The 8 Most Important Things To Know About Links Golf Courses

The links golf course that was once only associated with the United Kingdom can be nowadays found in many parts of the world. This is one of the types of courses and is well known for its challenging weather conditions. As a golfer there are a few important things about the links you need to know. Here are some of them.

• The most prevalent and widely believed definition of links is that it’s a course that’s quite treeless. The term is also used to describe golf courses that are close to a large water body like sea or ocean.
• Geographically speaking the word ‘links’ refers to an area between a fertile cultivable land and a sandy beach. Being so close to the beach, the links too comprised predominantly of loose sandy soil, making it unsuitable for farming. Luckily, someone had a bright idea of using it for playing ball, which later developed to the beautiful sport of golf.
• This is the oldest form of golf course with its origins in Scotland – the birthplace of golf. Some of the key characteristics modern links are course with sandy soil with very few or no trees; the vegetation in such courses is mostly local shrubs and bushes.
• The sandy terrain allows for plenty of natural bunkers and dunes. Since the links are mainly treeless and so close to the sea or ocean, strong winds are normal and they add to the challenge that golfers have to face. Golfers would notice that bunkers here are a lot deeper. They are designed deep to prevent the sandy soil from being blown away by gusty winds.
• To excel in links, golfers are advised to play close to the ground to avoid the effects of strong winds on the ball.
• The links are dense which allows the players to use the bounce and run shots more often.
• Golfers have an easier time playing the run-up shots on a links golf course, as most of the greens here is approachable on the ground.
• The links also boast of a unique design with the first half of the 18-hole course starting from the clubhouse to stretch to the farthest point and the other half having its final hole close to the clubhouse. There is no hard rule that links must be designed is a particular way. Nowadays, many golf course designers are attempting to create links courses with most of the links features far away from the coastal areas.