Several players including Bob Charles and Tom Watson - two guys who know some things about links courses - have said that Prairie Dunes is very links style. Maybe I should just take their word for it.
But having played the course 8 times, I never thought of it this way.
To me, "links" or "links style" means that what happens on the ground is as important as what happens when the ball is in the air. Once the ball is on the ground at Torrey Pines, the camera can cut away. Once the ball is on the ground at TOC, the fun is just beginning.
Prairie Dunes has some of the best green contours around, and they do affect how you play your approach shots. But you don't play Prairie Dunes along the ground, and the only shots you bounce in are by necessity when the wind is hard at your back. (Under those conditions, most holes are links style, right?) The ground is not rock hard. Many holes (2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18) are not really receptive to a running approach (although you can make it work on 5 of those if it's a necessity).
I'm not knocking Prairie Dunes. I love it and I think it's a brilliant, wonderful course. But, although it's open, windy, and rolling, I don't think it's accurate to call it a links or probably even links style.
Opinions?