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The Links Thread

FixdePitchmark

So - how about a thread about Links Golf.

I know many will say - but it fits into other threads.

But (IMO) - it doesn't in many ways.
Be it , the best deals to play the classics,
the 8 iron from 90 yards.

I think we need our own thread (A Links Golf Thread) - (This is not an Epic Thread)

There is a small bunch of golfers here, that are in this links space. I hope we can build it into a group that play the big ones in Ireland and UK.

Let's face it, running around under pine trees and taking your ball out of a pitch mark is not every-bodies cup of tea.

So , be it, The Hillary Society ,links grass types, or whatever ?

this is The Links thread.

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Comments

FixdePitchmark

thewobbler wrote: »

I like a flat links myself Fixed. I like all golf courses.

But I think it's only fair to call a spade a spade, and as a golfing experience, Baltray doesn't match the expectations that rankings create.

To rephrase my point on golf rankings - if Baltray was genuinely marked in the same way as Druids Glen or Headfort New according to Golf Digest's criteria, then it's going to lose at least 1 mark to each in the categories of scenery (Baltray has 1 outstanding view, while the parklands are immense walks through the country), design variety (every possible challenge is there on the parklands, Baltray without wind has about 6 long straight 440 yard par 4s), condition (all are good, Druids is best) and playability (Headfort is genuinely playable off the front tees for anyone, and challenging for anyone off the backs), and at least 2 marks in terms of memorability (I can still remember 14-15 holes in both parklands and haven't visited in 3 years, while I can remember maybe 5 holes in Baltray).

That's a lot of marks to make back on shotmaking/variety, let alone enough to push it 30-odd places higher in the final rankings. So in my mind, the high ranking of Baltray is false: it's a biased preference for old school golf.

I'd have to agree with your logic.

When I look at rankings - I look at Links List - Parkland List.

It seems - the prestige - history - tourist attraction , adds to the markings.

I'd still rather play a top links than - the two courses you mentioned , but that is just me.

I guess this is a debate for rankings - This is The Links Thread - we don't mention parks here

TrapperChamonix

Oh course you know the one about the Japanese 4 ball who played 1 to 13 on Baltray and then 15 to 18 in Seapoint. Got back to the club house and assumed their car had been stolen.
I swear it's true. Well everyone in Seapoint tells the story anyway.

mike12

TrapperChamonix wrote: »

Oh course you know the one about the Japanese 4 ball who played 1 to 13 on Baltray and then 15 to 18 in Seapoint. Got back to the club house and assumed their car had been stolen.
I swear it's true. Well everyone in Seapoint tells the story anyway.

Have heard that stort in both Seapoint and Baltray how they got the buggy up the Dune is a mystery.

Think we are a bit spoiled here by having links courses with dunes. All the courses in St. Andrews are pan flat and all the open venues look much the same.
The more times you play Baltray the more you get to like it, not a fan of the type of rough think Rosses Point have that down to prefection you can walk up and find your ball in most parts of the course but a lot of the time you can't move it very far.

Think i said earlier if you took courses like Carne, Enniscrone, Murvagh, Nairn, Ballyliffin, Rospenna all available for €60 or less and then got the same group to play the like of Royal Dublin, The Island, RCD, Baltray, Portmarnock,Lachinch without knowing the cost or name of any of the courses think the group under €60 would win the overall battle.

Felexicon

Corballis in the morning..........can't wait

FixdePitchmark

Felexicon wrote: »

Corballis in the morning..........can't wait

Easy and short course.

weekend comp meself, playing two course, both Christmas trees.

blackwhite

Not quite what we are used to here - Whistling Straits in Wisconsin - venue for next year's PGA and for the 2020 Ryder Cup.

Unfortunately was just passing through on the way to Green Bay so didn't have time to shell out the $370 for a round :eek:

That said, if I'd the time to enjoy a round there I think I'd be tempted, it looked unreal.

Felexicon

Corballis it is in the morning. Weather is supposed to be better.

I'm also taking the plunge and signing up to be member there tomorrow. Should be an interesting winter of golf.

FixdePitchmark

Felexicon wrote: »

Corballis it is in the morning. Weather is supposed to be better.

I'm also taking the plunge and signing up to be member there tomorrow. Should be an interesting winter of golf.

Best of luck - I play there a good bit in winter.

Some of the best condition winter golf i have seen is out there.

Eoinyh

Felexicon wrote: »

Corballis it is in the morning. Weather is supposed to be better.

I'm also taking the plunge and signing up to be member there tomorrow. Should be an interesting winter of golf.

How much is the membership, does it include the rest of this year an next?

Felexicon

Eoinyh wrote: »

How much is the membership, does it include the rest of this year an next?

