links courses

any reco's for a links course

played quite a few on the east cost brid scarbrough etc

just looking at one for my other comp later in the year

50 miles to 75 miles ish from Scarborough would get you to Cleveland Golf Club and Seaton Carew Golf Club both have good reports....

Wayne,your making me dribble I think I will have to deliver to you!

I played Nefyn, Aberdovey, Pwllheli and Royal Porthcawl last summer on a little trip, my first real test of proper links golf and it was amazing! My one regret is not getting to play Royal St Davids, so I may have to make that trip again soon and take in a couple of others!!

What really struck me was the prices of these courses (except porthcawl!). The other three were around the £35/£40, to play similar standard courses around Berkshire/Surrey (where I live) it costs at least double that!

Now thats just plain showing off Luke........Wayne received an email yesterday they wishoning thier way to me as we speak.I will see if there's any room on his sleigh Ho Ho Ho.

Never played a links course & would deffo be up for it. Does anybody fancy arranging a weekend away somewhere to do this??

I will sort a nice week-end on the links early next Spring, John.

Cheers John, look forward to it.

Wayne,

when is this happening?

John.

I have stayed here and played many years ago and is a very nice course.

http://www.trevose-gc.co.uk/acc_cottage.php#

have a look at this, looks good to me...

 www.magdalene-fields.co.uk

have a look at this, looks good to me...

 www.magdalene-fields.co.uk

If I were ever in Berwick on Tweed then the only direction I would be heading would be Gullane G.C. Three fabulous links courses.

http://www.gullanegolfclub.com/courses/128/

What an awsoem idea they have at the gullane golf club. A 6 hole course for children. Where they can play for free and no need to book.

The 3 adult courses look nice too.

The only true links I've played.

http://www.princesgolfclub.co.uk/

I won my last open competition at Princes with a level par round playing the Shore and the Dunes. I have a very nice framed print of the 18th at St Andrews painted by the artist Bill Waugh and also personally signed by him. Valued at £175 the day I won it.

The Himalayas is also a very good test, Danny, of which I am sure you know already. Must get down there again soon, perhaps in their Open week we can do something.

Would be good. They do some great deals through the winter. i played there a few February's back. I can tell you I didn't come in level par.

How about Saunton.

http://www.sauntongolf.co.uk/

Now you are talking, Danny, two courses both extremely difficult. I believe the Saunton Sands Hotel does a 2 round 1 night B & B fr £189

I rate the west course as the hardest I have ever played. They held the Schwepppes PGA Pro tournament there in 1965 and over four rounds the best they could manage was a 69.

I myself have played there twice in the West of England Open Amateur strokeplay over 72 holes. It does not get better than that, not forgetting just across the bay is Westward Ho, the oldest course in this country.

I have played only 35 of those listed, I must get my skates on.

I would also like to play some of these great courses with you. Next year like Kevin would be good for me also

I'd love a round here. Number 4 on the list.

Ooh, missed this thread - definitely up for a game - never played a links course before.

The top 10 would not be my picks as the majority of those listed in the top 100 are all excellent in their own rights.

It seems that those that hold championships are held in higher esteem, but I can assure you that if you spent a day at Saunton, you would come off the eighteenth knowing that you had played one hell of a golf course. And I could apply that logic to many other courses on that list.

I was fortunate to be a member at St.Georges Hill G.C. and it is paradise. Far better than Wentworth, but then again there are probably half a dozen courses in Surrey alone that are better. Perhaps if the Pros were to play Wentworth East instead of that wide open West course they would not score so well.

What on earth is St.Andrews doing right up there at the top when it is just an average course. I doubt the locals would say it was the most dfficult there.

Carnoustie on a nice sunny windless day is not even difficult.

I won a Eurogolf tournament Pro Am at Royal Birkdale G.C.partnering Jimmy Hulme (Gullane G.C) and at the time I thought the course was a joke, to be quite honest. I would certainly not pay their fees to play there again. The good thing about that day, apart from winning, was having the late Alfie Fyldes (Tom Watsons Caddie when in the UK for championships)as my caddie.

