If you’re planning a trip to any authentic dating courses, here’s what you need to know. Because the golfer who tries to play golf the same way they play their course at home is going to have a very long, very frustrating day.
The wind is not your enemy. Yours Ball flight it’s
One of the elements that makes links golf confusing is trying to hit your high standard, floating ball flight that works on your home course into a 25 mph headwind. Or windy. Or windy.
You should learn the knockdown before you arrive. Take a club or two longer than normal, grip about an inch, put the ball back into position and take a three-quarter swing with a shortened follow through. The goal is a ball that flies low, penetrates the wind and bounces forward when it lands.
Practice this at home. He hit 50 knockdown rule 7-iron in the range until it feels comfortable. On a links course, this is your new stock shot. The golfer who can drive the ball down, owns the links. He who can’t will lose a dozen balls to the bushes and tall grass.
Forget target golf. Play in zones
On your home course, you probably aim for flags. You think in terms of exact yards and landing spots. Golf links don’t work that way.
The greens are massive, contoured and usually very firm. The fairways may be twice as wide as you’re used to, but there are contours that spill the balls into terrifying spots. You can’t fly him into a number and expect him to stop. The ball will bounce and roll maybe 50 or more yards after landing.
Instead of targeting the needle, target the areas. Where is the widest part of the freeway? Which side of the green gives me the easiest two-shot? If I lose, where is the loss that still leaves me a chance?
Links golf rewards strategic thinking over accurate execution. The golfer who plays conservatively into the thick of each green will shoot better than the one who drives the pins all day long.
Embrace the ground game
On the links courses, the turf around the greens is closely mowed. There is nothing drastic to worry about. This means that when you are 40, 60 or even more yards from the green, you can take a 7-iron or 8-iron, putt the ball very short and let it drop onto the putting surface.
This is golf the way it was played hundreds of years before modern agronomy made soft greens possible. And honestly? It’s a lot easier than trying to hit a wedge high into the wind.
Get comfortable hitting these running shots before your trip. Go to the chipped green, grab a mid-iron and practice landing the ball on the fringe and let it roll out. You will use this shot a dozen times a round and it will save you hits.
Your soccer player is your best friend
In a links course, you will putt from outside the green more than ever in your life. Thirty yards off the green on a narrow fairway? Putter. Fringe, freeway, even a little rough? Putter.
The ground game counts for everything and your putter is the most reliable club to keep the ball low and control distance.
When in doubt, put it on. You’d be shocked how often this works.
Final thought
Links golf is no more difficult than “regular” golf. It’s just different. The golfer who accepts this, adjusts his strategy and leaves his ego in the club will have the round of his life.
Stop trying to beat him. Play smart, stay downwind and embrace the ground game. Learn to love relationships.
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