Links of Boynton Beach (Boynton Beach, Florida)

Devlin and Von Hagge are my least favorite architects, and Boynton Beach is a prime example of what I dislike about them. Their fairway mounding disrupts the flow and visual appeal, often times causing confusion as to where the hole is going and what hazards lie beyond. They dogleg at awkward yardages and difficult angles. The strategy off the tee differs on every hole, so while an inside line is best on one, an outside line is best on another. There’s no real philosophy to their architecture. 

(The 358 yard par four sixth doglegs to the right. The inside corner leaves a semi blind shot but the outside  corner requires a carry over the water.) 

Boynton Beach is owned by the city. They have an eighteen hole course and a nine hole executive course. The championship course plays along the perimeter. A couple canals define the boundary and come into play on a few holes, notably the first where it’s next to the tee box. A few holes on the boundary line dogleg at 90 degrees, a Devlin /Von Hagge trait that I find annoying. The eleventh is the biggest offender. It’s a silly par five where the big hitter can go over the corner with no reprisal and have a shot at the green while the shorter hitter must strike it solidly enough to get past the tree line. 

(The 433 yard par four third turns left after getting past the trees…
…this is very typical green at Boynton Beach. The putting surface slopes back to front with most of the difficult recoveries coming from the sides. Short is almost always the proper leave.) 

Boynton Beach best feature is its conditioning, specifically the greens which were rolling very fast. This made all the chips and pitches tough to gauge when coming from the side. The slopes and humps often times took the ball well past. This was my low round of the week (77) and the wind was consistently blowing 10-12 mph. Most of my shots were on the green or just short. From the front, one can save par much easier. 

(The 395 yard par four fifth doglegs right with the left bunker a good aiming point…
…the approach is to one of the few greens bunkered in front. An extra club ensures the carry but being long is no bargain either.)

(The 317 yard par four eighth has this minuscule green along the water’s edge. Note the mounding behind the green. Being on them, or worse over them, meant a treacherous putt towards the hazard. I saw many balls find the hazard here. This however was my only birdie.) 

Interestingly, I had played PGA National the day prior, and holes 15 and 17 are bookend par threes that make up the “Bear Trap”. Well Boynton Beach has its own version and the two par threes here on fifteenth and seventeenth are quite difficult. Any good round must get through this stretch in fine standing. (The sixteenth is another 90 degree dogleg that plays very long. The landing area was not well defined.) 

(The 181 yard par three fifteenth is a daunting hole. Right is the immediate bailout but I saw a few chips from there actually roll into the hazard. It played into the wind which only added to its length and difficulty.)

(The 178 yard par three seventeenth was similar to fifteen except the water was to the right…

…taking on any front or right pin risks finding the hazard with an errant shot. I won the pin shot here from 15’ which proves how elusive the hole was playing.) 

Being a municipal course, Boynton Beach has a decent price point. In the winter time, it becomes part of the rota of munis that are affordable, especially for vacationing northerners. Architecturally, I like Delray and Park Ridge better. Nonetheless, I have to give it a little credit especially with its condition which seems to be one criteria most golfers deem important. I give Links of Boynton Beach a 4 (above average)(worth driving 30-45 minutes to play).