What type of course do you prefer?

We've not done this yet on 606v2 so here is a chance to vote and also explain why you prefer your choice. For me it's a no brainer, links every time. I just love the salt air, the variation of shots, the wind, the bounces whether they go for or against you.

Heathland for me but links a close second.

What is downland and what courses are examples of downland?


I have voted links.

McLaren wrote:What is downland and what courses are examples of downland?


I have voted links.

My previous course was downland, built on top of a hill. Generally tend to be quite open but prone to a bit of wind. Almost like an inland links really. Here is an example

http://www.hockleygolfclub.com/pages.php/course-map.html/69968bf3-2d25-102c-b277-bf577546002b.html

So does this count as downland

http://www.painswickgolf.com/

Yeah I would say so, looks similar to the link I posted.

Links for me everytime, the fresh sea breeze, the natural undulations, the varying shot types required playing golf in its most natural form against the elements is the purest challenge available for me.

this should really be conducted under the a/v system ...

for me, links and heathland always feel right. parkland often comes across like the little brother trying a little too hard to be noticed. not as easy to maintain, and therefore often missing those little details that make a course memorable.

I voted Parkland simply because it's what I'm used to. I first learned the game almost 35 years ago as a junior on a links course but now I live almost as far away from the seaside as is possible in this country, I haven't had a chance to play a decent links course in years. If I were more familiar with links in my adult golfing life then I may well have voted for that, but as it is I've had to go parkland

Sorry links lovers, it's parkland for me. I've grown up on the Ayrshire coast but just cannot accept the wicked bounces etc from good shots associated with links golf. I know it's a disgrace, but i can't help it. At least on parkland you get what you hit, good or bad.

links golf tips its hat to reality in that respect. parkland always seems too simplistic and idealist. incidentally i find the better i play on a links, the better the bounces are. margins for error are tighter and course management and local knowledge are key. i find parkland courses demand a more robotic mentality of me.

links for me definitely despite years of inland golf in the midlands and then bavaria. possibly because there's always an excuse for my golf (wind, bounce, sea...)

just out of interest and for those who've played them, how would you classify the woburn courses? there's certainly a bit of heathland but i'd call them woodland courses, particularly the duchess (never had the pleasure of playing the marquess as that was built after i left). can't call them parkland as they've been carved out of pine forest, largely.

talking of wicked bounces... after our [parkland] greens were hollow cored last week, i've not had a single chip in the last 2 rounds which bounced in the direction it landed. bounces 'up' the slope are particularly hard to accept. can't wait to hit the links next weekend!!!

graeme wrote:links for me definitely despite years of inland golf in the midlands and then bavaria. possibly because there's always an excuse for my golf (wind, bounce, sea...) ;)

just out of interest and for those who've played them, how would you classify the woburn courses? there's certainly a bit of heathland but i'd call them woodland courses, particularly the duchess (never had the pleasure of playing the marquess as that was built after i left). can't call them parkland as they've been carved out of pine forest, largely.

Graeme, have not played woburn but I believe it is in the sandbelt region around London where most courses seem classified as heathland. Although the important thing is the sand based nature of these courses. There is a vast difference between courses built inland on sand and courses classified as parkland.

For example the great inland courses in the USA are clearly not parkland but at the same time are not links, the crucial thing is the sand content of the soil. So courses like Oakmont, shinnecock (although near the sea), bethpage black, merion, pine valley, winged foot, pinehurst, passatiempo etc. So should there be another category for inland sand based courses that are not heathland?

5531stuart wrote:Sorry links lovers, it's parkland for me. I've grown up on the Ayrshire coast but just cannot accept the wicked bounces etc from good shots associated with links golf. I know it's a disgrace, but i can't help it. At least on parkland you get what you hit, good or bad.

Hang your head in shame man! :spank:

I know D4S, think i'll have to move inland, just a softie really

Links every time. It's where the game started, it's the way it's supposed to be played. Also living 60 odd miles from the nearest bit of coast, I don't get to play it that often, making it all the more special. I remember my days out at Littlestone, Princes, St George's, Cinque Ports, Laystown & Bettystown, St Andrews so much clearer than any on inland courses. I just love it!!

When you think about it the question should really be "do you like to play golf".

If you like links or heathland then answer yes, if you say parkland then you like playing something similar to golf but it is most definitely not golf.

Mac, for someone who gets their golf balls from a charity shop and goes to the practice range with a tesco bag you can be curiously pious and strangely snooty about your attitude to golf and golf courses.
Simply because links was the original form of golf it doesn't mean that courses can't "evolve" and be classed as parkland ( or would that be blasphemy).

The first ever car had three wheels, does that mean that the only "cars" that currently exist are Bond Bugs and Reliant Robins and all other cars are merely abominations of motor cars and that you aren't driving a car if you have one?

