Hunstanton
- Thread starter Crazyface
- Start date
Orikoru
Tour Winner
But if there aren't any trees, where the hell am I supposed to put my drive??You nearly had it right, 'Links is the purest form of the game' gets the top prize.
Each to their own. No one is right or wrong, it is personal preference.
Marshy77
Journeyman Pro
Into the gorse/sea/sand dunes
Liverbirdie
Ryder Cup Winner
As D4S has said, the GM rankings are based on what they rate as the best courses and not VFM.
If it was based on VFM, all courses in the UK would have to be rated, so would need 100's of reviewers, so not a realistic possibility.
If it was based on VFM, all courses in the UK would have to be rated, so would need 100's of reviewers, so not a realistic possibility.
JonnyGutteridge
Newbie
Royal North Devon is a wonderful example... A bit of a meadow in reality, but included in most Top 100's due to it being England's oldest club and the quirks that come with that. However, the green fee isn't unfair and on that basis I wouldn't have too many complaints.
Backache
Assistant Pro
People can be a bit snooty about courses.
I think we should all acknowledge that Parkland course like pitch and putt driving ranges and crazy golf give a lot of people a lot of enjoyment and help them to learn the basics of hitting the ball before they go and play golf on links.
I think we should all acknowledge that Parkland course like pitch and putt driving ranges and crazy golf give a lot of people a lot of enjoyment and help them to learn the basics of hitting the ball before they go and play golf on links.
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
Come on Crazyface, at least tell us about your experience so that this thread has some context.
Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
Anywhere but the fairway. ðŸ˜
I remember once i played at seacroft Skegness, a PP smashed his ball from his drive and it went into wispy grass up to his knees. A PP said “provisionalâ€. He says “ no al find thatâ€. Good luck pal i thought. Anyway i walked with him
And asked him why he wasn't
Playing another. He said i hit it about 220 carry with about 20-30 yd roll thats not rilled so al look around the 220 mark. He walked straight to it. 😳 I had never seen owt like it.
Foxholer
Blackballed
Or Marram Grass!
I have to say, I love links courses! Not necessarily for the particular challenge that they present - fast running fairways, the need to strike the ball near perfectly to get the required spin to stop on the hard and fast greens or, when you don't, the variety of shots you can consider, even to recover from a previous 'poor' one. The main reason is the way in which the free draining sandy turf lets you play all year round AND that dreaded Marram Grass happily bends over flat in Winter so that, while there is punishment for a wayward shot, it is 'perfectly in balance' with the season!
Parkland course just don't naturally accomodate seasons in the same way - most becoming quagmires!
Oh, and (2 course sites aside) playing 2 rounds in a day is like playing on 2 different courses, because the change of tide also changes the 'breeze'!
Speaking of breezes...Any true golfer has to be a closet (?!) masochist, so battling a 'solid' breeze for 3 to 4 hours on the links is really 'heaven' isn't it!
bobmac
Major Champion
There's ony
Too much wind
Too flat
Too cold
Too many rabbit holes
Not enough trees
Not enough grass
Not enough wildlife
Not enough lake/mountain views
Mmmmmm
Other opinions are available but wrong
User20204
Well-known member
I take my hat off to folk who play links every week, how anyone can bare playing in a howling gale all the time is beyond me, now and again fine but we live on an island and it's windier more often than not. For the record, I've never played the course this topic refers to.
Tashyboy
Please don’t ask to see my tatts 👍
To put it into perspective money wise. It would not be much more to play Kings Lynn and sheringham than it would to play Hunny.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
There's onyonetwothreefourfivesixseveneight things wrong with links golf.........
