During the British Open they were talking about the reason that Tom Watson was able to compete so well agains't much younger opponents was becauses it was being played on a "links" course. What is the difference between links golf and regular golf? Can anybody explain it to me?
I think it means an open course with no trees and lots of wind. The reason Watson was able to compete is the long hitters blasting those super high moon beam shots cant do it when the wind is so strong. The longer the hang time, the more the wind moves the ball. Players who hit lower shots (shorter hitters) dont have to worry about the wind as much as the guys hitting those towering blasts.
From Wikipedia: A links golf course, sometimes referred to as a seaside links, is the oldest style of golf course, and was first developed in Scotland. The word "links" comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes, and sometimes to open parkland. It also retains this more general meaning in the Scottish English dialect. It can be treated as singular even though it has an "s" at the end, and occurs in place names that precede the development of golf, for example Lundin Links, Fife. My favorite links course to play: Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links One of the coolest muni courses anywhere. 1st nine is traditional course, back nine is a links course right up against the Pacific. Several years ago I actually teed off over 3 bucks that were in front of the tee box on 11.
Unfortunately, it is a public course with folks everywhere. Remember, the coastal deer here are only slightly larger than a Great Dane.
Some people mistake it for the golf John Daly plays. You know, where he ends up eating sausage in between every hole.
I recall from an old Golf Digest article that Links courses were put in and the original contours of the land were retained by and large. In the US, we go in with dozers to make the course look the way the designer thinks it should. You end up with a more manicured product.
