The Links Thread

thoscon · 18-03-2014 8:17pm

Playing European club for the first time on Saturday .Any advice/tips ?

PARlance · 18-03-2014 8:44pm

thoscon wrote: »

Playing European club for the first time on Saturday .Any advice/tips ?

You're in for a great day.

Played it last Friday for the first time. If you're playing off the yellows (Open) then my advice would be to play it as you see on the front 9.
Think 7 is the only hole where you have no bunkers and can let loose.

It opens up on the bank 9 a bit, so you can take the driver out with more freedom. If I was playing it again, I'd only use it on a couple of holes on the front.
The yellows bring all the bunkers into play IMO on the front, a bad or good drive and it could end up in them.
So don't be afraid to play short of them (easier said than done).
You'll have a slightly longer iron but it's worth it.

The bunkers are pretty tough, take your medicine.

Watch out for the markers on the 13th, the green is 60 yards.... Yip, yards... From front to back. I was at the red stake, 200 to the centre and it was an 8iron to the pin (front obviously

)

Enjoy

FixdePitchmark · 18-03-2014 9:02pm

PARlance there is the man to ask - I had a poor day,

But will offer it anyway

If you can - avoid bunkers at all cost. So work out clearing distance of bunker - but be aware of the further bunkers. Tee you are on makes a difference here. As greens come most are long - so pin position is a club on many holes. watch this.

But as has been said - most of it is out in front of you.

There are a couple of lads on here who play it a good bit will be on.

thoscon · 18-03-2014 9:26pm

Cheers lads .we are playing in an open so it'll be yellows if that's what you played off parlance .Collecting a 3 iron for my set from foregolf on Thursday so ill probably be using that a lot off the tee box for the front 9 anyways :-)
I've only played the Island and Corballis ,we are gonna try a few more links courses this year ,we've also booked Royal County Down for next month :-)

FixdePitchmark · 18-03-2014 9:53pm

thoscon wrote: »

Cheers lads .we are playing in an open so it'll be yellows if that's what you played off parlance .Collecting a 3 iron for my set from foregolf on Thursday so ill probably be using that a lot off the tee box for the front 9 anyways :-)
I've only played the Island and Corballis ,we are gonna try a few more links courses this year ,we've also booked Royal County Down for next month :-)

Would be perfect for most holes - in fact if you hit the ball well - you could use a 4 or a 5 on some.

Back nine is grand for driver as PAR. said

benny79 · 19-03-2014 5:46pm

played corballis last Thursday first time to play it and a links absolutely loved it told different game(only used my driver 4 times) played well but had a lot of scratches when I hit the rough I could nt play out off it at all! any tips never experienced anything like it before.

highlight was birdie on the 16th index 2 for a 5 pointer!

defo hope to play it again and more links this year!

Ally McIntosh · 19-03-2014 6:13pm

NorfolkEnchants wrote: »

Thanks Alex, appreciate the effort in looking.

I'm not a massive fan of the flyovers, I don't think they do anything to advertise a course. I'd much prefer a website that gives threee lines about a hole than pulls together some 3D graphic - maybe that's just me?

Anyone have any info on how the new 9 in Carne is playing?

Perhaps I can help.

The new 9 are playing well and have matured very nicely in a short time since the opening. That said, you should know the following - although the greens are down to the same height of cut as the original 18, they are still quite bumpy. They deliberately have more significant major undulations as part of the design but the mini-peaks and hollows will take another year or so of top dressing until they are fully eradicated. They are still great fun to putt on at the moment though.

Also, the marram grass if you miss the fairway or first cut of rough is very deep and so if you are wayward, you could be looking at the odd lost ball. Play will start to thin out the grass just off the fairway as it is trampled over the coming months and years.

As long as you bear these two points in mind, then the course is as fully fit and functional as the Hackett 18.

One thing to note at Carne is there are works going on at the 12th hole at present so you could be playing a shorter version.

NorfolkEnchants · 19-03-2014 11:14pm

Ally McIntosh wrote: »

Perhaps I can help.

The new 9 are playing well and have matured very nicely in a short time since the opening. That said, you should know the following - although the greens are down to the same height of cut as the original 18, they are still quite bumpy. They deliberately have more significant major undulations as part of the design but the mini-peaks and hollows will take another year or so of top dressing until they are fully eradicated. They are still great fun to putt on at the moment though.