Too much wind
Too flat
Too cold
Too many rabbit holes
Not enough trees
Not enough grass
Not enough wildlife
Not enough lake/mountain views
View attachment 28040
Mmmmmm
Other opinions are available but wrong
That’s the beauty of different types of golf courses , people have different ways of looking at things - a good Links is a spectacular place to play golf , and offers so much variety for people - on a bleak day it can be an awful place to play golf. I love playing links - it really does test your skills and patience but I couldn’t be a member at one. Golf was started on the links and I guess most of the time that’s why it feels you are playing the game the way it should be
For me though Heathland is the best club to be a member of - it has the picturesque scenery especially when the heather is blooming , it drains well. Parkland - I’m a member of one because there are no Heathland near me - but I don’t look for away days at a parkland - and some of them like Woburn are very much overpriced.
But it’s superb that in the UK and Ireland we have so many wonderful courses to pick from with some of them prob some of the best in the world
Foxholer
Blackballed
D
Deleted member 1147
Guest
I enjoy links, haven't played much (Seacroft, Hillside, Sandilands, Royal Porthcawl & Formby Ladies) but enjoyed them all.
I have played a fair bit of heathland since joining the forum (HFHs etc)
But most of my golfing life has been on parkland, and my game (in the air) suits it.
What I don't like is the way parkland is, in my opinion, undervalued as a course style. Below is the opening line from a review of my club:
"In terms of rankings, English parkland courses will always be behind links and heathland categories, unfortunate but that's the way it is..."
As a result of this attitude a lot of very good courses may be underscored, whilst other, less good, heathlands and links may be overscored.
Kedleston is an open qualifier, agreed by nearly everyone in Derbyshire to be the county's best course, and a lot better than some higher ranked courses that I've played. Northants County and New Zealand for example are in the next 100 list, but I'd take Kedleston over them everyday.
I have played a fair bit of heathland since joining the forum (HFHs etc)
But most of my golfing life has been on parkland, and my game (in the air) suits it.
What I don't like is the way parkland is, in my opinion, undervalued as a course style. Below is the opening line from a review of my club:
"In terms of rankings, English parkland courses will always be behind links and heathland categories, unfortunate but that's the way it is..."
As a result of this attitude a lot of very good courses may be underscored, whilst other, less good, heathlands and links may be overscored.
Kedleston is an open qualifier, agreed by nearly everyone in Derbyshire to be the county's best course, and a lot better than some higher ranked courses that I've played. Northants County and New Zealand for example are in the next 100 list, but I'd take Kedleston over them everyday.
Backache
Assistant Pro
HmmmmThere's onyonetwothreefourfivesixseveneight things wrong with links golf.........
Too much wind
Too flat
Too cold
Too many rabbit holes
Not enough trees
Not enough grass
Not enough wildlife
Not enough lake/mountain views
Other opinions are available but wrong
Wind, let's be honest you have to have something to lean against. If there's nae wind there's nae golf.
Flat.
Not a classic description of most links fairways, admittedly you miss out on the coronary hills to polish off the older members.
Rabbits
Keep the turf in condition.
Cold
Nonsense, a bracing sea breeze warmed by the gulf stream means ideal temperature neither sweaty nor frozen hands unlike the parkland oscillation from one extreme to the other.
Grass
Classic turf to play crisp irons off unlike the baked or sodden bogs inland. Perfect for the elegantly played overspin approach or top as some of my partner's rudely call it.
Trees
Obscure the beautiful scenery
Wildlife
All the seabirds you can wish for, curlews, oyster catchers etc, besides what are rabbits?
Lakes and Mountains
Well who needs a lake when you have an ocean. The links I was playing last week had higher mountains behind them than anywhere in England outside the lake District.
And you have burns crossing the fairways where the risk reward equation is elegant rather than the blast over the inland pond and if you misjudge you can at least retrieve your ball.
It's golf not some fancy corporate darts game.
D
Deleted member 3432
Guest
Excellent post Phil.
A perception is links are flat and featureless.
Some are, some are not. My own club is anything but featureless, views of the Scottish hills over the Solway Firth to the west with the Lakeland fells to the east. Undulating fairways, elevation changes and blind tee and approach shots (only blind the first time you play the course).
Again some links have gorse aplenty, others don't. We have gorse and in common like heathland tracks we have a lot of heather (in bloom as I write) which is the course's main defence.
