The Links of Gettysburg:
Be Treated like Royalty for a Day

By Travis Espenlaub,
Staff Writer

GETTYSBURG, Penn. - Located in the hills of Gettysburg, you will find a soon-to-be- discovered gem of a course named The Links of Gettysburg. Whomever said they couldn't find a beautiful public course with small crowds anymore, definitely hasn't played this course. The Links was officially opened to the public in April 1999, although much of the course was completed a few years beforehand.

Upon entering the grounds of The Links, you will notice a long red driveway approaching the clubhouse. Before your round of golf is completed, you will become very familiar with the color red and it may not be only because of where your score is after 18 holes of demanding shot- making.

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It seems that The Links was built on ground that has a reddish-colored rock and clay as its foundation. This makes for some very picturesque views on more than one of the holes. A few of the holes were cut into some of the colorful rock, leaving spectacular monstrous cliffs that reach heights of three or four stories at times.

The cliffs rarely come into play except for a badly struck shot, but they do make you think about some of your upcoming shots a bit longer than you would normally. All of the cart paths on the course are made of this red rock and make a very interesting contrast to the plush green bent grass enveloping the course. These red cart paths also make for very interesting scuff marks on white golf balls that bounce highly off of them on wayward shots.

After finishing a round of golf at The Links you will notice red marks on your soft spikes and also on many of your clubheads. Luckily, the friendly staff is more than happy to clean your clubs after a round so you don't track unsightly stains onto the carpet of your vehicle's trunk.

Another perk that The Links offers is a telephone on the 9th tee that has a direct line to the snack bar located in the clubhouse. A menu is placed inside of the very beneficial laminated "Distance and Helpful Course Hint Book", which is provided on every cart.

From the menu you can order many different light fares that will be awaiting you once you drive away from the 9th green. This is a very handy benefit of this course, as it helps speed play up instead of waiting for your food to be prepared at the turn.

Currently, there is only one fee to pay for playing the course any day of the week: $75 per round, which includes a cart and free balls to hit off of the numerous driving mats on the driving range. There is also a chipping green with a practice bunker and a separate green to practice putting.

The $75 price tag per round is a bit steep for the area around historic Gettysburg, but it appears as if they are trying to attract the more affluent golfers from the Baltimore, Washington D.C., and Harrisburg areas. It is not uncommon to play upscale courses around those cities for those prices and at The Links you have the added attractions that the Gettysburg Battlefield and surrounding historic sites have to offer.

It is not much more of an hour drive from any of the aforementioned cities, and the Gettysburg area offers the beauty of its natural protected surroundings compared to the hustle and bustle of some of the city courses.

Another plus of The Links at this time is that since it is relatively new and unfamiliar to many golfers in the area, you can expect to have a round of golf that doesn't include waiting for shots or being rushed around by course rangers.

The staff at the course treat everyone with much patience and hospitality and it seems quite genuine when they wish you to "have a good round". It is likely that as the course matures and the owners find their niche in the golf market, they may offer some twilight specials and some other price deviations from the current $75 fee.

The front nine at The Links begins with a few warm-up holes which are always nice to limber up those stiff muscles, although no hole on the course is a piece of cake. There is not a level green on the entire course. All of the undulating greens take some thought to read correctly but none of the greens are unfair or make you stand there scratching your head wondering what the heck just happened once you putted the ball.

The greens are medium to fast in speed and not many of the greens hold very well with iron shots. This is most likely due to their young age and will surely improve after a few more years of maturity.

Once you approach the number one handicapped hole, No. 7, you had better be loosened up because it will take loose muscles and solid shot-making to par. It is a 600-yard par-5 that has water in play on the left side of the fairway and a pond that must be driven by a long tee shot on the right.

The landing area takes a delicately placed tee shot that will be wet if hit either too short or too long. Once that first shot is negotiated, a long second shot will most likely be short of an uphill undulating green. This is just a warm-up for the back nine where water comes into play on a majority of the holes.

After conquering the No. 12 island-like par-3, the rest of the back nine holes have water along the majority of the entire left side of their fairways. If you hit a ball from right to left, you may want to just skip the remaining holes and head in to the clubhouse for a bite to eat. Bailing out to the right isn't an option either because trees and unplayable high grass cover that side on most of the holes.

No. 18 is a very interesting hole with the aforementioned water on the first part of the 539-yard par-5 fairway. To compliment the water on the left, there is also a pond midway out on the right side of the fairway. Also, the backside of the green is surrounded by a moat and one of the infamous high red cliff walls with the clubhouse on top of it so that many spectators can watch you be "a hero or a zero" with your finishing shots of the day.

I would definitely recommend The Links to anyone who can afford the $75 rate and also to those looking for a non-stop round of golf on a very challenging professionally kept course. The Links is not for the golfer trying to play within a budget, but for a fantastic getaway it may be the perfect place for you to act and be treated like royalty for a day.

Weekday Fees: $75/18 holes
Weekend Fees: $75/18 holes

Gold Tee Course Rating: 73.9
Gold Tee Course Slope: 128
Gold Yardage: 7031
Par: 72

Blue Tee Course Rating: 72.0
Blue Tee Course Slope: 125
Blue Yardage: 6643
Par: 72

White Tee Course Rating: 70.0
White Tee Course Slope: 122
White Yardage: 6184
Par: 72

Green Tee Course Rating: 67.8
Green Tee Course Slope: 116
Green Yardage: 5710
Par: 72

Red Tee Course Rating: 68.8
Red Tee Course Slope: 116
Red Yardage: 4861
Par: 72

The Links of Gettysburg
601 Mason-Dixon Road
Gettysburg, PA 17325
PGA Professional: Joe Burden
Head Prod: Tim Garrard
Pro Shop Phone: (717) 359-8000