Also, the marram grass if you miss the fairway or first cut of rough is very deep and so if you are wayward, you could be looking at the odd lost ball. Play will start to thin out the grass just off the fairway as it is trampled over the coming months and years.

As long as you bear these two points in mind, then the course is as fully fit and functional as the Hackett 18.

One thing to note at Carne is there are works going on at the 12th hole at present so you could be playing a shorter version.

Thanks for this Ally, much appreciated. I might just play the Hackett 18 instead then - I'd prefer to enjoy the new 9 as it's meant to be enjoyed once properly finished.

Have you any indication of what is being done to the 12th and when it's likely to be finished?

Cheers for your note.

Dublin Spur · 20-03-2014 2:08pm

playing at the European Club tomorrow
been 5 or 6 years since my last vist
like a kid on christmas eve

TrapperChamonix · 20-03-2014 2:31pm

TrapperChamonix wrote: »

I was thinking about getting a GPS but when I looked at a Golf Buddy (not sure which version) in McGuirks the detail it showed was was just distance to bunkers and water.

Lots of links courses use grass hills and mounds to define the shape and distance you need to hit your drive. In the old Strokesavers these were marked but did not show up on the Golf Buddy. While the information it gave was of some use the information not available would have caused you problems on a number of holes.

So my question is this
What is the best GPS for playing links courses? What level of detail does it provide?

Any Ideas?

Barnseire · 20-03-2014 5:21pm

Great thread. Am a total fan of links golf, and cut my teeth on Corballis. Class public course.

This may be of interest. It's normally €45 mid week in Portmarnock Links, but they're running a special again this year - not widely advertised - Thrifty Tuesday, €30 per person. Great value.

pcasso · 24-03-2014 7:21pm

For anyone interested I recently noticed that The Island can now be booked through Golfnow.ie and there are special deals tee times for €45.
That is an okay price considering the normal green fee is usually between €90 - €120.
Iti s a great links as well in my opinion

FixdePitchmark · 24-03-2014 8:22pm

Liking the Thread - only thing is it is a bit sporadic like a real good first fairway on a great links.

So to change direction again.

Was out practising in that this evening. Not mad enough to be on a course. But I used the range session to hit 100 shots that I would only play on a links - loved it interesting session.

40 punch shots
30 fades to hold ball straight
20 9 irons to 100 yards.
rest wedges. a few low drivers.

Loved it - was thinking it was the only time I went to a range thinking of a Links only. I definitely hit the ball better when I am thinking of a shape as opposed to a swing type.

Strange one.

m r c · 24-03-2014 9:31pm

I definitely hit the ball better when I am thinking of a shape as opposed to a swing type.

This massively applies to me. My home course is links but for a good 2 years I couldn't play a knock down or punch without hooking the crap out if it. That was with all clubs too even my 54 deg would over draw.
It got me annoyed and took me forever to work out that I needed to fade my knock down shots. Now I just fade whatever I want to go in low with 2-3 clubs more hit easy and it works a treat.

I had always thought the fade was a parkland shot though.

Kevinmarkham · 24-03-2014 10:00pm

Last year at the Atlantic Coast Challenge, we started at Rosses Point and we were there so early we headed down to the driving range for a quick warm up. Like you guys I thought about shot shapes and started hitting the driver, trying to keep the ball low. Hit a dozen or so in a row that went straight down the middle, never going above 15 feet. Tiger would have been proud.

1st tee, skied the ball with a massive slice... and went back to hitting my 3 iron off the tee.

FixdePitchmark · 24-03-2014 10:22pm

probably more to do with range being easier.

But - there is a strange psychology going one. If you are almost distracted by the wind - you are concentrating on something else.

I know I've hit a very good punch if, it ends up on RHS of green when wind was from that side. The only way I could be doing that is by opening face more , or it being a faded punch. Writing that it is almost hard to believe that is possible

I think the mistake I made in the past was when I put ball further back in stance , I let the club head close a bit.

It is almost like a Rotella idea - you are using other parts of the brain to hit the shot.

It had me thinking - if we could play golf like that all the time - would it be a useful exercise. More of your golf thinking process should be about , how the ball is going to fly and, where it will end up, as opposed to bloody , lag and plane and swing path and release.

Golfgraffix · 25-03-2014 12:23am

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

It had me thinking - if we could play golf like that all the time - would it be a useful exercise. More of your golf thinking process should be about , how the ball is going to fly and, where it will end up, as opposed to bloody , lag and plane and swing path and release.

