Golf is truly a prestigious sport, and it’s really not something you can play whenever you want. The fields are expensive to create and maintain, so it’s not exactly accessible for the masses. This is probably why golf does not generate as much hype as soccer, basketball, or baseball. In other words, it’s entirely possible that the vast majority of people do not know about all different types of golf courses. If this is the case then you will find the following article quite interesting, as we will be covering different types of golf courses.
Links Course
Fun fact, golf originated in Scotland, where a number of courses were actually linked courses. The main trait of links courses is that they are built on sandy land, more specifically narrow sections between farmland and coast. As such the course has a lot of slopes and turns, and being near the coast also makes wind a far more frequent factor players have to worry about. Nowadays, sections of courses for competitions are modeled after the original links courses, so that pro players have to overcome that terrain as well.
Parkland Course
This is a type of course that typically comes to mind when someone mentions this sport. As you can already assume parkland courses are characterized by an abundance of grass and careful landscaping. The land is smooth and neat, and very far away from the coast, unlike the links courses, we mentioned before. The majority of golf courses in the US are parkland courses, and they are usually a part of a state park. So, if you ever go camping or if you stay in a state park in an RV, one of the entertainment options is usually golf.
Desert Course
Just like the name suggests these courses are found in a part of the world that is dominated by dry climate, or deserts to be specific. Sand dunes are a natural feature of this terrain, but when a golf course is built a green oasis is included in the middle of a vast dry area. Clearly, you need substantial irrigation to maintain the oasis as it’s not exactly natural for such terrain.
Professional play
Each of the mentioned course types has its charm and challenges that a pro player needs to overcome in order to get a decent score. Also, there are various tournament formants and different win requirements, so it’s not always the terrain that presents a challenge. For this reason, golf is a very strategic sport and has an array of different clubs that are used depending on the situation. Given the number of factors involved it comes as no surprise that the sport remains popular and quite expensive to practice at the same time.