Yeah it's 15 months for the price of 12.
Full membership is €695 but there are a number of options available

FixdePitchmark

Kevinmarkham wrote: »

Not at all, Fix - not a question of money, simply a matter of trying to add in a practice area (holes 3 and 4 are to become the practice range) which RCD lacks, and the fact that the new holes are in the biggest and most spectacular dunes. The three new holes completely surround the dune I took the photograph from. I'll put up shots of the other two holes in due course. They will add length, but not a lot. Pars 4, 4 and 3 and they will be the new 9th, 10th and 11th.

The big course has stayed very much the same and won't be touched (unlike Rosses Point) so they rarely tinker with it, but they saw an opportunity to make Annesley better than it already is... sorry you feel your best golf was wasted on it - I think it's the trickiest short course in the country and the greens are like velvet. I love it.

There are no changes planned whatsoever for the big course for the Irish Open.

I love Annesley Links too - I guess I would have loved to play like that on big course next day.

Would love to hit low 80s - 80 on RCD. In dream land, break 80 - but on that course you are one shot away from a double or worse. This risk is on every hole.

A couple of lads on here have had mid 70 rounds - class stuff lads - one on his first round

Plan on heading up in winter (maybe) - but I hear prices are going up in 2015 - it is mad money to play the place. £185 (sterling) - A 4 ball £740 - they were packed out the gate at that rate when I was there.

May stick it up here, head up in November - stay over and play next day - I'd say it can be wild up there then - but there are lads on here would play in anything.

The Annesley is a class little course - could see the members and younger lads use it as practice , I was just thinking imagine this is your practice course. Absolute heaven.
Could see an older gent well in eighties milling balls down the first as practice (had a few pints with him that night) - yes, is strange they don't have a practice range. But, you could argue - why on earth would you practice when you can go out and play RCD - practice would be a waist of rounds.

Maybe the best practice for real links golf - is to play links golf

But that is another days debate.

On the money thing Kevin - at that green fee rate - they must have money they don't know what to do with.

In the long run - would they now have their eye on The Big One - The Open Championship.

Anyway - class place , a place I'll be back to every 2nd year to come.

Ronney

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Plan on heading up in winter (maybe) - but I hear prices are going up in 2015 - it is mad money to play the place. £185 (sterling) - A 4 ball £740 - they were packed out the gate at that rate when I .

Mourne golf club, the "locals club' with playing rights on RCD have an open week usually in July just before The Open with comps on the main course for £ 50. One of the best bargains going for a top links in the heart of summer

FixdePitchmark

Ronney wrote: »

Mourne golf club, the "locals club' with playing rights on RCD have an open week usually in July just before The Open with comps on the main course for £ 50. One of the best bargains going for a top links in the heart of summer

Great call Ronney - sounds a plan.

Love RCD - but to pay full fees is a source of madness even if you "have" the money.

Kevinmarkham

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

Great call Ronney - sounds a plan.

Love RCD - but to pay full fees is a source of madness even if you "have" the money.

That's the beauty of RCD - you don't need to play in peak season to play this course at its best. I've played in Feb, March and Nov and had fantastic conditions. And only one of those times was I off the forward tees. No mats in winter. You could probably book 2 to 3 days ahead when you have some inkling of what the weather is doing, and play it for £50 - £60.

I'd probably pay £50 to play the 9th hole alone:

FixdePitchmark

Happy to say I parred 9 the 2 times I played it in May. Funny how you remember stuff like that.
I'd say you could go way more left on that tee than you think - the tee box you are on can throw you but.
If you go right - very hard shot over dune at green - or the fade of your life.

Sold - heading up in November. If not, I'm going Feb.

Barnseire

Taken yesterday, looking back to the 17th green from the 18th fairway in Corballis after my partner had hit a 7 iron to 2 feet to bring our match back to all square after turning the front 4 down. Solid gold !!!

BigChap1759

^^

fantastic Photo

mike12

Pictures of Corballis always look super, it is a shame it isn't 5/600 yards longer and a touch more forgiving and it would be amongst the best on the east coast.

gypsy79

mike12 wrote: »

Pictures of Corballis always look super, it is a shame it isn't 5/600 yards longer and a touch more forgiving and it would be amongst the best on the east coast.

The main problem is it is way too unforgiving in parts then completely and totally forgiving for some holes (15 and 16 in particular)

Played there Saturday blowing a gale

FixdePitchmark

gypsy79 wrote: »

The main problem is it is way too unforgiving in parts then completely and totally forgiving for some holes (15 and 16 in particular)

Played there Saturday blowing a gale

I know people are sick of me saying it - but it is not hard if you know how to play it.
It is the most course knowledge dependant course I have ever seen.