I find myself now forgetting about the mechanics and trying to visualise the shot backwards, so in my minds eye i see come back from its landing spot, through the air (with its shape) back to my current lie.

It was the only way I could make the transition from parkland to links.

After 5 years of links I now suffer on soft parkland. I reckon my linksy drive last Saturday at Portumna was costing me 50 yards in spots.

J

the lawman · 25-03-2014 5:46pm

Playing the Island on Thursday.

Does anyone know if they are using many mats if at all?

TrapperChamonix · 25-03-2014 6:08pm

the lawman wrote: »

Playing the Island on Thursday.

Does anyone know if they are using many mats if at all?

Mats from all fairways were being used up to recently.

Now there are specific areas (of high wear) that still require you to play from mats. In truth the majority of the holes / shots are unaffected. I played nine holes on weekend and played off a mat twice.

geeksauce · 25-03-2014 6:36pm

Grew up playing on a links course and to this day they are all I want to play, I enjoy Parkland courses but they are just not the same. I can go to a parkland course and compete with members that play them week in week out, get the same members onto a links course and watch them try flop shots from 2 yards off the green, cracks me up every time.

Links is the true test, something romantic about being out on a links course at 8pm on a summer evening with the evening sun casting long shadows of the flags or the odd mature tree over the multi-coloured fairways and greens, the only sound in the background being the quiet lap of the sea on the beach even the smell of the air beside the sea. Beats walking round a glorified field any day.

That's golf.

Kevinmarkham · 25-03-2014 8:45pm

geeksauce wrote: »

Links is the true test, something romantic about being out on a links course at 8pm on a summer evening with the evening sun casting long shadows

Something like this...

geeksauce · 25-03-2014 8:51pm

Kevinmarkham wrote: »

Something like this...

Spot on

Benny Cake · 25-03-2014 8:56pm

geeksauce wrote: »

Grew up playing on a links course and to this day they are all I want to play, I enjoy Parkland courses but they are just not the same. I can go to a parkland course and compete with members that play them week in week out, get the same members onto a links course and watch them try flop shots from 2 yards off the green, cracks me up every time.

Links is the true test, something romantic about being out on a links course at 8pm on a summer evening with the evening sun casting long shadows of the flags or the odd mature tree over the multi-coloured fairways and greens, the only sound in the background being the quiet lap of the sea on the beach even the smell of the air beside the sea. Beats walking round a glorified field any day.

That's golf.

Condescending much?

dar_cool · 25-03-2014 9:24pm

Kevinmarkham wrote: »

Something like this...

Where is that Kevin? Another one ill add to the list!!!:)

Kevinmarkham · 25-03-2014 9:49pm

dar_cool wrote: »

Where is that Kevin? Another one ill add to the list!!!:)

Approach to the 15th (Index 1) at Enniscrone.

Loire · 25-03-2014 11:38pm

Kevinmarkham wrote: »

Approach to the 15th (Index 1) at Enniscrone.

That hole still gives me nightmares :eek::pac:

FixdePitchmark · 26-03-2014 1:19am

Loire wrote: »

That hole still gives me nightmares :eek::pac:

I hit a lovely shot over that mound once never to be found.

That last stretch - invariably into the wind - is to remind you that at 1 and towards 10 you felt this course is easy.

But a very hard finish.

It is like a crescendo of a links.

geeksauce · 26-03-2014 10:27am

Benny Cake wrote: »

Condescending much?

What is condescending about it, or is that a question, I see the question mark but am confused whether you are making a statement or asking a question?

TrapperChamonix · 26-03-2014 11:05am

geeksauce wrote: »

What is condescending about it, or is that a question, I see the question mark but am confused whether you are making a statement or asking a question?

"Links is the true test, ........"
".............Beats walking round a glorified field any day."

geeksauce · 26-03-2014 11:11am

TrapperChamonix wrote: »

"Links is the true test, ........"
".............Beats walking round a glorified field any day."

Yes and your point.

That is my opinion, I feel that links is a true test, and yes I prefer it to walking around a parklands course (or glorified field) again my opinion.

If you are a parkland course you might be upset by me saying that but someone who plays a parkland course shouldn't be. This is a thread about links golf, so chances are the posters here would have an affinity for it and would prefer it to Parklands Golf, if that upsets you maybe this isn't the thread for you.

The Links Thread

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