Links golf- Can anyone appreciate it?

[David Stamm]

I played the North course at Torrey Pines Saturday after the city championship had finished up and was paired up with a very nice couple from New Jersey. Can't remember what exit they hail from however.

But seriously, we started talking courses and I had asked where they had played so far here in SD. I suggested that they play Barona, IMHO, arguably the best course in the city. When they asked what kind of course it was and I described it for them, they said they couldn't stand links looking courses, or links courses period. Whether Barona can be classified as such is another matter. I was surprised by their attitude towards links courses, considering the fact that the husband had quite an impressive list of courses that he had played such as Pine Valley, Fisher's Island, Baltusrol, Plainfield, Ridgewood, etc.


The question is, is this a matter of someone who just thinks trees belong on a course and needs definition in order to determine the direction of shots? Are the nuances of links golf lost on even the most traveled (here in the U.S.) golfers? Does playing courses such as the ones I've mentioned that this man had played not give that player even more appreciation for the origins of the game, or despite the great courses he had played, he just doesn't get it? Or is this just a simple matter of taste? Any thoughts?

[KBanks]

David,

Not everyone likes links golf. I doubt if even a majority of golfers favor it.

I have encountered a similar aversion from several of the better players at my home club. These are well-travelled, low handicap players. A remark one fellow made has stayed with me. He asked why anyone would want to take a chance on bad weather, wind, etc., on a links course overseas when you could enjoy a golf trip at a place like Palm Springs.

There's no accounting for taste.

Ken

[Mark Chaplin]

I can understand not enjoying the links style of golf if you dislike the wind, uneven lies, unfair bounces (we never see or acknowledge the good ones), deep bunkers and a usually bleak landscape.

However if you appreciate a game where you have to work with the weather and conditions, enjoy working out the options and trying to pick the best one, hitting great shots only to find a hanging lie, accepting the rub of the green and finally, love the sound of an invisible skylark high above you, you cannot, surely, fail to love links golf.

Needless to say I play 95% of my golf on a classic English links course.

[John Kavanaugh]

If this site has proven anything it would be that where a person has played has zero effect on their ability to tell you where to play.

I know plenty of people who do not like the look of a Barona type course...I would consider them no less informed than someone who would call Barona a links. Barona is simply a casino desert golf experience...I don't know anyone who searches out that just for the golf.  I think they just called you out on your line of crap.  

[Ken Moum]

The question is, is this a matter of someone who just thinks trees belong on a course and needs definition in order to determine the direction of shots?

I have some friends like that, and I don't think it has much to do with definition. They just think that's how golf courses are supposed to look, and they think grasslands are ugly.

I lived on the South Dakota prairie for 23 years, and it took me a while to warm up to the beauty of grasslands myself, having moved there from northern Minn.

Are the nuances of links golf lost on even the most traveled (here in the U.S.) golfers?

In my experience, a lot of it is a product of the American tendency to focus on the score. On another forum, I just saw a post where the author said he'd rather shoot 68 and lose than 72 and win. Gaack..

Or is this just a simple matter of taste? Any thoughts?

That's really the crux of it. Like the prairie, some people don't get it. I have a friend who worked in SD, and an Easterner once asked, "How can you stand it out there with nothing to rest your eyes on?" He replied "There's nothing to block your view."

[David_Tepper]

David -

I think there is a strong mindset among many golfers in the U.S. (and elsewhere I am sure) that associates "good" golf courses with lush, green, tree-lined fairways and greens surrounded by large bunkers filled with bright, white sand.  They just do not/cannot grasp the essence of links golf. Even several golfers I know who have played links golf in GB&I refer it to as playing golf in a field with flagsticks.

It is easy to point to Augusta National as setting a standard in this regard.  There is no denying it has created the ideal in many golfers' minds of what a golf course should be.

There is no accounting for taste!

DT  

[David Stamm]

  I think they just called you out on your line of crap.  

I can always count on you JK for your insight.


