Hard to rule, links courses are closest to golf’s roots

It was homecoming and coming of age rolled into one for Irishman Shane Lowry at the weekend. The 32-year-old was crowned the latest global golf star after leaving the field way behind, winning the British Open by six shots at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland on Sunday.

Lowry’s triumph wiped out past frustration, especially a meltdown in the 2016 US Open after going into the final round four shots ahead. It left questions of another nearly man hanging over the affable Lowry, who one report said was the first bearded winner of the year’s final Major in well over a century!

Lowry was being hailed as a great champion for the way in which he dealt with the pressure of staying ahead, after going into Sunday’s final round four shots ahead of England’s Tommy Fleetwood. He finished with a one-over 72 in the final round to ensure there would not be a second meltdown, and rather he won’t let any of his great rivals come anywhere near.

Links courses are tough to tackle and demand a conservative approach, but Lowry, who learnt his first golf lessons on his own, choose to follow his mantra. “Professional golf is all about just ticking along and taking your birdies when you can. If you can make four or five birdies a day and try and limit your mistakes you’re going to be up there at the end of the week,” said Lowry.

Nothing tests a golfer more than the kind of course on which The Open is played. The links course is fundamentally different from the tree-lined and minutely designed modern courses that dot the calendar on the PGA Tour. And that is why some of the finest golfers of the world struggled as rain and wind made life difficult.

To start with, the word ‘links’ is derived from the Old English word ‘hlinc’, with Scottish root. It means rising ground with ridges on the coast and is characterised by undulating surface and sand dunes. While the land by the ocean is not suited for cultivation, a sort of fescue grass does grow on it.

Typically the links course is quite barren—there is no tree for shelter from wind or rain, both major challenges for the players who need to factor in the shifting weather even during the course of a round, leave alone the tournament. The open course leaves golfers at the mercy of the weather, thus placing a demand on their skills that are way different from playing on designer courses.

Apart from finding their tee shots veering off course due to strong winds, the firm fairways due to the hard turf means the golfers can’t attack the green and instead must land the ball short and let it run on to the putting surface.

Water hazards too are rare on links courses whose distinct feature is also the deep ‘pot bunkers’. Due to the wind factor, lower flight of the ball is key while the greens are slower to prevent the ball from moving.

The British Open has always been held on a coastal links course in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland. Links golf is considered the purest form of the game where the course is shaped by nature rather than ‘built’ or designed.

The Open is the oldest of the four Majors, and began at the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland in 1860. Although it is rotated, St Andrews staged the event every five years.