I am not writing a book as I am not a writer, just attempting to put my experiences down on paper in some form of chronological order mentioning both my triumphs and my disasters (Of which there have been many). At the moment though, I am finding it difficult to concentrate for more than five minutes.

Paul, it is not until you have struck an iron shot off a links fairway that you will realise why the purists love the links so much. The strike has to be perfect or the shot will be a dud.

I just booked my last two rounds of golf in the UK before moving back to the states.

Train tickets purchased, B & B secured, now on to the golf....

Carnoustie on Thursday.

The Old Course at St. Andrews on Friday.

Oh and I just went back and re read some posts.  Yeah right, St. Andrews and Carnoustie are not difficult at all ;-) LMAO. I can't think of a better way to say goodbye to the UK then to play those two courses.

Get out the gloves, and rain gear but I'm going to play golf one more time here.

Then off to Palma Mallorca for a four day weekend to warm up and play some more golf.

I am glads that you are LYAO, Noel as you obviously have not played some of our more difficult courses, after all 62 by the Pros is a regular occurrence at St. Andrews. the best they could muster at Saunton was a 69. So please don't tell me what are and what are not difficult courses on this Island of ours. You have been brainwashed by the fact that they hold Open Championships. That in itself does not make them difficult. Having played both of them myself in under par I feel I do know what I am talking about. Have a nice day.

Good on you Michael.  I'd love to play those courses and I applaud you for going and doing it before you go home.  I hope you thoroughly enjoy them and have some great memories of UK golf to tell when you get back to Boston.  Shame you're playing there on Friday or you could've joined us for a game at the Belfry. 

Sort out Harlech for August and yoiu will get a full house - wonderful course.

John Pettitt,  what kind of ego trip are you on.  Again, as always nearly every time I read one of your posts, they are either bitter, condescending, rude or obnoxious.

Now I'm off to play one of your lesser links courses up in Scotland.  

Typical american attitude I would say, Green Bay is welcome to you. Have a nice day.

Amazing how you yanks are easily conned into thinking that courses like St Andrews are the hardest and finest in the world, when in actual fact there are many courses dotted around this country that are in a different league, but because they are not on the Pro rota are dismissed.

Wentworth is a classic example of this. There are at least six courses in Surrey alone that are more difficult and better than Wentworth, yet everyone raves about it. You need to get out more.

Courses that succumb to low numbers cannot be called difficult. 

Agreed, Wayne, a much more interesting course but unfortunately too easy for the modern player, unless of course they play the "New", much more difficult.

No one goes to Sunningdale to play the "New", Wayne, everyone wants to play the "Old". Quuite rightly so.

I played the course many times during the sixties, when fees were reasonable. 

Yes Paul, it is Royal St. Davids.

Thanks Kevin for confirming that there are many quality courses outside of the St. Andrews triangle that never get a mention. Still if he wishes to waste his money on nostalgia just to get a St.Andrews towel, then who am I to knock him for it.

I think that there are many courses across the world that are trading on reputation alone and if you played them 'blind' you wouldn't be that impressed.  It's been suggested that if Pebble Beach were 20 miles inland no-one would play it.  The reason these courses are in such good condition when the pros arrive is that, due to said reputation, the green fees are so restrictive no-one will play there! 

I played two courses in Florida last year; Orange County National and Disney's Magnolia - Magnolia is where the Funai Classic is held.  Whilst Magnolia was in fantastic condition and a good course, Orange County was better in every way; layout, interest, variation, condition, greens and the green fee was half the price to boot (with a free glove and cap!).  To this day I have not played a better course than Orange County and would make a point of playing either of their courses again if I were in the area. 

Let's start a campaign to raise the profile of the unsung heroes!

Open venes are chosen for there abilities to absorb large galleries and provide enough accommodation for both players and spectators alike. This is probably why the Open has never been held at Saunton G.C. in North Devon. A course that would test the very best. Why is Royal Cinque Ports not on the rota? too tough I amgine.

It is also worth remembering that there are many clubs who would not welcome such an intrusion by the Professional community. I could just imagine Swinley Forest receiving an invitation to hold a championship. I am sure it would be quickly rejected, as it is imposible to pay a green fee there, members and guests only. Guests play free. I was fortunate enough to play there in a match against Fern Hill(Swinley Forest) artisans when I was a member of St.Georges Hill artisans and a truly magnificent course it is.

