Oakhurst Links was the first golf course to be built in the USA. It was built in 1884 and held it’s first competition in 1888.  It was built in the grounds of Russell W. Montague estate (the course designer). His house served as the Oakhurst Links clubhouse.

Russell Montague learned about golf in Scotland and build the course with some friends, before any other golf course existed in the United States.

Oakhurst Links is a 9 hole golf course and is located in Suplhur Springs, West Virginia. In 2001 the course was listed in the National Register of Historical Places. The course ceased golfing operations in 1912 and an effort to restore it started in the 1990’s. The owners ran into some cash difficulties and the course was bought by the Greenbrier resort in 2012. The course in now once again open for people to play. Oakhurst Links is operated exclusively as an amenity for registered guests and members of the Greenbrier.

The course keeps the historic approach to the game – no modern equipment is allowed. You play with clubs which have hickory wood shafts and use gutta-percha golf balls. No tee’s, you simply take some sand from a bucket which is on the tee box and make a small mound from the sand to place your golf ball on. The rules of the course are of the period also. No ball makers. If your playing partner’s ball is in the line of your putt, you have to chip over it or hit around the other ball. Also if your ball breaks during the hole you have to continue with it, until the next hole. Where you can use a new ball.

To play 9 holes costs $125. This includes rental of the equipment, balls, tour of the museum and commemorative certificate. Players are encouraged to wear “turn of the century clothing”, which includes knickers, tall socks, caps, shirts and ties. All of which can be purchased at the club store.

Merriam-Webster dictionary definition – “Scottish word; sand hills especially along the seashore“. 

Links courses tend to be on, or at least very near to, a coast, and the term is typically associated with coastal courses, often amid dunes, with few water hazards and few if any trees. This reflects both the nature of the scenery where the sport happened to originate, and the fact that only limited resources were available to golf course architects at the time, and any earth moving had to be done by hand, so it was kept to a minimum. Even today, some links courses do not employ a greens staff, use only basic machinery such as hole cutters without boards to ensure that the hole is cut unevenly, and use grazing animals to keep the grass cropped.

Although the term links is often considered synonymous with any golf course, few golf courses have all of the design elements of true links courses and are built on linksland. The presence of a seaside location does not guarantee a links golf course. Many famous courses that claim to be links do not have all of the necessary characteristics (e.g., Pebble Beach Golf Links, Old Head Golf Links at Kinsale, The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island). On the other hand, some courses located hundreds of miles from a coast can have all of the characteristics of a seaside links except for proximity to water. One notable example of such a course is Sand Hills Golf Club, located in the midst of the Sand Hills of Nebraska.

The style of play on a links golf course is considerably different from the style of play on other types of courses. The challenges of links golf fall into two categories: Firstly the nature of the courses themselves, which tend to be characterized by uneven fairways, thick rough and small deep bunkers known as “pot bunkers”; and secondly, due to their coastal location and lack of trees, many links courses are frequently windy. This affects the style of play required, favoring players who are able to play low accurate shots. As many links courses consist literally of an “outward” nine in one direction along the coast, and an “inward” nine which returns in the opposite direction, players often have to cope with opposite wind patterns in each half of their round. The combination of the sand-based turf, sand dunes, general lack of trees, and seaside location means that links courses are frequently exposed to strong winds. As a result, successful links golfers learn to control the trajectory of their shots by playing a lower ball flight. Greens on links courses tend to be free of fronting hazards, allowing golfers to bounce the golf ball into the green rather than hitting high approach shots with strong backspin.

Here is a video which gives an example of a true links course. It features the Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland. This course was voted in the top 50 of golf courses worldwide.

620 E. Live Oak Avenue
Arcadia, CA  91006
(626)443-9367

18 holes (par 54)

Yardage: 1,947 yards
Hours: 6am-sunset (7pm latest)
Green fees: weekdays $13, weekends $16

Arcadia Golf Course is located in the San Gabriel Valley, just south of the 210 Freeway, Myrtle exit. The golf course is about 5 minutes south of the Santa Anita Horse Racing Track.

Arcadia is an 18 hole par 3 golf course. The course is short – average of 108 yards per hole. The longest hole being 153 yards. There are lights on the course which enable extended playing times. It is advisable to book a tee time. You can do this up to 7 days in advance using the golf course’s website – www.arcadiagc.com. You have to set up an account and use a credit card to hold the reservation against no-show. You then pay once you arrive to play. Carts are available for rent at this course, but we walked as usual – good exercise!

I must say that the staff here are the friendliest I have come across in the 15+ courses I have played in the Los Angeles area. The starter was friendly. Then the marshall was very proactive. He was out on the course coordinating play ensuring larger groups were allowing smaller groups to play through. His name was John and he did a great job. He came and checked on us several times throughout the round and said if we needed any drinks to let him know and he would send someone out. There was a “cart-girl” who periodically drove around the course selling water, sodas and beer.

The other people on the course were friendly and nice also. A couple of five person groups allowed us to play through and we completed the 18 holes in about 2 hours and 20 minutes. Much better pace than the previous week at Pico Rivera where it took 3 hours for 9 holes!

The course has a range and a practice putting green on site. There is a small pro-shop with a cafeteria inside. The course itself was in great condition. One of the nicest courses we have played. The grass was green, well watered and cut to a nice length. The greens were nice and ran fast. Although I felt some of the greens were a little on the small side.

The course design was somewhat generic. As you can see in the pics below each hole was somewhat similar to the others. No water, but there were a few bunkers sprinkled throughout the course. The course had a lot of trees and was a little like Los Feliz in that aspect. There was a nice flow to the course and the holes were clearly marked. Each tee box had a bench and ball washer. You hit off mats and no tees were provided. Most of the holes had two mats, ladies and gents. The ladies yardage for the course is 1,876 (101 yards shorter than the mens). The key to playing this course is accuracy. The holes are relatively narrow. If you are hitting straight you will avoid any other the trees and hazards and shoot a low score. The pin positions were set in challenging locations, often within 10 feet of the edge of the green.

The standout hole for me was number 15. It was a 106 yard hole with a large bunker right at the front of the green. When we played the pin position was set right behind the bunker about 10 feet back onto the green.

Richie says… “I really enjoyed playing here. One of the better short golf courses in the Los Angeles area. Very well maintained and the pace of play was good. It gets hot, so I recommend playing early. The course is short so you only need to bring half your clubs.”

Hole by Hole

Hole 1 – 93 yards

Hole 2 – 101 yards

Hole 3 – 153 yards

Hole 4 – 102 yards

Hole 5- 95 yards

Hole 6 – 82 yards

Hole 6 – green

Hole 7 – 98 yards

Hole 8 – 111 yards

Hole 9 – 93 yards

Hole 10 -126 yards

Hole 11 – 100 yards

Hole 12 – 123 yards

Hole 13 – 100 yards

Hole 14 – 105 yards

Hole 15 – 106 yards

Hole 15 – green

Hole 16 – 119 yards

Hole 17 – 107 yards

Hole 18 – 134 yards

Hole 18 – green