They asked me to describe the course, and anyone who has played there would probably use the cliche links style. Based on who I was speaking with, I have no doubt if I had started in on Eckenrode's features there it would've gone right over their heads.

[John Mayhugh]

It's fair to say that most of my friends don't like "links style" golf.  They prefer clearly defined holes, lush conditions, no bad bounces, no wind, and definitely no rain.  I can understand this viewpoint since golf is hard enough for me even with perfect conditions.  Still, some of the greatest fun I ever had playing was on a firm, fast, & windy day at Co Louth.  But what was fun to me would make most people I play with miserable.  

I also think that there are a lot of people who might enjoy a true links course that just don't like many of the "links style" courses we get to play.  That's an overused description for all sorts of uninteresting courses that aren't defined by trees and/or water.  I use the term too often myself.  

Barona is a significantly more interesting course than Torrey North.  Ocean views are great, but the course is nothing special.

[Andy Troeger]

I also think that there are a lot of people who might enjoy a true links course that just don't like many of the "links style" courses we get to play.  That's an overused description for all sorts of uninteresting courses that aren't defined by trees and/or water.  I use the term too often myself.  

Bingo. Although interestingly enough many US "links style" courses actually have a fair amount of fake ponds on them

I would guess many people assume that all links courses are like that, and I can't blame them for not being particularly interested in many cases.

[Daryl David]

I don't think it is just the visual image that turns off some golfers, but rather the shot making.  Most of the players I know that dislike links golf courses also can't play worth a darn on them.  They hit very powerful high shots that are at the mercy of the wind and end up off the planet.  When they do hit a green they complain loudly when their ball doesn't suck up and spin back to the pin.  Don't get me started about the complaints about bad bounces.

It reminds me of when I was growing up and was a very active skier.  I use to tell people that I hated skiing powder because it required less skill. It was really because I was lousy at it.  Once I learned, then you could hear me saying deep powder was the only "real" skiing.

[Mike Wagner]

It saddens me that someone who dislikes links golf has played someof the finest courses in the world.  While I will say that some people jsut have certain tastes (and that's ok with me), it's a commentary on the state of the game.  The overwhelming feedback in here is that people know folks who don't like links golf - it's a shame.  Golf in this country has eliminated everything that is suppopsed to challenge the golfer -wind, uneven lies, terrain, etc.  The thought of the 20 handicap hitting his 30 yard slice all day in perfect conditions, then whines when he has top play in the wind sickens me!  To answer the question:  Yes, I apprecaite links golf- I love it - I would play Bandon every day if I could.  The links are the true test of the game as they bring out true charactee of the player to reveal what he has inside..

[George Pazin]

Mike, it's not so much a comment on the state of the game as it is a comment on the state of (American, I'm guessing) society.

[Tim Pitner]

The thought of the 20 handicap hitting his 30 yard slice all day in perfect conditions, then whines when he has top play in the wind sickens me!  

Many of the people most adamant about not caring for links golf are low-handicap players (including some American tour pros).  They don't like it because they can't just play their normal game and shoot the same scores; they have to adapt.  

I also agree with the comment above that some people just don't know whats links golf is; they're commenting on "links-style" courses which, in marketing speak, means a flat, treeless course.  

[Michael Dugger]

Those lacking in soul usually prefer soulless golf courses.

to each their own....

[Mike Wagner]

I should have phrased my response more appropriately.  I understand there are players of all levels that don't like links golf, including low handicaps.  It all sickens me - especially the lows -maybe they wouldn't be so low if they played in that required some thought and imagination - the true essence of the game.

[John Kirk]

My general argument for real links golf, complete with wind and sandy linksland, is that it provides a more complex challenge than regular American golf.  One must learn to play different trajectory shots, and understand the wind's impact on distance, to succeed.

However, most people like the benign parkland golf experience.  It's hard to argue with such a significant majority.  They like it that way, and that's OK.

[Bill Gayne]

It's not just Americans, I've met residents of the UK and Ireland that would rather play only parkland golf. One only need to look at the K Club which many believe is the most prestigous and best golf course in Ireland.