I've played with lads from their first outing to when they eventual get it. The number of lads you see hit long irons on 2 - driver/3wood on 5 - something too long on 7 - driver on 8 - something too long on 11, being short on 13 (why) - wrong club on 17 - driver on 18.

These are all things that are going to be doubles etc.

So - so many shots are lost by choices (IMO)

Look I haven't gone around in par - and make mistakes - but it is a place the punishes wrong choices very heavily.

FixdePitchmark

Just to add on Corballis

If it was longer - would it have the same feel - I've often had a think about that. Is it the shortness that adds to the mystery ?

Like 2 - 4 - 6 - 7 , are all small , but the fact they are small has you playing clubs you never would play. How often do you have to position an 8 iron off a tee.

Hitting a sw off a tee box is an unusual thing to do. I like the test. Enjoying a bit of actual backspin, at our level is a bit of excitement.

I'm not sure how I feel about the lengthening debate.

If it was longer - it wouldn't be what it is - if you get me.

mike12

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

I know people are sick of me saying it - but it is not hard if you know how to play it.
It is the most course knowledge dependant course I have ever seen.

I've played with lads from their first outing to when they eventual get it. The number of lads you see hit long irons on 2 - driver/3wood on 5 - something too long on 7 - driver on 8 - something too long on 11, being short on 13 (why) - wrong club on 17 - driver on 18.

These are all things that are going to be doubles etc.

So - so many shots are lost by choices (IMO)

Look I haven't gone around in par - and make mistakes - but it is a place the punishes wrong choices very heavily.

Thing is i know how to play it but you can be a yard out and have a lost ball or no shot. When it is windy it is hard to be that accurate.

PARlance

Just after finishing up in Corballis

I've played there with Fix a good few times and have learned my lesson the hard way.
However, once you figure out the right club (subject to the wind) it makes it a lot less of a struggle.
Every hole has a large enough landing zone... with the right club.

Irons of every tee today bar 15 (hybrid) and 16 (driver). Took a 7i off the tee on the index 1 3rd and walked away with par. Not many holes where you take a 7i, hybrid, wedge in that order!!!

No lost balls today either

Went around in 79 (13 over) and putted as badly as I have done in a while.
2 costly doubles and a treble ruined a very good card, all from going through the green and into cabbage

Was reminded that I had some 2's money when booking. Over €50 was a nice little bonus from 2 previous rounds.

Fix should do tours of the place.
Agree with the extra yardage comment from Mike, it's a couple of par 5 's and a couple of longer par 4's away from being a match for anywhere.

FixdePitchmark

This not The Corballis thread.

But to finish - played with a lad lately who has had a 59 there - yes a 59.

I will have a par round there , one of these decades.

charlieIRL

let me know the next saturday you're playing up there and i'll try get up - need to see this place after reading all your posts!! (i may need to buy some balls though!!!)

Barnseire

The reason, I think that Corballis gets so much posts in this thread is because it is one of the very few public links course in the country. That and the fact that it is a very good test of golf.

It has always had a very active and dedicated membership, and testament to that is the number of clubs that spawned out of it. It housed the original Donabate GC which was only 6 or 7 holes when it was there and it moved down the road during the 20s. Forrest Little was the next club to be started there and they subsequently moved out to their present location beside the airport. Then the Dublin County council took over ownership of the course, and Dublin & County Golf club started there. One it's its founding members was Pat Ruddy of European club fame, and they built the club house next door to the current clubhouse. It's now derelict unfortunately, but the club had the prestige of becoming the first club who were affiliated to the GUI who didn't own their own course. Dublin & County subsequently moved over the road to form Balcarrick GC during the 90s. Quite an impressive feat for a small course. Will the current membership do something similar in years to come ? Looks unlikely in the present climate but history may repeat itself.

PARlance

There ya go. That's how tough it is... 3 seperate groups of members down through the years have gone and set up another golf club altogether just to get a cut

Dealerz

PARlance wrote: »

There ya go. That's how tough it is... 3 seperate groups of members down through the years have gone and set up another golf club altogether just to get a cut

That's made me laugh- and id say there is probably some truth in it.

Felexicon

gypsy79 wrote: »

The main problem is it is way too unforgiving in parts then completely and totally forgiving for some holes (15 and 16 in particular)

Played there Saturday blowing a gale

Saturday was though going alright.
I enjoy the challenge the course provides and as stated above it's the only course with such a variety of tee shots needed. Playing it again in the morning.

Barnaboy

charlieIRL wrote: »

let me know the next saturday you're playing up there and i'll try get up - need to see this place after reading all your posts!! (i may need to buy some balls though!!!)

I'm playing it next week on Thursday morning (30th) if you're interested? I know it's midweek but the schools are off, so you might be too?