RURAL RAY — When it began gaining national recognition more than a decade ago, the Links of North Dakota golf course was known for its Scottish flair that harkened back to the game’s earliest days with a tranquil setting along the banks and bluffs of northern Lake Sakakawea.
Today, the course that bills itself as the best in the state — and has hardware to back up that claim — is in the middle of the western North Dakota madness that is the Bakken Oil Patch. When people use the word “flare” there, it has a widely recognized and wholly different meaning.
Ronnie Swartz, the head professional at The Links, said oil’s impact on the area surrounding the course can be seen in plain view at dusk.
“You can stand up on pretty much any hole and see them,” Swartz said. “At night, it looks like the hillsides are on fire just from the flares blowing off the natural gas.”
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Dustin Monke 