It could be an issue with whom the links are linked to. It can also be an rss feed issue.
Ed

It can be your internet speed, your plug-ins, or theme.

If they're all going to different sites, this likely doesn't have anything to do with your website. It would either be on their side, or due to something going on within your browser or internet connection. I hope that helps, Todd! Always nice to see you around.

Might be your browser. Test it out. If you find a fast opening site, take the url, link to it from one of your posts. Then open an incognito (or private) window, log on to your site and try the link.

John

This can be the external link website issue, you can try isolate to see where the problem lies. Open a new tab in your browser and paste the external link there to see if it open up fast or slow.