Parkland tracks in this part of the world are a waste of time for 7 months of the year may be fifferent in parts of the drier south of England however.
I have never played a heathland, would love to and I suspect my game would be suited to it.
The toughest part of adapting to links golf is accepting the fact it can be windy. Anyting less than a 3 club wind I hardly notice these days, its part of the fun of links golf and yes it can be cold and exposed in winter but a brisk walking pace gets the blood pumping.
But as you say we have a great variety of courses in this country and to be able to call yourself a proper golfer you should be able to adapt to all of them and importantly see the merits of each.
A course is outstanding for the same reasons irrespective of it being Links, Heathland or Parkland in that they leave you wanting to play there again and again.
A review of my track which I think is a fantastic course
https://t.co/1wOIpDifkf
Crazyface
Tour Winner
ok then.
Is this place worth £90 and a ranking in the top 100. Now I'm going to include the lot golf. It's all related. And compared to others I've played in the top 100 and even Links that aren't (Fleetwood and St Annes Old Course both of which are so far in front of this place it beggars belief why this is even in the top 100).
First contact. Can you call back I'm dealing with something (I could hear in the back ground something going on) This IMO is poor. I could have been Lord Lucan booking a round with my mates before I die). Second contact. Went well. Booked. Third contact to check on breakfast availability. Person had no idea and had to go and ask. Thank god we didn't choose this as they were painting the inside of the damn place when we arrived!!!!! That would have been wonderful. On arrival. Car park is a sliver of ground. Is thios really their car park? We weren't sure. Oh and loose stones down. Poor. We walked into the Pro shop. No Pro...on a Friday! Some miserable woman who didn't greet us on entering. Barely looked up. I had to ask / inform her we were booked in. Shockingly poor customer service for £180 !!!!! Oh and no directions given to the changing rooms we had to ask. No "have you played her before" etc etc. Poor. First tee. Two ladies fannying around, one was obviously late. No appologies to us as we watched this lady faff about. No attempt to let us go in front of her and her playing partner,which could have made her less rushed. Poor. Coming off the first "green" a ball bounced up to us and rolled under our trollies where we stood. We were playing down wind. I'd was already plissed off and marched down the fairway to confront this person, who appologised saying he didn't realise it had gone so far. Ok no probs. BUT. It turned out this was a member and a committee member as well !!!!! Who didn't know how far he could hit his ball down wind on his own course. Flaming poor. They stayed well back for the rest of the round! Oh first fairway was, at a certain point. full of filled in divots. It looked as though someone had been practising firing into the green. Don't give me this was a landing area. LIES !!!!!!! Greens...now I could be way off on this, but I think greens should be green coloured and for £90 each, they should be. But apparently I'm wrong. They can be yellow and mottled and brown and multi coloured on links courses. Apparently. I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS ANYWHERE EVER. I'm open to help here on this. But I call BS. POOR. They ran true though. No sand in some of the bunkers. POOR. Although it had rained hard on the day we played and compacted them LIES. It rained a bit. Wife never got her waterproof on. Course looked scruffy. On massive bunker on 17th I think it was looked so unkempt I thought it was being left to become over grown and out of play, but hell no the tiny bit of sand in it had been racked so was in play, but for £90????? Seriously.
To conclude the place was not worth anymore than £30, both me and the wife agreed with this. Oh and I met with the committe fella in the changing rooms afterwards, and he appologiesed again and asked what I thought of the course. I appologised to him and gave him BOTH BARRELS!!!!!! To his stunned face. I have also contacted the club sec and given him have views.. Sorry Homer you're way off beam. I'm way past the age where I'll be walked all over when I've paid to; price for something and received and inferior product. Just ask the manager of the Brewers Fayre in Kings Lynn!!!!! We'll never eat in there again!!!!!.
