The Real Secret to Linksland Golf? It’s Not About the Big Names Anymore

After 35 years covering professional golf—and a stint carrying Tom Lehman’s bag through some of the most brutish conditions Scotland has to offer—I’ve watched the linksland narrative shift dramatically. We spend so much ink obsessing over St Andrews, Muirfield, and Royal Birkdale that we’ve created this mythology: authentic links golf is either a pilgrimage destination or a financial burden most golfers simply can’t justify.

But I think we’ve been missing the real story, and it’s actually an encouraging one.

Breaking the St Andrews Stranglehold

Look, I get it. St Andrews is golf’s cathedral. I’ve covered 15 Masters and seen the reverential way players treat Augusta National, but there’s something different about how the golf world treats links courses in the UK and Ireland. We’ve created a two-tier system: the hallowed venues that host majors and Opens (and cost you a small fortune), and everything else.

What this source piece identifies—and what I’ve observed firsthand across decades of tour coverage—is that the middle tier is where the real magic lives. The courses that offer what I’d call “authentic without the authenticity premium.”

“Gullane is a special town. Everyone in golf knows about St Andrews – the greatest golf town of them all – but Gullane, a few miles east of Edinburgh, is the next best thing.”

Having spent time in both places, I can tell you this isn’t false modesty on the writer’s part. Gullane’s trio of courses—particularly No. 3—delivers the full linksland experience: that dramatic interplay between sea breezes and undulating turf, the visual feast of Scottish coastline, and the sense of golfing community that makes links golf special. And you’re doing it for £70 weekdays, not £250-plus.

Why Value Matters More Now Than Ever

Here’s what strikes me about 2025: we’re in an era where professional golf has become almost absurdly expensive to access, whether you’re talking about Saudi-backed events or the traditional tour. Equipment costs have spiraled. Membership fees at quality clubs are astronomical. And destination golf—the kind of bucket-list experience most golfers dream about—has priced out the middle class entirely.

But linksland golf, by its very nature, resists some of that commercialization. You can’t really turn these courses into luxury resorts in the same way. The land doesn’t cooperate. The weather doesn’t cooperate. And that’s actually good news for accessibility.

Consider the range of options presented here:

• Gullane No. 3: £70 weekday / £80 for the day
• Perranporth (Cornwall): Starting at £60
• Elie (Kingdom of Fife): £60 weekday / £75 weekend
• Newbiggin (Northeast England): Starting at £30—genuinely a bargain
• Borth (Wales): Starting at £43

That’s not a typo on Newbiggin. Thirty pounds. You can play an honest-to-goodness linksland course—with gorse, double greens, and coastal drama—for what most of us spend on a decent bottle of wine.

The Overlooked Regions Are Where Golf Lives

In my experience, tour journalists get trapped in a cycle: we cover the Opens at famous venues, we report on the majors, we follow the PGA Tour money. What we don’t always do is step back and ask where golf actually happens for regular people. And the answer, increasingly, is in these secondary markets.

“The north-east coast of England is all too often overlooked by golfers despite having plenty of rugged splendour.”

I loved this line because it captures something I’ve noticed while covering the tour: there’s a snobbery in golf that dismisses anything not immediately famous. Northeast England? Overlooked. Cornish coast? Too quirky. The Cardigan Bay region of Wales? “Why would I go there when I could go to Ireland?”

But here’s the truth after three decades in this game: some of my most memorable rounds have been at courses nobody famous has heard of. The challenge is better, the community is warmer, and you’re actually playing golf rather than checking off a trophy.

Design Matters—Even at Value Pricing

What also impresses me about this list is the caliber of architecture represented. Elie is a James Braid design—and I’ve learned that even a Braid “average” layout is better than most contemporary courses. These aren’t bargain basement options; they’re genuinely thoughtful pieces of golf design that simply haven’t achieved major championship status.

“This is what makes linksland golf special: it demands imagination and Perranporth calls for it even more than usual.”

That observation about imagination is crucial. When you’re caddying for a pro at a championship linksland course, you’re working with a player who has the distance and technical skill to assault the course if conditions allow. But at a place like Perranporth, you’re negotiating with the layout in real time, thinking your way around blind shots and dramatic elevation changes. That’s actually more fun golf for most of us.

The Path Forward

What I’m seeing here is a quiet revolution in how golfers can experience authentic, challenging, beautiful golf without the superstar tax. These five courses—and honestly, dozens more along the Scottish, English, and Welsh coasts—represent the future of accessible golf tourism.

The major championships will always be major championships. St Andrews will always be St Andrews. But the real opportunity for golfers who want to experience linksland golf on their terms and budgets? That’s right here, in the courses that don’t make headlines but absolutely should.

After all these years, I still get excited about discovering a new linksland gem. If you haven’t played one of these five, you’re missing something special. And at these prices, what’s the excuse?