Halfway to St Andrews lies Lundin & Leven, like two identical twin links courses alongside the Firth of Fourth. There is still a proper wind blowing. We choose Lundin and talk Masters and Adam Scott in the shop before heading into the clubhouse – Chesterfield and coffee. James Braid allowed the first four holes to caress the sea before the course turns in towards protective gorse. The 1st hole shares its fairway with the 18th and is uphill on an angle, making it an unusually difficult opening links hole. On the 2nd one of the course’s characteristic features – the burn – makes an appearance meandering like a poisonous snake, testing LINKS75 time and time again. The tee at the 3rd hole is in fantastic location – neighbours with Poseidon – so we stop to let the love of links golf wash over us. Newly-sodded bunkers await at the green.
4th green, Lundin
The 4th – a par 4 – is a challenge of the highest order, having a fairway on a ridge, 400 yards, concluding with the burn and elevated green. It would take a lifetime to make par, and maybe even that wouldn’t be long enough. Behind us a solitary player emerges. The course turns uphill into the gorse, sand hills, and heavy rough. The 6th – a blind tee shot with a lookout tower and then even the 7th – a short par 4 – with the burn at the finish, where LINKS75 has to fish out its white gold from the snake’s belly. On the 9th a snap hook carries over the man behind us who has to crouch down before he can play his approach to the flag. Does he want to play through? “No I´m fine here – where are you from?” The 10th also has a sighting marker and a fairway like a small desert island between the 6th and 11th. What an amazing hole – fantastic! Suddenly we run out of links country and are moved up towards the road – “lost in translation”. Like a stain on a newly laundered tuxedo. To break the spell we move down to links heaven via the 14th. Spectacular – from the tee you can see all tees and greens. Enormous links delight – Dornoch revisited.
5th hole, Lundin
Once again the man behind appears, studies LINKS75′s logo for the day – Royal Birkdale – and enquires “Are you bankers?” LINKS75 ponders the question – we are just humble links lovers with a devotion for ground between the land and the sea. Bankers? Maybe but only if we get to look after this asset. The course returns to its previous glory and takes us by the hand in this enchanted links land towards the waiting clubhouse.
All our senses have been touched – the sea, the gorse, the marker posts, the burn, the sand hills and Chesterfield.
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