Not a links course but here's one of Wales best kept secrets a must play http://www.therollsgolfclub.co.uk/index.html

sssh.dont tell anyone else!

Make it an event Paul and I am quite sure we will get enough support to make it worthwhile.

31st would be nice.

Paul,

I'm assuming this is in march? Have you got any costs?

John.

Cheers Kevin.

Paul I would prefer a Sunday.

John.

Looks nice.

I think Nefyn looks nicer.

I'm with you on that Danny, though I think I would take my putter off the tee

And a boat.

Damn, I forgot to get my towels!

I was so busy trying to keep the rain out of my face and all, that keeping my clubs dry at Carnoustie and St. Andrews was an afterthought!  6 layers of clothes, wit two rain jackets didn't help at all.  Toughest two rounds of golf I've ever played wtih 60-80 MPH gusts of wind and pelting rain.

Of course, those members of both clubs at these minor links courses said that it was as tough as it gets in the UK after those two rounds last week.  Of course, they are brainwashed as they live there and I guess their comments don't really count for much considering all the other better links courses in the UK.

That was a silly thing to do michael, after all you could have made a profit stateside on those.

Judging by the rest of your post it is obvious that you missed my point in the very first place.

Having played both the courses you rave about so avidly under normal conditions, and after all, this is the only fair comparison, then you will have already read on this thread that there are many others that appreciate that Scotland is not the only place in these islands that can suffer from extremely high  winds and torrential rain, even at the same time.

When this type of weather descends on links courses around the English coast then there are many courses that you have never heard of, never played, which are well known to be far more difficult than those two you seem to think are the best since sliced bread.

I realise that having been a scratch player and having played all of the courses on the Open Rota that my experiences when compared to a casual visitor from across the water are not worth the paper I am writing on.

Rather a pity that you got uptight about it all as we could have pointed you in the direction of far better value for money and given you something worthwhile to talk about to your friends back home.

John,

I've played some amazing courses in my 55 years, well 35 years of golf that is....

And frankly I could not have gotten any better stories for when I return home that the ones I have now which are priceless.  I've now played on three separate occassions at St. Andrews two of the 8 rounds on The Old Course, and there is simply no better experience than standing on the first tee with the R & A behind you.  Overpriced, yes.  Even at winter rates, these two courses are overpriced but I came here and was not leaving until I played those two courses one more time each.

My only regret is that this economy killed my chances of staying over here permanently because I spent a lot of personal finances making this move that will never be recovered but I justified it by knowing that I was entering the golf capital of the world.  Not to mention that I'm moving back to Boston where one can realistically play golf for six months at the most. The rest of the year there is 3 feet of snow on the ground.

I would dearly have loved to play all these courses here that only the locals know about but my move back to the USA is under the duress of a worldwide economic meltdown.  But I do look forward to playing golf back home on fantastic courses for a fraction of the cost.  My home course was the parking lot for the Ryder Cup in Brookline and it's only a mile from my flat vs an hour or more each way on a tube or train. 

By the way, where is this Neyfn course shown above?  I'd really love to play those holes.  My slice would fit right in to the ocean on both those holes.

Michael,I am pleased that you have enjoyed your stay on this small island of ours and had the chance to play some of our  famous courses, just a pity that you could not get down to the Kent coast where  there are three courses, two of which were on the rota and arguably the toughest Open couse  currently on the Rota. I am referring to Princes, Royal St.Georges and Royal Cinque Ports.

I used to load in Framingham, Mass not far from Boston at the Bryers Good Humour ice cream plant.

Thinking of a week in Scotland this year.

There's some real beauties. Cruden Bay looks gorgeous.

On links courses - my only foray into same was at Wimereux in France a few years ago.  It was the most costly round I've ever had in balls - damn that dune grass.

Michael - My sister lives in Littleton (bout a hour from Boston) and its a lovely area but I know what you mean about the 6 month playing window. Her husband plays round and about there.  We are visiting again this summer and will hopefuly play a couple of times when there.  The only course I played last time was there was at Shaker Hills - but it was a lovely course and, remarkably for me, I actually played reasonably well.