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It's the best 7 Darrell Hull has ever made.
Hull, the director of golf at The Links Golf Club in Post Falls, Idaho, was one of the first golfers to tee it up on America's new longest hole.
A new black back tee added last June has stretched The Links Golf Club's ninth hole from 777 yards to what is touted as a jaw-dropping par 6 of 888 yards. That length has been verified by the Washington Golf Association, Hull says, but won't be official until the United States Golf Association signs off on it later this summer. For now, the scorecard lists no. 9 as playing 842 yards. If you've never heard of a par 6 before, read more about it here.
Hull, who has worked in the golf industry for 41 years, says it's a 292-yard carry - slightly uphill - just to reach the fairway. The hole runs along railroad tracks, bringing out of bounds on the left into play, before the fairway doglegs left near the green, creating a tricky angle in if you're not in the correct position.
"I only hit it about 240 or 250 yards these days," he added. "I can’t hit that fairway, but I still made a 7 on the par 6 not reaching the fairway. It's a good golf hole. I’ll take bogey on that hole every day."
The hole would have been 1,000+ yards, Hull notes, if additional land wasn't sold to a railroad company before the course was built.
The preposterously long ninth hole was the vision of course owner Dick Baitor, who came up with the idea of transforming The Links into the longest public course in America. The club's new back tees add up to an unofficial 8,291 yards, making the par-73 layout the second longest course in America and the fifth-longest in the world. Only the 8,463-yard RainDance National in Colorado is longer, but since it is semi-private, The Links Golf Club gets the nod as America's longest "public" course.
Five other holes on the course also require at least a 290-yard carry to reach the fairway. Sometimes good players show up thinking they're ready for the challenge but they're not, especially in the wind. Post Falls sits at 2,200 feet of elevation, so golfers do get a little distance boost from thinner air.
"I had a couple of good players quit after nine," Hull said. "The wind kicked up. He shot 48 on the front nine and did not want to shoot over 100."
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Joseph Glenn, a Post Falls native who played at Utah Valley University, owns the course record from the three longest men's tees - the 6,450-yard whites (63), the 7,123-yard blues (63) and the 8,291-yard blacks (69). From the blacks, Glenn has reached the ninth green in three with driver, driver and 5-wood, setting up a putt for eagle.
The goal for The Links is to eventually host a collegiate tournament from the back tees, perhaps by Gonzaga University in nearby Spokane, Wash. Unfortunately, Baitor passed away last November without seeing that dream to fruition. Two community college golf teams - North Idaho College and Spokane Community College - along with Whitworth University, a D-III program in Spokane, sometimes practice at the course.
Hull wants every golfer to know that The Links isn't just a lengthy gimmick, either. GolfPass reviews prove his point. It is one of the rare public courses with only five-star reviews (8 of them).
Emmett Burley, an original owner with Baitor, designed the course with some help from local architect Keith Hellstrom in 1999. They built several greens as tributes to more famous courses. The fifth green was inspired by the second hole at Pinehurst No. 2. The 6th, 12th and 13th greens were created to mirror the undulations on the 9th, 11th and 8th greens (respectively) at Augusta National. The 15th and 17th greens are supposed to give off Pine Valley vibes.
"We have some really unique greens," Hull said. "There is a lot of slope. You can misread them easily."
Big yardages and hard greens might sound like a long day on the golf course, but Hull said his staff encourages every group to pick the tees they play not by the color but by the yardages on the card. In case you haven't noticed, even the white tees are supersized at The Links Golf Club. The 5,817-yard gold tees, or 6,118-yard combo tees, will suit most golfers just fine.
"A great course that's under the radar ... Bring your "Big Boy" pants," golfer 'clayjok' wrote in a 2022 GolfPass review. "My brother and I really enjoyed The Links and it was a solid course to play to end our annual trip."
What would you shoot from 8,000 yards? Let us know in the comments below.
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