Links Course Management: How to Actually Score When the Wind Is Blowing

I've now played the Sefton Coast courses enough times to have a sense of where my score actually goes. Most of it isn't technical. Most of it is decisions: taking on a flag that was never on, playing out of gorse instead of dropping, not accounting for the wind properly and ending up in a bunker I shouldn't have been anywhere near. Links course management is a specific skill and it's separate from being able to hit a golf ball.

Play for the fat of the green

The most important habit to build on a links course is hitting to the centre or safe side of the green rather than at the flag. On parkland greens, going for the flag makes sense: the green is soft, you'll hold, the risk-reward is manageable. On a links green in firm conditions, the flag is often on a slope, tucked behind a bunker, or placed where a slightly misjudged shot rolls off the green entirely.

Hitting to the fat of the green means a two-putt bogey at worst. Chasing the flag on a links means a bunker, a difficult chip, a possible three-putt, and a double bogey. In a competition, over 18 holes, this difference accumulates significantly.

Use the ground

The bump-and-run approach shot is not a backwards skill. On a firm links, a well-struck 7-iron aimed at a spot 20 yards short of the green, running onto the putting surface, is often a smarter play than a pitching wedge thrown high at the flag. The trajectory is lower, the shot is less affected by wind, and if your landing zone is wrong you still have a chance to recover. A high shot that's slightly long or slightly into the wind falls through the green or finishes short in a bunker.

Practice bump-and-run before any links round. Not just in theory: actually take a 7 or 8-iron and practice running the ball along the ground on the practice green. You need to feel comfortable with the shot before you play it under pressure on the 14th hole.

Take the bunkers out of play off the tee

Links fairway bunkers are positioned to punish the best drive. The theory is: a 300-yard carry catches the bunker; a 250-yard ball stays short of it. For players who hit it 280–310, this is genuinely dangerous. For mid-to-high handicappers who reliably hit it 220–250, most of the strategic bunkers aren't in range. Check the yardage before you tee off rather than finding this out by accident.

Where a bunker is in range and centrally placed, laying back is the right call. A 3-wood or long iron that takes the bunker out of play leaves you 160 yards from the green. A driver in the bunker leaves you in sand, facing a restricted swing, and probably taking a six on a hole where four was possible.

Understand the wind direction before every hole

Wind direction shifts on a links course as holes change direction. The hole you just played had a helping wind; the next one turns 90 degrees and the wind is now full into your face. This is not a subtlety: at Royal Birkdale and Hillside, the routing changes direction several times across the round and the wind effect swings dramatically.

Before every tee shot, check the flag on the green (not just the flags on the course boundary) and the movement of the grass and marram around you. The flag at the green tells you what the wind is doing where you want to land, which is the only place that matters.

Give yourself out-of-bounds thoughts on the first tee

Links courses often have OOB or lost-ball penalties that compound quickly. On Royal Birkdale's opening holes, willow scrub catches anything offline and swallows the ball entirely. The mental trick I use: before the round, accept that you will probably lose a ball at some point. Decide now that when it happens, you drop and move on, rather than spending five minutes searching and developing a grudge against the course that affects your next six holes.

• →Keep a spare ball in your pocket, not in your bag. When you're looking at a ball going into gorse, you want a drop ball immediately, not a walk back to the trolley.
• →Call a provisional immediately if there's any doubt. Links rough does not allow you to assume you'll find it.
• →Accept the penalty and move on. The score is recoverable from one lost ball. It's not recoverable from the emotional fallout of the lost ball plus three bad holes afterwards.

The wind-adjusted mindset

Your handicap on a links in 20mph wind is not your actual handicap. You will score worse than your expected score. Accept this before you start and you'll play better. Golfers who come to the Sefton Coast with a strong parkland record and expect to match it immediately are setting themselves up for a frustrating round. Golfers who come understanding that the course is part of the challenge tend to enjoy it more and, paradoxically, score better.