 The term
"links" in the 21st century has a much wider use in
golf than it did over 100 years ago, as the game of golf has
spread to every corner of the globe. Nowadays, "links"
is often interchangeable with golf course. We often hear the
term "inland links" applied to denote an open course
without trees, although most golfers are aware that this is not
a true links course. More commonly, many golfers believe that
any course by the sea is a links course. This is also incorrect,
for example Pebble Beach Golf Links and Old Head Golf Links, two
of the most famous coastal courses in the world, are not links
courses as they do not sit on links land. They are in fact
clifftop courses, although the "links" term has been
used very successfully for marketing purposes.
The origin of the term
"links" is far more specific. It was used to define
land along the coastlines that linked the sea with more fertile
land suitable for farming. It was created in ancient times as
the seas receded at the end of the last ice age, and left new
land which had the following characteristics:
- Sand based, after all it
was once the seabed!
- In some areas, huge dunes
created by the wind's effect on the sand, similar to those
found in the deserts
- A furrowed surface carved
out by the water channels as they pulled back from the land.
- A barren landscape,
suitable only for tough vegetation capable of growing in
sand such as the coarse grasses and gorse we find today.
Put together, they created the
bouncy, fast running and undulating playing surfaces we have
today which are impossible to manually recreate.
By a series of geological
quirks, most of the links land that exists in the world today
was found in the British Isles and across the North Sea on the
coastline that stretches from Belgium to Denmark. The main
factors were the way the supercontinent "Pangaea"
broke into the continents we have today, the extent of the last
ice age and the unique climate created in the British Isles by
the gulfstream.
Many believe that the Dutch
were the original inventors of golf, but it is in Scotland
during the 15th century that the game took hold. As we explained
above, links land was not suitable for agriculture so it was
instead used to graze sheep (and if you visit courses such as
Royal North Devon and Brora you will find that it still is!) The
shepherds must have had some spare time on their hands so they
wiled away the hours using their staffs to hit pebbles into
rabbit holes, and the game of golf was born. Golf is derived
from the old Scottish word "gowff" meaning to hit.
As the game took hold, courses
were laid out. The early links architects did not have the earth
moving equipment we have today, but the nature of the links land
meant they did not need it to layout a challenging course. The
undulation of the land and the bounce of the turf created its
own problems. The architect simply had to find suitable ridges
and dells which would provide tricky places in which to place a
flagstick. Add to this the strong coastal winds, the golfer
would have an ample challenge in getting the ball close to the
hole. The grazing sheep clearly did not consider this to be
enough of a challenge, so they added another one of their own.
In bad weather, they would burrow in swales to find shelter.
This would often erode the grass surface and the bunkers that
ensued rendered the golfer with an additional conundrum to
solve. Whilst the technology may have changed, the game of links
golf essentially remains the same to this day.
So, the original from of golf
was the golf played on links land, and only courses laid out on
links land can truly be called links golf courses. Once you have
played links golf and sampled the unique way in which the game
is played, I am sure you will be a convert!
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