If I had to play golf on a links all the time I would get pretty bored with the lack of trees, water, manicured fairways, soft greens etc, even though I've got 5 at my disposal. Yes it's nice, traditional and challenging if the wind blows but I like to be able to play heathland, parkland, clifftop (eg. the wonderful Castle which I'm playing tomorrow) and any other type of course which might be out there for the variety and to test my game out.
Variety is the spice of life and all work and no play makes Mac a dull boy.
Get your nose out of Doaks evil book, and get out there and play some of those "heinous" "heathen" courses and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

super_realist wrote:Mac, for someone who gets their golf balls from a charity shop and goes to the practice range with a tesco bag you can be curiously pious and strangely snooty about your attitude to golf and golf courses.
Simply because links was the original form of golf it doesn't mean that courses can't "evolve" and be classed as parkland ( or would that be blasphemy).

The first ever car had three wheels, does that mean that the only "cars" that currently exist are Bond Bugs and Reliant Robins and all other cars are merely abominations of motor cars and that you aren't driving a car if you have one?

If I had to play golf on a links all the time I would get pretty bored with the lack of trees, water, manicured fairways, soft greens etc, even though I've got 5 at my disposal. Yes it's nice, traditional and challenging if the wind blows but I like to be able to play heathland, parkland, clifftop (eg. the wonderful Castle which I'm playing tomorrow) and any other type of course which might be out there for the variety and to test my game out.
Variety is the spice of life and all work and no play makes Mac a dull boy.
Get your nose out of Doaks evil book, and get out there and play some of those "heinous" "heathen" courses and prepare to be pleasantly surprised.

Super

For a start I love many inland courses, just not those that I would call parkland. For example the braids, which I play often is an inland course that I really enjoy but is certainly not parkland. Not sure what you would call it and it may well be about a doak 3.

I like pebble beach and despite its name it is certainly not a links course, maybe I would use your cliff top definition.

Here is a list of courses that I class as typical parkland, and may help you to see what I dislike.


New gleneagles course
the belfry
celtic manor
deer park
the oxfordshire
the roxburgh
loch lomond


It is not a case of snobbery more my preferences.

Of those you list, I've only player The Oxfordshire - but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Oxfordshire

Hmmmm interesting. Definitely not parkland due to so few trees on the course. Maybe I should have included another category, American style courses.

I've played the Oxfordshire many times and its very far removed from being a parkland course.

Mac have you ever played those in your list? Because Celtic Manor 2010 course from the back tees is a fabulous course to play and set up to challenge all areas of your game and trust me the winds you get there can near on Rival links winds I should know after being a member at littlestone for years. But I've since moved house meaning I had to move course and now play on a parkland course and the simplicity of it is not to see it as not real golf but as a different challenge, they can tighten the fairways, let the rough grown, strategically place tree's and bunkers to stop you taking on certain targets. So in essence they can in some places offer more defence against good scores than just the elements of a links.

Though having lived in the Region that GolferMartin bought up on kent coast I'd say my old place littlestone, RSG, Princes and RCP on the kent coast are amongst the best links in the country.

Having said that I'm out here at Doral and the facilities are amazing I've made use of the range, chipping and putting areas now itching to get out on the course

I love links courses, but also hilly ones, because the views are fantastic and the gorse is quite prickly in the old nether regions, so that always provides a challenge and a half. If I lived near the sea it would defo be links. This is so tricky.... ask me one on sport This is sport!

McLaren wrote:

Super

For a start I love many inland courses, just not those that I would call parkland. For example the braids, which I play often is an inland course that I really enjoy but is certainly not parkland. Not sure what you would call it and it may well be about a doak 3.

I like pebble beach and despite its name it is certainly not a links course, maybe I would use your cliff top definition.

Here is a list of courses that I class as typical parkland, and may help you to see what I dislike.


New gleneagles course
the belfry
celtic manor
deer park
the oxfordshire
the roxburgh
loch lomond


It is not a case of snobbery more my preferences.

Mac, it's all very well saying its your preferences, but when you come out with stuff like "parkland isn't golf" then you simply come across as a bit of a bellend, and a snobby one too.
Golf is golf wherever you play it, and whatever type of course it is.
I remember as a kid playing golf in my local park, we made holes in the ground and had 9 holes. Effectively in our minds it was a parkland course, but we were still playing golf.

Super

I did the same as a child in local fields, was always a pain that the farmer did not cut the grass a little shorter. I even made a pitch and putt in the garden. Somehow got away with making holes in the lawn.

I have always though that someone should make a golf course with no formal holes. Just greens dotted around a site where you make up new holes every time you play.

Kinda like this place. (the sheep ranch)

http://punchbowlgolf.com/2009/04/the-sheep-ranch/

used to have about 36 pitch and putt holes around my garden as a youngster. only had 3 holes cut, but had some pretty imaginative tee positions. i remember one hole involved landing the a precise tee shot on the roof of a shed to get a backwards bounce round the house toward the hole.

Has got to be Parkland for me, in my younger days, used to play Troon on a regular basis, but having moved south over 36 years ago, and now a member of a nice Parkland course.

I go back several times a year, and play Links golf, but could not play it on a regular basis, call me bias but Parkland every time.

I luv links courses, sadly I just don't get to play them often enough

Anywhere that doesn't charge an arm and a leg to play it!

ban_bam wrote:this should really be conducted under the a/v system...

Not a bad idea; give a more weighted view of the most popular type .