This year the WINSTONgolf Senior Open will be hosted on the Links course which will mean a change of style and scenery for the players who will return to the northern German province of Mecklenburg for the fifth time. WINSTONgolf has hosted the Senior Tour for the past four years at its Open course on the same complex but this year shall present a wholly different challenge.
WINSTONlinks, which opened its tees for play in 2011, was designed by Canadian architect David Krause. The links course is set in a sandy landscape flanked by gorse, heather and towering dunes.
This is not a true links course and is described as an inland links. However, the course retains many of the essential elements of a links course with rolling fairways and greens featuring typical deep swales and subtle borrows.
Course management is essential on a links course and, despite the wind not being as much as a factor here as it can be by the sea, there are plenty of pitfalls throughout this course. The general consensus from those who have played here is that it can play relatively easy if you keep your ball in the right places. However, gorse and heather await those who make a mistake.
WINSTONlinks has won a considerable amount of acclaim given its relative youth. In 2011 it was awarded the title of “Best new course in Germany” by Golf Magazine. This was followed by the title of “Best Course in Germany” in the 2014 edition of Golf Journal. This means that fans and players are in for a treat when they head to the course for this weekend’s Senior Tour event.
Pedro Linhart of Spain won on 18-under last year. It will be interesting to see how the professionals adapt to the new challenge of the WINSTONlinks course for this year’s edition of the tournament.
