Forgettabout Peper And Forgettabout Best - What Are Your 10 Favourite Links?

[Sean Walsh]

Nice to see Ballyliffin Old with an admirer. Nearly made my list. 

Memory is fading but has the best rumpled fairways of any course I've played (like the 4th at Louth only more so).  14 (I think) also has a bit of Dornoch's 15th about it at the green. 

[Michael Goldstein]

St Andrews
Paraparaumu Beach
Ballybunion
Lahinch
North Berwick
Askernish
Machrie
Deal

Probably 8 of my top 10 golf experiences have been at the above.  Many of them playing late in the evening solo or with one other. 

There are a handful of courses that I really enjoyed but having played them only once they aren't yet stuck in my subconscious (yet).

[Leo Barber]

Love my links golf and fortunate to have travelled to play a number.

1.  Royal County Down
2.  St Andrews Old
3.  Lahinch
4.  Royal Portrush
5.  Barnbougle Dunes
6.  Ballybunion
7.  Royal Liverpool
8.  Royal Troon
9.  Paraparaumu Beach
10.Royal Cinque Ports

Some pretty good honourable mentions

Carnoustie
Royal Birkdale
Royal St Georges
Oreti Sands
 

[Ronald Montesano]

I'll drop the mic so that Jeff warne can pick it up. Haven't played enough to make a top ten, let alone a discrete one.

[Rich Goodale]

Rihc

I get the impresson your favourites have changed a bit over the years.  Not surprising I spose, but what are some courses you used to like more than now?

Ciao

Coia

This exercise was the first time I ever thought of ranking courses as personal favo(u)rites, rather than by architectural quality.  Only two of my list above make that second list.

Hrci

[Jud_T]

Haven't played nearly enough but here goes:

1.  TOC
2. Prestwick
3. Old Mac
4. Lahinch
5. Pac Dunes
6. Ballybunion Old
7. Portmarnock
8. Baltray
9. Carnoustie
10. The Island

[Mac Plumart]

Royal County Down
The Old Course
Old MacDonald
NGLA
Muirfield
North Berwick
Renaissance
Crail Balcomie
Pacific Dunes
Askernish


If these are links, then they are in the mix:
Dismal Doak,
Sand Hills,
Dismal Nicklaus,
Shinnecock

[Tom_Doak]

I think I wrote an article on this once, for LINKS Magazine, so don't sue me if my list has changed a bit from that.  I'm not trying to rate them in order, I'm thinking by geography, but here are my ten:

St. Andrews
North Berwick
Askernish
St. Enodoc
Rye
Pennard
Ballybunion
Royal County Down
Barnbougle Dunes
Pacific Dunes

Hard to reconcile how I could leave two of my 10's out of my ten, but these are the ones that first came to my heart.

EDIT:  Damn!  I forgot Brancaster!  I hate being confined to lists of ten.

[Niall C]

Adopting the Goodall method, most favourite first and then in no particular order;

Silloth-on-Solway
Gullane 3
Carnoustie
Moray Old
Gullane 2
Prestwick St Nich's
North Berwick
Nairn
Glasgow Gailes
County Sligo (Rosses Point)

Of course I reserve the right to change my mind but the above courses are the ones that have endeared themselves to me the most.

Niall

[Sean_A]

As I suspected, it didn't take long before seven eight of my favourites were mentioned - add Prestwick. 

Enniscrone
Portrush Valley
Lahinch
Cruden Bay
North Berwick West Links
Pennard
St Enodoc
Prestwick

Guess I shall have to find a way to get to Askernish.  I tried to organize a trip for next year, but was shot down - heavy sigh.

Ciao

[Greg Taylor]

Royal County Down
St Andrews
Royal Dornoch
North Berwick
Muirfield
Lahinch
Pac Dunes
Western Gailes
Cruden Bay
Portrush

[James Boon]

Sean,

Make that trip to Askernish! I'd offer to accompany you, but I get the impression that if I make a trip to the Western Isles without Carole, I wont be very popular at home...  

Here's mine for today:

Royal Dornoch
Brora
Askernish
Burnham & Berrow
Deal
Brancaster
Silloth
North Berwick
Pennard
Royal County Down

And as no one else seems to be able to count, a couple of modern courses:

Renaissance Club
Castle Stuart

Still some significant gaps in my links playing CV I must admit, but I suspect its more likely to be some of the wee Scottish nine hole courses or some of those delightful looking western Ireland courses you have posted recently that will be the ones to find their way onto a favorites list.

Cheers,

James

[Emil Weber]

Hi Guys, I'm back in the game. Just couldn't do withoiut GCA!
Prestwick
Barnbougle
RCD
Royal Dornoch
Old Course
St. Enodoc
North Berwick
Cruden Baxy
Carne
Enniscrone
Saunton E

I miss those places. I'll be heading up to Brora, Wick, Reay and Durness  late this summer. I hardly expect them to enter this list in terms of quality but I'm so looking forward to playing links again that I can't think of anything else..

