Review: Highland Links

The United States has an absolute wealth of golf courses. Golf courses of all shapes and sizes. Golf courses on mountains, in dense forests, in swamps, and on beaches and coastlines. But there's one type of golf course that we don't have too many of: links courses. True links courses are incredibly rare in North America, and Bandon Dunes has a near-monopoly on U.S. links. But out on the end of Cape Cod, flush against the Atlantic on a set of mountainous dunes, is a little 9 hole golf course called Highland Links. 

The fifth green on the edge of the Atlantic.

It's an old course, one of the oldest in the country, dating all the way back to 1892, a time when golf had only been played consistently in the United States for a few years and there were less than 20 courses in existence. It has changed a couple times over that time, but what hasn't changed is its primitive, basic nature. This is not an incredibly elaborate course; all the strategy comes from the land and the elements. Let's take a look at it.

The first hole is about as short a par 4 as you'll ever see, playing all of 250 yards. It's just sitting there, so within reach, a green sitting up on a hill, so close to the tee. You have to go for it, you just have to. But be wary of the wind. Oh yes, a golf course like this is fully exposed to the elements. I imagine this hole is completely unreachable when the wind is smacking you right in the face as you step onto the tee. The safe play is a lay-up, followed by an uphill pitch, but honestly, who can resist? In addition to the wind, there's a pair of bunkers just short that your tee shot will need to be maneuvered around. With the green being fairly quiet, you've got an excellent chance to open with a birdie. 

The first hole.

The first green, with a glimpse of the Atlantic beyond.

The second hole is the sort of hole you don't see every day. On the surface, it's a 460 yard par 5, which doesn't sound like much, but when you get to the tee, the story gets a lot more complex. You start off from a high point and plunge down into a narrow valley covered in bushes and scrubby trees doing their best gorse impersonation. The fairway is angled about 45 degrees from the tee, so the more of the dogleg you cut off, the shorter the second shot. Now, the fairway isn't exactly wide, and in an ideal world, the fairway would be maybe 10-15 yards wider. But that hardly detracts from what is a beautiful and unique hole. The second shot is uphill, but since you're sheltered in the valley and the wind is much less of an issue, it's pretty easily reachable in two. There's a couple of bunkers that need to be carried, but otherwise, the green is fairly straightforward.

The second hole. The mini-castle is apparently a memorial to some entertainment figure of old.

The uphill approach to the second green.

The second green.

Looking back down the second hole.

The third hole, a 160 yard par 3, heads back up out of the valley that the second played through. It's a tough shot, despite the modest length and the lack of any bunkers. It's a big hill you have to go up, and if you're going straight into the wind, we're talking multiple extra clubs being necessary. The green has a decent amount of back to front slope, so missing long isn't recommended. Or short. Or right. That fescue rough really doesn't stop golf balls as well as you might think. It's thin and whispy, especially when the course is dry.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is an uphill par 4, not too long at 380 yards, but when it plays straight into the wind, it becomes quite a big task. You want to carry the hill on the tee shot, which wouldn't ordinarily be a huge problem, but the wind makes it a lot tougher. If you do make the carry, you get a view of the green, which is reasonably undulating. 

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole plays parallel to the fourth and is basically the same length, but since it runs in the opposite direction, you'll be facing the opposite wind. That meant the hole was playing very downwind for us. The hole looks flat from the tee, but the same small valley that you have to carry on the fourth cuts across the fairway here. Drives will probably end up down at the bottom, meaning you'll have an uphill and semiblind (or completely blind) pitch to the green. There's a bunker behind the green, which I'm sure gets a fair amount of action considering the wind and the fact that green does fall away slightly at the back. Of course, all that pales when you consider the background. It's really interesting hitting your drive on this hole, watching the golf ball disappear against the vastness of the sky and ocean beyond. The green is perched in the perfect overlook as well. This isn't a marsh, or estuary, or bay, this is the Atlantic Ocean, and there isn't land for thousands of miles. It may not be a complicated hole, but that's probably for the best, since any fancy design would be wasted against such an enormous  backdrop.

The fifth hole.

Down in the gully, looking up at the fifth green.

The fifth green.

Next stop: Europe.

The sixth hole is the longest hole at Highland Links, but at 465 yards, it doesn't sound like much. Remember the wind though, which was at its strongest here, right alongside the cliffside. I imagine even a tour pro would have difficulty getting to the green in two in the wind we faced. For me, a mere mortal, I were lucky to reach the bottom of the valley with the drive, and then to get to the top of the hill in two. Doing that provided a relatively simple pitch into the green, which is guarded by bunkers right and long. 

The sixth hole. Naturally, the Highland Lighthouse was closed and under repair.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is a mid-length par 3, and unlike quite a few holes at Highland Links, the green here has a fair amount of slope, being tilted fairly significantly from back to front. Shots that don't quite make the green will run back down the little slope in front. There's a bunker behind the green that you'll also want to avoid.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole turns away from the ocean, and though it may seem modest in length at 350 yards, it plays into the wind and it isn't a very wide fairway. The hole is slightly uphill and doglegs slightly to the left. The right side of the fairway provides a better angle into the green, since there's a bunker left of the green. It was at this point that my brothers and I figured that we could keep shots under the breeze, so rather than throwing a wedge up and leaving it to the mercy of the wind, we hit run-up shots into the green, which worked a lot better. That's really how the course should be played.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is the shortest hole at Highland Links at just 135 yards. Plus it was playing downhill too. Doesn't sound like much, but it's more interesting than you might think. The green is small, with bunkers short right and long left. It's also split into two tiers. Rather than hitting and hoping with a high wedge, the play, at least for us, was to hit a punch shot out to the right and running the ball down the tier toward the flag. So while it's short, this is one of the best holes on the course, and a great way to finish the round.

The ninth hole.

I won't sit here and try to claim that Highland Links is someplace you need to see. In the end, we're talking about a 9 hole course that isn't even 2,800 yards from the back tees, and a fairly rudimentary course at that. It's $35 to play 9 holes, which is pretty expensive too. But we played 27 holes the day we came here, with this coming at the end of the day. We drove more than 2 hours in total to get here, and 2 hours to get back. None of us regretted that decision. While some people may be spoiled for choice when it comes to links courses, my brothers and I are not. That makes Highland Links something really unique.

Plus, it's not like we're talking about a bad golf course in a special place. Sometimes rudimentary and primitive is all that you need. The second, fifth, and last hole in particular would be noteworthy at nearly any golf course, with the second being one of the best holes we played over the entire week. So would I recommend Highland Links? I would, and I'd definitely play it again if I'm in the area.