There is no greater test of a golfer’s adaptability than links golf.
With The Open Championship and Scottish Open providing yet another reminder of just how different golf by the sea can be, many club golfers will find it quite the challenge this summer.
Players will face firmer fairways, stronger winds, tighter lies and a more challenging mental approach than they’re used to for the majority of the season.
The game may look the same, but the way we each play it can often differ. From changing your strategy off the tee to learning to trust a bump-and-run instead of a lob wedge, links golf demands a different skillset.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Your Golf by NCG podcast, PGA professional Jack Backhouse and professional golfer Nicola Slater discussed the biggest adjustments golfers should make when taking on a links course.
Keep the ball low
One of the big challenges of links courses is how much of a role wind and firm ground play. It’s often spoken about just how much influence they have on every tee shot.
Rather than just instinctively reaching for driver and trying to launch the ball high, Backhouse believes golfers should use the conditions to their advantage. He explains the importance of keeping the ball down and allowing it to run.
He notes it is something we often see at the Open Championship, especially at this year’s edition.
“People are going to generally hit the ball a lot lower off the tee because the ground’s rock hard,” he said. “The grass type in Scotland and by the seaside is different to certainly what you’d see on the PGA Tour, where the grass is like really thick and the ball stops when it lands.
“You’re going to see lots of people like swapping out nine woods for two irons and three irons, and you’re going to see a lot of people like like chipping three woods, chipping irons off tees.”
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Learn to use the ground
Perhaps the biggest adjustment around links greens is being more creative with your shot choice.
At most parklands you can just grab your highest lofted wedge and throw it up in the air. But often, links golf is very different.
Slater explained that golfers who regularly play parkland courses often become reliant on lofted wedges before quickly discovering that links golf rewards a far more creative approach.
“I think it would be more like the preparation when I got there, right? In terms of in my practice round, hitting plenty of putts from like off the green.
“I guess when I was a junior, I would just go 58 degree everywhere, 60 degree everywhere type thing. Go for the high route every possible chance. Then you get to links (courses) and it’s like, ‘oh, eight iron is my best friend now’.”
Backhouse agrees, alluding to the turf forcing golfers to alter their approach. He remembered Tiger Woods practicing outrageous shots around the green the likes of which you would never see in America.
“Because it’s so firm and there isn’t loads of stuff to carry around the greens. You can put up slopes, the grass is very tight, it’s very firm so you have way more options playing short game shots around the greens.”
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