You guys in GB&I are charmed

[Tommy Williamsen]

I feel very privileged to play wonderful courses and certainly do not feel sorry for myself. That said, you guys who get to play links golf regularly are are fortunate indeed. When I get to Ireland and play the European club for five days or so, I am as close to Heaven as I can get on this earth.
Do you know how blessed you are?

[Peter Pallotta]

Yes
To paraphrase the Woody Allen line about Warren Beatty's fingertips, in my next life I want to come back as Sean Arble's golf clubs.
I sometimes while away a cold winter hour looking up the websites & membership opportunities at some of those GB&I courses, and imagine breaking up my 36 hole day there with a proper English lunch.
And just to say: sometimes photos do give you a good (ie bird's eye) view of what a course is all about, eg for a year before he played it, I just knew that Arbs would love (in person) Reigate Heath as I do (vicariously).
Winter golf upon the English heathland: when God thought up the game, that was the Ideal!
P

[Thomas Dai]

Yes Tommy, some of us do know how lucky we are!
But there’s a ‘however’ involved and that ‘however’ is that the vast majority of U.K. golf isn’t links golf (nor sandy heathlands either) but is instead inland/parkland clay based golf. Indeed many a U.K. golfer will never have played a links course and probably never will.
That said if you’re a links course member, or to a lessor extent a member of a inland sandy heathland course, you are indeed blessed, the more so during the off-season.
Atb

[Ian Galbraith]

I appreciate it every Saturday in winter and sometimes on Sunday too !

[Tim Martin]

The average forty degree temps are a huge bonus and I can imagine that the wind is the determining factor most days on whether to play.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night dreaming of playing some links course. I try to hurry back to sleep to finish the round, but alas never do.

[Ian Galbraith]

The average forty degree temps are a huge bonus and I can imagine that the wind is the determining factor most days on whether to play.

Sadly going to work trumps the wind most days 

[Tim Gallant]

Like Ian, I feel incredibly fortunate to still play once a week during the winter. Because there isn't a lot of daylight, during the week you can go to work in the dark and come home in the dark and never see the sun! I love getting out on the links, if for no other reason but to have a bit of a walk and fresh air!


Also, the golf in the winter seems to be more social. There's less worry about scores, and everyone is just glad to be playing golf! It can also be much quicker and most rounds can finish between 2 and 3 and a half hours.

[Matt Dawson]

Yes Tommy, some of us do know how lucky we are!

That said if you’re a links course member, or to a lessor extent a member of a inland sandy heathland course, you are indeed blessed, the more so during the off-season.
Atb

+1

That said, there are actually very few places in UK where you can be in close enough proximity to both a true heathland and a links course to have a proper day's golf at either, within easy travelling time.

Main area is Surrey sandbelt plus Kent coast at about 1h30m apart...although I'm sure Duncan will point out Delamere/Hoylake and maybe some others in the NW

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have played on heathland courses in March. It was a pleasure because they did run a bit. Maybe I should just move.

[James Reader]

Yes Tommy, some of us do know how lucky we are!

That said if you’re a links course member, or to a lessor extent a member of a inland sandy heathland course, you are indeed blessed, the more so during the off-season.
Atb

+1

That said, there are actually very few places in UK where you can be in close enough proximity to both a true heathland and a links course to have a proper day's golf at either, within easy travelling time.

Main area is Surrey sandbelt plus Kent coast at about 1h30m apart...although I'm sure Duncan will point out Delamere/Hoylake and maybe some others in the NW

This got me thinking about whether there are any realistic options for a high quality 36 hole heathland/links day.  Here’s what I’ve got:


Liphook/Stoneham/Blackmoor and Hayling
Woodhall Spa and Seacroft
Delamere Forest/Sandiway and Hoylake/Wallasey
Ladybank and take your pick in Fife
Blairgowrie and Carnoustie/Panmure
Boat of Garten and Castle Stuart


I’m not really one for dashing around to play two courses in a day, but any one of these would be pretty appealing.


Have I missed any?

[Ian Galbraith]

Gleneagles + choice of Fife Links?

[Mark Chaplin]

There are many members of the Surrey heathland courses with second memberships at Rye, Deal or Sandwich. The lucky ones also have a weekender on the coast.


I’m privileged to do it the other way around and live and play in Deal but have a country membership at Worplesdon.


As Thomas points out the vast majority of golfers play on parkland courses and have little idea of the call of a skylark or the joy of foursomes. Although today was our annual four ball competition, 4h15m for 17 holes including a decent stop at the hut, I guess that’s “not too bad”.

[Mark Pearce]

James,


Play Golspie three times., that'll be 18 holes of heathland and 18 of links.

[Thomas Dai]

Scotscraig or Ladybank with various Fife links.
Thetford and Brancaster/Hunstanton/Gorleston

And if you widen heathland slightly to include anywhere not immediately adjacent to a beach but still on free draining soil with heather and gorse etc you could include the likes of -
Formby/Formby Ladies.

Pennard/Clyne?
Pyle & Kenfig front-9 vrs P&K back-9?
Southerndown
Aldborough/Aldborough
Carnoustie
Montrose and the second Montrose
Moray/Lossiemouth both courses
Nairn/Nairn Dunbar/Speybay and Elgin
Yelverton/Tavistock and Devon/Cornish links
Teignmouth/East Devon and Dawlish Warren
Etc

Atb

[Tommy Williamsen]

This past fall I met a couple guys in Ireland who played golf at Carlow. When I remarked that they were fortunate to have such great links courses and that most were accessible to them, they told me that they disliked links golf because the bounces were not fair and the wind usually blew too hard. Any of you run into that very often?

[Thomas Dai]

This past fall I met a couple guys in Ireland who played golf at Carlow. When I remarked that they were fortunate to have such great links courses and that most were accessible to them, they told me that they disliked links golf because the bounces were not fair and the wind usually blew too hard. Any of you run into that very often?

Yes Tommy. Comments along the lines of “the bounces are not fair”, “the fairway grass is too short and not lush enough”, “there are no trees”, “the bunkers are too deep”, “they’re too windy”, “too difficult for me” are not uncommon. But then that’s fine. Those who think like this are welcome to play their parklands and thus leave links opportunities more available for those who do like their links golf!
Atb

[Kalen Braley]

When/If I make it over to that side of the pond, i'll be heading straight to the K Club for a minimum 3 rounds of awesomeness!! 

[Ally Mcintosh]

This past fall I met a couple guys in Ireland who played golf at Carlow. When I remarked that they were fortunate to have such great links courses and that most were accessible to them, they told me that they disliked links golf because the bounces were not fair and the wind usually blew too hard. Any of you run into that very often?

Yes Tommy. Comments along the lines of “the bounces are not fair”, “the fairway grass is too short and not lush enough”, “there are no trees”, “the bunkers are too deep”, “they’re too windy”, “too difficult for me” are not uncommon. But then that’s fine. Those who think like this are welcome to play their parklands and thus leave links opportunities more available for those who do like their links golf!
Atb

I hear this quite regularly. Still, I’m surprised to hear it from Carlow members given that it’s my favourite inland course in Ireland and the closest thing we have (or should have) to a heathland.