What exactly is a golf links and what makes it so different?

Question

What exactly is a golf links and what makes it so different?

Answer 1

a links course is one that is located on the ocean usually.

the reason it is called that:

in scotland, the locals would use the flat areas where the fairways were as a 'link' between town and the ocean.

Answer 2

A links golf course, sometimes referred to as a seaside links, is the oldest style of golf course, first developed in Scotland. The word comes from the Scots language and refers to an area of coastal sand dunes, and sometimes to open parkland.

Many links – though not all – are located in coastal areas, on sandy soil, often amid dunes, with few water hazards and few if any trees. This reflects both the nature of the scenery where the sport happened to originate, and the fact that only limited resources were available to golf course architects at the time, and any earth moving had to be done by hand, so it was kept to a minimum.

Since Links don't have grass from tee to green, it generally require accurate shots so you don't land in the sand or dirt areas.  Modern non-links courses usually have grass from tee to green.