[Pete Balzer]

1. Royal Portrush Dunluce
2. Royal County Down
3. Prairie Club Dunes
4. Sand Hills
5. TOC
6. Ballyneal
7. Portstewart Strand

[Richard Muldoon]

In no particular order
Porthcawl
Pennard
Portrush
Dornoch
North Berwick
Deal
Silloth
St Andrews
Cruden Bay
Enniscrone

Hard to leave off Saunton E, Carne, Brora and Golspie

[Thomas Dai]

Current thinking - 9 will do - and in no particular order

St Olaf, the 9-holer at Cruden Bay
The Channel, the 9-holer at Burnham and Berrow
The Bann, the 9-holer at Castlerock
Golspie - three courses in one, but links to me
Dunfanaghy - mellow and gentle and such a nice place to play
Muirfield - the best Open venue I've played or visited
Carnoustie - the toughest
Royal  Aberdeen - a personal favourite that more folk need to play
Carne - a magical place

Atb

[Tony_Muldoon]

On reviewing my list I am disappointed by how predictable it seems to be

Lahinch
Portrush Dunluce
Dornoch
St Andrews Old
North Berwick
Brancaster
RSG
Deal
Pennard

I find the more I play great courses the more I like them.  There’s a few where another visit or two might open my eyes further, as a recent second visit to Porthcawl did.

So in the above there’s 9 and to complete I’m certain that one, or more, of the following are bound to make the list once I’ve played them more than once.

Ballybunion/Prestwick/Ellie


There are a few I’ve yet to play that I have high hopes for e.g.

Carne/Enniscrone/Machrihanish/St Enedoc.

However to see more courses often means forgoing another round at an old favourite. I would be more than content if all my play was restricted to the courses above.

So all in all, I agree with the poster above who described it as today’s list.

[Brent Hutto]

[EDIT] I've decided that Ganton is "in" and counts as a links. My list, my critiera.

Favorite Links Course:
Royal St. George's

Remainder of Top Ten (alphabetical order):
Brora
Formby
Ganton
Littlestone
Princes
Royal Birkdale
Royal Cinque Ports
Royal Dornoch
Seaton Carew

...with apologies to Golspie for being "odd course out" as the only (mostly) links course I've played that couldn't fit on a list of ten.

[Philip Gawith]

in no particular order....

Royal Dornoch
Brora
Royal st George's
Pennard
Westward ho!
North Berwick
Muirfield
St Enodoc
Waterville

Many notable omissions but "favourites" is a good word and allows happy memories to be a key feature rather than more austere criteria!

Philip

[Garland Bayley]

Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay
Cruden Bay

Anthony Gray

[Paul Gray]

John K,

You do know what a links is?

[Joe_Tucholski]

I know the purpose of this thread isn't to discuss what is and isn't a links course but I figured if posting a list I should provide the definition of "links course" used to create my list.  Basically I went and grabbed my copy of True Links by Peper and Campbell and used their criteria (which they say is the definition used by The British Golf Museum in St Andrews):
"a stretch of land near the coast,...characterized by undulating terrain, often associated with dunes, infertile sandy soil and indigenous grasses as marram, sea lyme, and the fescues and bents which, when properly managed, produce the fine textured tight turf for which links are famed."

Royal Dornoch (my favorite course)
Bandon Dunes (I realized my preference is directly related to the number of times I played each course at the resort)
Old Macdonald (just a fun course)
Royal Hague (I was honestly surprised this course qualified as a links being nearly 2 miles from the coast)
Borth (this course and club is exactly what I want a links club to be)
Pennard (the first course I played in the UK and what a great intro it was)
Irvine Bogside (I found out James Braid is my type of architect as I really enjoyed all his courses)
North Berwick (a fun place)
St. Andrews Eden (If I lived in town this would by my evening round)
Fraserburgh (just a really good walk)

All that being said it's tough to find a links course that isn't tons of fun.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Westward ho!

Uh oh Philip beware Sheriff Arble come to pillage your list of favorites.

Also, Ganton is a links. As has been noted elsewhere, it is simply a matter of choosing the appropriate Period, Eon or Era, as you prefer.

EDIT:

I am a man of few favorites so there will be no Top 10. Here we go, in no particular order and Sean's rule withstanding:

TOC
Elie
N Berwick
Girvan (play 1-8 2x for innovative 16-hole round)
Rye
Ganton
Barny

[Bill_McBride]

I'll play the role of Patrick Mucci:

Which holes at either Cypress Point or Bandon Trails are on links land?  Bandon Trails has even more holes in the forest than CPC.  

None, Uncle Bill.

Bing! Bing!  We have a winner!

The 13th at Cypress Point looks linksy but maybe it's all the bloody sand.   I love the tee shot over the sandy berm and I love the dastardly spine in the green.   

[Will Lozier]

I think I wrote an article on this once, for LINKS Magazine, so don't sue me if my list has changed a bit from that.  I'm not trying to rate them in order, I'm thinking by geography, but here are my ten:

St. Andrews
North Berwick
Askernish
St. Enodoc
Rye
Pennard
Ballybunion
Royal County Down
Barnbougle Dunes
Pacific Dunes

Hard to reconcile how I could leave two of my 10's out of my ten, but these are the ones that first came to my heart.

Which 10's did not make it?