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whats teh difference between a links course and a regular one...?
i keep hearing pros say... whistling straight, looks like a links course, but doesnt play like one.. somethign about the ball bouncing to the green or not bouncing to the green or somethign like that
just wondering..

True links courses are "naturally" created by the actions of wind and water and the grazing and huddling of sheep; thus they are located along the coast and feature plenty of sand, virtually no trees, bunkers where sheep once huddled for protection from the elements, wore the ground bare, and exposed the sand beneath, natural grasses, and natural contours. Areas leading into greens allow shots to be played along the ground from the fairway into the greens, thus the run-up shot. They usually show less evidence of human design and interference with the natural surroundings.

Any other course is either a parkland or woodland course and has obviously been designed specifically for golf. Many are designed in such a way as to make run-up shots less desirable than airborne shots, leading to the designation "target golf." Grass is more lush, trees are more plentiful, bunkers are usually bigger and more "intelligently" or purposefully placed, and elevation changes are more pronounced than on a coastal site.

Whistling Straits mimicks a links course for the reasons vale mentioned and they did use a fescue type grass for the fairways, which is another characteristic of a links course. However, for the approaches they used bentgrass, which may not allow the ball to roll up like a fescue. Think along the lines of bentgrass as velcro compared to fescue. Links style courses also have a different type of bunker (called 'Scotish bunkers), using sod faces that allow for very deep bunkers. The sand in links courses are also, for lack of a better term, looser or more sugarary in texture which tends to a golfer to face more fried egg lies. I don't think WS used these features in their bunker construction - the sand around the greens will probably play very much like the pros see from week to week.

A true links course also plays away from the clubhouse and then returns back toward it on the back nine.

hmm, thats kinda interesting stuff..
what would yall rather play? links or parkland? i think id prefer links cuz no trees=less lost balls...although i suppose i can lose a lotta balls in the ocean :(

Parkland. From what I have seen and watched and heard and read, Links is waaaaay harder. At my skill level, I gotta play the easiest terrain I can! :D

links golf is a totally different game! especially when the wind blows.

im lucky enough to play golf in ireland, which along with scotland is where the best links courses in the world are found.

links courses have lots of swales and bumps, and what seems to be a perfect drive can kick right off the fairway. another big problem is pot bunkers, the things are deadly!!

@ golfer8, you say less lost balls due to no trees, wrong! in links you have gorse, (thick, heavy bushy prickly type stuff) and deep deep deep rough off the fairways, and i mean deep.

remember the open two years ago? when tiger lost his ball on his opening tee-shot in the deep rough and had to walk back to the tee and play another? its thick stuff!

I have had the pleasure to go to Ireland and also play Bandon Dunes (in Oregon) for links golf. Links golf is a lot different. I wouldn't say better or worse just different. Just like playing in the "desert" (Palm Desert, Scottsdale, etc) is different than playing in a wooded parkland or forest.

what course in ireland did you play andlikeit? did you enjoy it?

The golf league I am a member in switched to a "links" type course this past season and I have probably missed more events this year than the past 3-4 combined. I am by no means a great golfer, on my best days I can sneak into the good range. I have a slight left to right ball flight, not much but it is there and I compensate for it. What is killing me on this links course I play is that if your ball is not flying straight, when it lands and hits the side of a mound you don't know where it will end up. This course basically has water, reeds between each fairway so there have been times I have taken 4 or 5 penalty strokes for nine holes. I would have been better off having a more severe slice and clearing the junk between the fairways and just landed on the fairway next to me. Okay, I am done with my rant