So after reading this do you think I got my moneys worth? Hang on I'll help
1. No
2. Hell no
Is this place worth £90 and a ranking in the top 100. Now I'm going to include the lot golf. It's all related. And compared to others I've played in the top 100 and even Links that aren't (Fleetwood and St Annes Old Course both of which are so far in front of this place it beggars belief why this is even in the top 100).
First contact. Can you call back I'm dealing with something (I could hear in the back ground something going on) This IMO is poor. I could have been Lord Lucan booking a round with my mates before I die). Second contact. Went well. Booked. Third contact to check on breakfast availability. Person had no idea and had to go and ask. Thank god we didn't choose this as they were painting the inside of the damn place when we arrived!!!!! That would have been wonderful. On arrival. Car park is a sliver of ground. Is thios really their car park? We weren't sure. Oh and loose stones down. Poor. We walked into the Pro shop. No Pro...on a Friday! Some miserable woman who didn't greet us on entering. Barely looked up. I had to ask / inform her we were booked in. Shockingly poor customer service for £180 !!!!! Oh and no directions given to the changing rooms we had to ask. No "have you played her before" etc etc. Poor. First tee. Two ladies fannying around, one was obviously late. No appologies to us as we watched this lady faff about. No attempt to let us go in front of her and her playing partner,which could have made her less rushed. Poor. Coming off the first "green" a ball bounced up to us and rolled under our trollies where we stood. We were playing down wind. I'd was already plissed off and marched down the fairway to confront this person, who appologised saying he didn't realise it had gone so far. Ok no probs. BUT. It turned out this was a member and a committee member as well !!!!! Who didn't know how far he could hit his ball down wind on his own course. Flaming poor. They stayed well back for the rest of the round! Oh first fairway was, at a certain point. full of filled in divots. It looked as though someone had been practising firing into the green. Don't give me this was a landing area. LIES !!!!!!! Greens...now I could be way off on this, but I think greens should be green coloured and for £90 each, they should be. But apparently I'm wrong. They can be yellow and mottled and brown and multi coloured on links courses. Apparently. I'VE NEVER SEEN THIS ANYWHERE EVER. I'm open to help here on this. But I call BS. POOR. They ran true though. No sand in some of the bunkers. POOR. Although it had rained hard on the day we played and compacted them LIES. It rained a bit. Wife never got her waterproof on. Course looked scruffy. On massive bunker on 17th I think it was looked so unkempt I thought it was being left to become over grown and out of play, but hell no the tiny bit of sand in it had been racked so was in play, but for £90????? Seriously.
To conclude the place was not worth anymore than £30, both me and the wife agreed with this. Oh and I met with the committe fella in the changing rooms afterwards, and he appologiesed again and asked what I thought of the course. I appologised to him and gave him BOTH BARRELS!!!!!! To his stunned face. I have also contacted the club sec and given him have views.. Sorry Homer you're way off beam. I'm way past the age where I'll be walked all over when I've paid to; price for something and received and inferior product. Just ask the manager of the Brewers Fayre in Kings Lynn!!!!! We'll never eat in there again!!!!!.
So after reading this do you think I got my moneys worth? Hang on I'll help
1. No
2. Hell no
Rlburnside
Challenge Tour Pro
I also live on a island with only a links course, have played for around 30 years, and played many different courses in Scotland and England.
I get so much more enjoyment playing parkland or heathland courses, given the choice i would gladly never play a links course again.
That’s not to say there are some great links courses in the UK.
Jacko_G
Blackballed
My word, that is a rant.
Landing area/possibly not (depending on your view) has been sanded and seeded to repair it and that's a criticism??
Poor greeting and reception is not on I agree.
Rest just seems like the bad start got to you and ate away at you. That said you are more than entitled to an opinion and I admire you being brutally honest, too many spout flowery rubbish.
ðŸŒï¸
Landing area/possibly not (depending on your view) has been sanded and seeded to repair it and that's a criticism??
Poor greeting and reception is not on I agree.
Rest just seems like the bad start got to you and ate away at you. That said you are more than entitled to an opinion and I admire you being brutally honest, too many spout flowery rubbish.
ðŸŒï¸
