Links-Style Course
A links-style course is a golf course built on sandy, coastal ground with firm, fast turf, few or no trees, and heavy exposure to wind. The term describes both true seaside links in places like Scotland and Ireland, and inland courses designed to copy that firm, open playing style.
What is a links-style course?
Picture a golf hole with no trees in sight and grass rippling sideways in the wind. The green looks close enough to putt at from 40 yards out. That’s a links-style course. The ball hits the fairway and keeps going, sometimes another 20 or 30 yards past where it landed, because the ground underneath is sandy and drains fast rather than soaking up the shot.
The style traces back to Scotland, where golf grew up on linksland, the sandy strip of coastal ground between the beach and the farmland further inland. Nobody designed those early courses the way a modern architect designs one today. The land was already rolling, sandy, and treeless, so golfers played it as they found it.
A links-style course today doesn’t have to sit on the coast to earn the label. Any course built to play firm, fast, and open, rewarding low shots that run along the ground instead of high shots that stop on contact, gets called links-style. What separates a true links from a links-style course is the ground itself: true links sit on genuine coastal linksland, while links-style courses copy the look and the shot demands without the same sandy, seaside foundation.
Key characteristics
A handful of features show up again and again on links-style courses, and together they’re what make the style recognizable from the first tee.
| Feature | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sandy, well-drained soil | Keeps the ground firm and fast, even after rain |
| Few or no trees | Leaves the course exposed to wind and open sightlines |
| Undulating terrain | Rolling dunes and natural ridges shape the holes |
| Deep pot bunkers | Small, steep-walled sand traps that are tough to escape |
| Firm, fast greens | Ball releases and rolls rather than stopping on landing |
| Thick fescue rough | Wiry native grass that punishes wayward shots |
| Wind exposure | Coastal winds shift shot strategy hole to hole |
Because the ground is so firm, low, running shots often beat high approach shots that would spin to a stop on softer turf elsewhere. Many links-style courses are also routed as an “outward” nine heading one direction along the coast and an “inward” nine returning the other way, so golfers face changing wind directions across the round rather than the same crosswind for 18 straight holes.
Links-style vs. true links
Not every course calling itself “links” is one in the strict sense. A true links course sits on real coastal linksland: sandy dunes formed by the sea over centuries, with natural drainage and only minimal earth-moving involved in its construction, unlike most modern courses. St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and Royal County Down are true links for that reason.
A links-style course, by contrast, is designed to mimic that same firm, open, treeless character without sitting on genuine coastal sand. Whistling Straits in Wisconsin, built on Lake Michigan rather than the ocean, is a well-known example. So is Sand Hills Golf Club in Nebraska, nowhere near a coastline but built on sandy, dune-covered terrain that plays the part convincingly.
Neither version is “fake” golf. The distinction just tells you what to expect: true links come with centuries of natural weathering behind them, while links-style courses are a deliberate design choice built to recreate that same firm, ground-game test.
Links-style vs. parkland courses
The clearest way to understand a links-style course is to compare it with its opposite: a parkland course.
| Links-style | Parkland | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Coastal or open, minimal earth-moving | Inland, heavily landscaped |
| Trees | Few to none | Common, often lining fairways |
| Turf | Firm, fast, sandy-based | Soft, lush, clay- or loam-based |
| Ideal shot | Low, run-up shots along the ground | High approach shots that stop on landing |
| Wind’s role | A constant factor in strategy | Reduced by trees and terrain |
| Bunkers | Deep, steep-walled pot bunkers | Wider, shallower sand traps |
A parkland course rewards flying the ball to a target and stopping it there, the kind of golf most players learn on first. A links-style course asks for something different: reading the ground and trusting that a shot landing short of the green can still finish next to the pin.
Famous links-style courses
Britain and Ireland hold the largest concentration of true links courses anywhere, including the Old Course at St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Royal Dornoch, Royal County Down, and Royal Portrush. The Open Championship, golf’s oldest major, is always played on a links course, one of the things that sets it apart from the three majors held in the United States.
Bandon Dunes in Oregon is often cited as the closest thing to a true links experience in the U.S. Chambers Bay in Washington, which hosted the 2015 U.S. Open, is another well-known links-style layout.
Related Golf Terms
- Closely mown area — Tightly cut turf around greens where players may putt or chip.
- Second cut — The deeper band of rough beyond the first cut.
- Spectator mound — Raised ground built to give galleries a clear view of play.
- Letting through — Allowing a faster group to pass on the course.
- Drainage ditch — A channel cut to carry water off the course, often playing as a hazard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do links-style courses have to be near the ocean?
No. While true links courses sit on coastal linksland, links-style courses can be built anywhere the architect wants firm, open, wind-exposed golf. Inland examples like Sand Hills Golf Club recreate the look and play without a coastline nearby.
Why don’t links-style courses have many trees?
Trees don’t grow well in the thin, sandy, wind-battered soil that defines linksland, and early course builders left the land largely as they found it. Modern links-style courses often skip trees on purpose to keep the wind and open sightlines part of the challenge.
Is a links-style course harder to play than a parkland course?
Often, yes, mainly because of wind and unpredictable bounces on firm turf. A shot that would sit still on a parkland green can run 20 yards past the hole on a links-style green. Difficulty still depends heavily on the specific course and the conditions on a given day.
What kind of shots work best on a links-style course?
Low, controlled shots that stay under the wind and use the ground to reach the target tend to outperform high, soft-landing shots. A close look at how the wind is moving before each shot matters more here than on most other course types.
Sources
- Wikipedia. “Links (golf).” Accessed August 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Links_(golf) - Ship Sticks. “What is a Links Style Golf Course?.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.shipsticks.com/blog/what-is-a-links-style-golf-course/ - Hole19. “Parkland vs Links Golf: Understanding Course Styles.” Accessed August 2026.
https://www.hole19golf.com/the-19th-hole/parkland-vs-links-golf-course-styles - BBC Sport. “What is a links golf course?.” Accessed August 2026.
https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/sport/golf/articles/c70xv0501qvo - Golf.com. “Here are the 6 different types of golf courses, explained.” Accessed August 2026.
https://golf.com/travel/6-types-golf-courses-explained/
