Links courses on Perfect Golf

[mwalimu]

Since a lot of Perfect Golf players have been playing computer golf for decades, and a majority started out with one or another version of Links, here's a list of all known courses that were included with any version of links from Links: The Challenge of Golf through Links 2003, or as an official add-on course from Access Software or Microsoft. They are subdivided into three lists, those that have a Perfect Golf version, those that do not, and fictional courses.

Corrections welcome. If there are any missing, or if a course is in the wrong list, or if the PG course is a different course than the Links course, let me know and I'll update this post accordingly. I did not attempt to include courses from the XBox game Links LS 2004 or any version of Leader Board.

Courses available on PGLS:

• Bay Hill (as Orange County)
• Castle Pines
• Congressional
• Firestone South
• Harbour Town
• Innisbrook Cooperhead (as Copperhead)
• Kauri Cliffs
• Latrobe CC (1)
• Oakmont (as Trapmont)
• Pebble Beach
• Pinehurst #2
• Prairie Dunes
• Riviera
• Royal Melbourne
• St. Andrews Old Course (as The Old Course)
• Torrey Pines South
• Valhalla

Real courses NOT available on PGLS:

• Aviara Four Seasons
• Banff Springs
• Barton Creek Fazio
• Bighorn
• Bighorn Canyon
• Bountiful
• Cambrian Ridge (2)
• Chateau Whistler
• Cog Hill
• Covered Bridge
• Dorado Beach East
• Entrada at Snow Canyon
• Frankfurter Golf Club
• Gleneagles
• Hapuna
• Kapalua Bay
• Kapalua Plantation
• Kapalua Village
• Mauna Kea
• Oakland Hills
• Ocean Club at Cabo del Sol
• Pelican Hill
• Pinehurst #8
• Phoenix CC
• Prince Course at Princeville
• RTJ Judge (2)
• RTJ Links (2)
• Sea Island (3)
• St. Andrews Jubilee
• St. Andrews New Course
• Thanksgiving Point
• The Belfry
• The Tribute at Otsego
• Troon North
• Valderrama
• Westfields

Fictional courses from any Links version:

• Devil's Island (4)
• Dimension X
• Mesa Roja
• Mojo Bay
• Skeleton Coast
• Three Canyons

Notes:

1. Links had both summer and fall versions of Latrobe. PG has only one version.
2. These three courses are all part of RTJ Golf Trail. "RTJ Judge" apparently refers to The Judge Course at Capitol Hill, and "RTJ Links" apparently refers to The Links Course at Grand National. Cambrian Ridge was missing from one list that otherwise looked complete, making me wonder if it was actually one of the other two, but it appears to be a separate course.
3. Sources list "Sea Island (The Cloister)" and "Sea Island and Davis Love III". It wasn't obvious whether these are the same course, and neither matches the name of any of the three courses at Georgia's Sea Island Resort, which are Seaside, Plantation, and Retreat. Love redesigned the Retreat course in 2001 so I'd guess it's that one (he later worked on the Plantation course but that was years after any Links version was released). "The Cloister" is the name of a popular resort in that area but I couldn't find offhand that there was a golf course referred to by that name.
4. Devil's Island is the only fictional course with a PG version.

I knew before I started making up this list that there were some notable Links courses that have never had a PG version, but I had thought well over half of them were covered and was surprised to discover only about a third of them are. Former Links players, which of these do you remember best from back in the day? Does Perfect Golf have enough life left in it to be worth the effort of course designers to create PG versions of at least a few of the most memorable of these that don't already have them?

Meanwhile, I'll keep wishing for the ultimate holy grail, a course converter that turns Links courses into PG courses. The same goes for PGA Tour.

[Riddler]

I still have all the disks for 2003 and all the course disks. Ones I remember most were the ones that the PGA played regularly. Sea Island, Kapalua Plantation, Mauna Kea and The Belfry to name a few. Thanks for taking the time to do this. I think PG will still be around for quite a while (wishful thinking) but not sure anyone will take the initiative to do all the work it takes to create a course.

[JoeBradley]

There's something to be said for less choice. Some of my favourite courses - Latrobe, Bay Hill and Castle Pines among them - are still the ones from early Links days, when I had only a handful to choose from, so got to know the intricacies of each well. That said, three of my other favourites - Royal Melbourne, Augusta, Pebble Beach - are only possible to play thanks to non-commercial PG designers.

[whattashot]

Great research. Thanks for this post. Real courses I would like to see in PG:
Banff Springs
Barton Creek
Cog Hill
The Belfry
Valderrama

I'm not a designer (78 years old) but I sure appreciate the talent that went in to Links designers, and PG designers courses. Forever grateful for almost 40 years of play between the two games. Sadly, Links 2003 will not install on my current PC running W10. I have all of the real courses ever made plus a bunch of the fictional ones. Disappointed at times with designers of real courses that feel the need to gimmick the course instead of staying true to the real design. The other day we played a real course that was full of really deep pot bunkers around every green. Google Earth zoomed in on the real course shows them as regular sand traps. Aside from that, sure hope this game continues for a long time to come.

[RobV]

Great research. Thanks for this post. Real courses I would like to see in PG:
Banff Springs
Barton Creek
Cog Hill
The Belfry
Valderrama

I'm not a designer (78 years old) but I sure appreciate the talent that went in to Links designers, and PG designers courses. Forever grateful for almost 40 years of play between the two games. Sadly, Links 2003 will not install on my current PC running W10. I have all of the real courses ever made plus a bunch of the fictional ones. Disappointed at times with designers of real courses that feel the need to gimmick the course instead of staying true to the real design. The other day we played a real course that was full of really deep pot bunkers around every green. Google Earth zoomed in on the real course shows them as regular sand traps. Aside from that, sure hope this game continues for a long time to come.

What is the issue with running Links on Win10? Runs like a charm on my 2 PCs and Laptop.. all Windows 10 machines. I would head over to Linkscorner and do some reading, there are various fixes to get the game running.. that is, if you still desire to play Links.

[mwalimu]

The responses to this thread have inspired me to reinstall Links LS 2003. Or at least I'd like to. It's buried somewhere in the few dozen boxes of stuff I never unpacked after my last move, and I couldn't find it offhand in a cursory search.

To answer my original question, my most memorable courses from the "not available" list:
Banff Springs
Barton Creek
Cog Hill
Troon North
Among those we do have PG versions of:
Castle Pines
Harbour Town
Prairie Dunes