Links is a Scottish term, from the Old English word hlinc : "rising ground, ridge", describing coastal sand dunes and sometimes similar areas inland. ^[1]. It is on links land near the towns of central eastern Scotland that golf has been played since the 1400's. ^[2].

The shallow top soil and sandy subsoil made links land unsuitable for the cultivation of crops or for urban development and was of low economic value. The links were often treated as common land by the residents of the nearby towns and were used by them for recreation, animal grazing and other activities such as laundering clothes.

The closely grazed turf and naturally good drainage of the links was ideal for golf, and areas of longer grass, heather, low growing bushes and exposed sand provided the hazards that are familiar on modern courses. Although early links courses were often close to the sea it was rarely used as a hazard, perhaps due to the instability of the dunes closest to the water and the high cost of hand-made golf balls precluding anything that could result in their irrecoverable loss. The land is naturally treeless and this combined with their coastal location makes wind and weather an important factor in links golf.

Traditional links courses are often arranged with holes in pairs along the coastline; players would play "out" from the town through a series of holes to the furthest point of the course, and then would return "in" along the second set of holes. ^[2]. The holes may share fairways (and most notably at St Andrews, greens) to economize on land use, but in modern times this is rare as the potential for injury from balls coming the other way is quite high.

Famous links courses include the Old Course at St. Andrews, often described as the “Home of Golf” and Musselburgh Links, which is generally regarded as the first recorded golf course. The Open Championship, the oldest of golf’s major championships is always played on a links course ^[3]. Links and links-style golf courses have been developed throughout the world, reproducing the broken, treeless terrain with deep bunkers of their Scottish prototypes.