We only need to report to the shop. Just like in the good old days we don’t have to book a time – just step up to the 1st tee and play! We are on England’s south-east coast. More accurately we are near the harbour town of Felixstowe, where all the ferries from Germany, Holland and Denmark disembark. In a clubhouse with authentic links atmosphere we feel moved – the course is England’s fifth oldest. The 1st tee is squeezed in between the 12th and 18th greens with a view over the course’s landmark – a fortress or the so-called Martello Tower – which forms the course’s midpoint. A highway seperates the holes, 10 in marshland and 8 in linksland. The jitters from Borth and Ynyslas arise to the surface yet again. Yellow fairways and wind from the North Sea create expectation. We start the marshland stretch of holes. One half of LINKS75 raises its game to a new level, chipping and putting like a pro – 5 birdies after 11 holes. The 11th has an unforgettable bunker that is perfectly aligned with the highway crossing the course. A blissfully ignorant golfer can at any time be run over by the roadside by anyone on two wheels.
“Road bunker” at Felixstowe Ferry
The 12th is a hole that must be experienced. A short par 3 – 137 yards - across the road to a waiting green below the clubhouse. Between the tee and the road is a strong net to protect the traffic that zooms round a blind corner ahead of the hole – an obstacle we have never seen before. From the state of the net it would seem that many balls have ended up in it. A man-made obstacle – an integral part of the course or just something to amuse? Like a jetty from the marshland to real links, the course changes character and some real links gems swirl around the Martello Tower form the 13th to the 17th holes like a well-coordinated Viennese waltz. The 13th is a wonderful par 4 with Martello behind, the North Sea to the right and a fairway dip that leads to an elevated, undulating green. Links75 class. Mr J wins 7 and 6. The 14th and 15th continue in the same vein.
Felixtstowe Ferry, 16th & 14th green
The 16th is a very good par 3 – 201 yards – followed by the 17th, a par4 at 441 yards, which completes a finishing climax around Martello’s heavy torso. The slope up to the 18th feels easy and we cast a last awestruck look at the Net at the 16th before we sign off our cards.
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