The Pärnu Bay Golf Links golf course has been included in the top 100 golf courses in the world in 2020 list, compiled by Golfscape, an online golf reservation service.
The golf course in Pärnu is listed 88th in this year’s top.
“Here, links golf is embodied in true form. A coastal location with sandy earth, fescue grasses, and wide fairways,” the list says about the Pärnu Bay Golf Links course.
“Course designer Lassi Pekka Tilander paired with Mick McShane as the lead shaper, who in fact is best known for shaping the famous St. Andrews Links’ Castle Course and Kingsbarns Golf Links.”
A links is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word “links” comes via the Scots language from the Old English word hlinc: “rising ground, ridge” and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes and sometimes to open parkland.
According to Golfscape, the courses featured in its annual rankings “offer experiences to remember, from Scotland’s legendary layouts as the birthplace of golf, to the unspoiled spectacular nature of golf courses in South Africa”.
The world’s best golf courses are in the Anglosphere
The best golf courses in the world this year, according to the rankings, are the Royal Dornoch Golf Club, Scotland; the Royal County Down Golf Club, Ireland; and the West Course at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Australia.
The Pärnu Bay Golf Links course claims to be the newest golf course in Northern Europe. According to Visit Estonia, the country’s official tourism website, the course is a versatile golf complex that has five par-3 tracks in addition to an 18-hole course and a driving range for longer or shorter strokes. This is the first links-type course in the Baltic countries with a length of 4,500 to 6,200 m.”
Golfscape is an online golf reservation service founded in London in 2013. The company provides services to find, plan and book golf in 50 countries.
Read also: Estonia – a gem for golfers.
Cover: Pärnu Bay Golf Links course.
