaywhy]

[quote name='rsj1360' timestamp='1348513457' post='5686791']
Is there anywhere in the US that is truly links golf? Not just some course that calls itself MacSomebody's Scottish Links?
[/quote]

The term "links" as a marketeer's description of a golf course could be one of the most overused and downright misused terms ever.

A true links course is by definition built upon links land, which is a strip of land which "links" the sea with more fertile land. Links land was created when sea retreated many millennia ago, leaving an expanse of barren, windswept sandy soil, unsuitable for agriculture. The story of how golf's beginnings evolved from these areas is familiar to most everyone.

There is some dispute as to if there are any true links in N. America. The list option720 linked to calls Bandon Dunes a true links, but even that can be argued as that property is on a bluff high above the sea.

Given that there are so few if any true links for us here in America, I think the discussion might better center on if it is possible to have a close to genuine links experience on property that is not a true links. Some might contend that the most accurate links golf in the USA exists in the chop hills of eastern Colorado / western Nebraska, a thousand miles from the ocean. Say what?

What are the elements that make links golf ? Can a predominance of these elements make for a reasonable links golf experience? Does the abscence of any one of these elements eliminate a locale from consideration?

- Seaside location.
- Sandy, well draining soil
- Seaside grasses (fescue)
- A mostly natural layout, with a minimum of manmade shaping, either in the creation of features or the flattening of existing features.
- Windswept

All of these characteristics interact with each other to produce the type of game that is links golf. The sandy soil is firm and fast and combined with the right type of grasses, the contours of the land and the windy conditions all promote and reward the use of the ground as an option to work the ball close to the target.

So which elements are most important? Many look at the seaside location as all important. Obviously the sea was integral in the creation of the true links land, but I propose that other than the aesthetic value, the seaside location is least important. In fact there are so many examples of seaside golf that bear no resemblance to links golf other than the proximity to the ocean.

But take away any other of the elements and you really start to detract from the links experience.
- Heavy clay soil with poor drainage
- The wrong types of grass
- The maintenance presentation (heavy roughs around the green)
- Trees that prevent airflow
- Design elements that promote the aerial game (ponds, etc)

These elements work to take away the ground game as an option and force a more point to point target style of golf that characterizes the prevalent style of American golf.

The courses at Bandon are the most real links golf in America IMO.

But given these considerations, would Ballyneal and Sand Hills be considered links golf? Dunesland with sandy soil, fescue grass, minimalist shaping, windswept treeless property. The only thing missing is the ocean.

What about Chambers Bay? 100% manmade, but all the other elements are there. A very well done links "re-creation" in my mind.

Discuss...

[Swingem]

My first experience with "links" golf was in Scotland many years ago. I quickly became aware that it required a different dimension of skills, and the ability to visualize a "ground game". The next time I experienced "links" golf was at Bandon Dunes, and have been going back every year for 10 years.

Setting the defininition of "links land" aside, the primary difference IMO is the soil, turf, and hole design that bring the ground-game into play. These features include natural contours, sandy soil, tight fescue turf, and greens that are open in front and receptive to rolling shots to the hole. All of the courses at Bandon share these features. I can't speak for the new short course since I haven't played it yet.

The only other track I've played that plays similarly is TPC Stonebrea in Hayward Ca. It's no surprize that Stonebrea was designed by David McLay Kidd, who also designed the first course at Bandon Dunes.

[teejaywhy]

By contrast - the Ocean Course at Kiawah. By all indications, it looks like a links. Windswept seaside location, sandy soil. The problem is the "sticky" warm season grass and the elevated and well protected green designs take away the ground game and forces the aerial approach. Kiawah looks like a links does not play like a links.

[littleprov1x]

National Golf Links? Not really sure why that is not on the list in that link, along with some of the other great links courses of Long Island and Massachusetts.

[dartboss04]

[quote name='SterlingArcher' timestamp='1348527045' post='5688165']
Highland Links on Cape Cod is fun. http://trurolinks.com/

No pot bunkers though.
[/quote]

I just played Highland Links a week or so ago. It certainly looks the part and is right on the Atlantic. I've never played a true links course, but even in just reading about them and seeing the open championship, I don't think Highland links plays like a links course. The fairways are "sticky" as they say, and I don't think you can really play the bump and run style. I've been reading Dream Golf on Mike Keiser and the development of Bandon, and I would imagine it has to do with grass type.

[deadsolid...shank]

I guess I've never really played a true links course that I'm aware of, Pacific Grove's back nine is probably as close as I've come. But I would say that the Prairie Club's Dunes course played very similar. Short, tight, fast fairways leading to big, open greens. Lots of wind, few trees, and loads of bunkers (although not the pot type, but rather big blowout types). Just no ocean.

But it was definitely different and fun, bouncing shots along the ground rather than taking your stock yardage and trying to fly it that distance. And a putter from probably 50 yards out, that was an expierience.

[2putttom]

[quote name='rsj1360' timestamp='1348516253' post='5687135']
Looks links-y - but it can't truly be links if it isn't by the sea. Anyway, a lot cheaper than [color=#282828]Bandon/Pacific Dunes.[/color]
[/quote] Amen to that. The weather has been co operating this fall...