As you can see, this course is right on the water. Well, more of a salt marsh on a bay, but there's water out there, and across the bay is the Atlantic City skyline. The front nine is mostly inland, but the back nine plays much closer to the bay, and the salt marsh comes into play on several holes. There was a stiff ocean breeze, and it made a big difference. On a hole playing downwind, it was a struggle to hit a drive 250 yards, but downwind, drives sailed over 300 yards, which is how golf was meant to played. Their website uses the words "seaside links" which is a stretch at best, since I'm not convinced the soil there was sand, and the course certainly wasn't playing firm and fast. But it felt linksy, and at several points, it even looked linksy.
The course is only 6,600 yards from the back tees (which I played), but because of the wind and the par of 70, it often played much longer, and it gave an added challenge that made the 78 I shot probably the best round I've ever played. Something about the course inspired me to play my best golf. I was certainly helped by the fact that I got to play by myself. Sometimes, playing with someone is a good thing. Sometimes, extra people would spoil the mood. This was one of those latter cases.
The round starts off on a fairly stern note, with a 450 yard par 4. This was mitigated somewhat by the fact that the hole was playing downwind. For instance, I hit a very conservative drive well left (I wanted nothing to do with that OB on the right), but I was able to use a pitching wedge on my second from 165 yards. The green is pretty clearly better approached from the right side of the fairway, but with a wedge in hand and the greens soft, tee shot placement was less important, and I had about 25 feet for birdie. The greens here are generally more undulating than most golf courses, but not usually in an extreme way. The greens at P.B. Dye were definitely more severe.
The next hole is a shortish par 4, running along the same OB line as the 1st. It's definitely a birdie opportunity, as a good drive down the left side of the hole, over the fairway bunkers, leaves you with a fairly simple pitch. That's not what I did, but still, the strategy is there. I only have this one picture because a foursome let me play through, and I like to move things along when that happens.
The third hole is where things start to get interesting. It's about as long as the second hole, but it plays much differently. The second is more of a "use driver to get as close to the green as possible" hole. This hole has a much higher premium on accuracy. There's OB and trees right, and a lot of bunkers left. And these are real hazards too, go in one, and there's no guarantee you'll be able to reach the green. It's also one of the two holes that I really noticed played with a crosswind, rather than straight into or with the wind. Best strategy? Use a 3 wood or long iron to get onto the fairway, you won't have more than a wedge into the green.
The fourth hole is a short par 3 playing along the water. You've seen it already, in the lead picture. It's not a tremendously thought-provoking hole, and it's probably the easiest hole on the course, but when you've got that view of the Atlantic City skyline, sometimes it's best for the golf to sort of step out of the way.
The fifth hole is a long par 4 heading back inland. I really like how the golfer gets a taste of the ocean on the front nine, rather than reserving everything for the back. It serves as a nice tease, and it ties the two nines together. The course feels fluid rather than disjointed. Anyway, this is the other hole that plays across the prevailing wind, which comes from the right here. It's another tough drive, as you have to avoid the same bunkers we saw on the third, but the second shot is easier. It's too long to call a birdie hole, but it isn't easy, and it helps brace you for the very difficult sixth.
The sixth hole is a backbreaker of a par 5. Nearly 600 yards, and it played straight into the wind. One poor shot, and there's a very real chance you won't be able to get to the green in 3. I speak from experience on this one. The one shot you don't want to hit into a strong breeze is a high slice, but that's exactly what I did off the tee, and my drive ended up behind the one tree on that side of the hole, because of course it would. My punch shot was good, but I still had more than 250 yards left on the third, and that was just too much. If you do hit a good drive, the left side of the fairway is clearly preferable for the layup, as the green is open on that side. If you do it right, you won't even have to hit over the greenside bunkers at all, as the green will funnel shots down if it gets over a central ridge. That's depending on the hole location of course, which for me was shoved in the front right corner, just over a bunker. You definitely didn't want to go in that, so I played safe, and I accepted bogey as a decent option. Could have been worse.
As a side note, this was the first hole where I really noticed how wide the fairways are, and how nice it was to play a golf course with actual fairways, rather than thin little strips of short grass. I mean, I can miss any fairway, but in general, there was a lot of width to play with on this golf course, and I appreciate that.
The seventh hole is another long par 4 (there's 4 on the front nine over 440 yards), but it's a fairly undistinguished hole otherwise. This is probably the weakest hole on the course, but the green is pretty tough, and if you're looking for places to miss, don't go right.
The eighth hole is a par 3, and at nearly 200 yards into the wind, the longest of the five par 3s on the course, and all things considered, probably the toughest. There's a lot of sand around that green, and hitting the clearly preferable fade into the wind requires using one or two extra clubs. Definitely not a birdie hole here.
The ninth hole is probably the most difficult hole on the course, and caps off what has been a tough five hole stretch. It's a long par 4, but unlike 1, 5, and 7, which either play downwind or across the wind, 9 plays into the wind. And that makes a huge difference. Remember how on 1 I only needed a pitching wedge even after a relatively middling drive? Well, I hit a better drive on this hole, which is almost exactly the same length as the first hole, but I still had just over 200 yards to go. I needed a 4 iron just to get into the left-hand greenside bunker. Any amount of dogleg you can cut off goes a long way towards making this hole easier, but clearly, don't miss if you try that. This is one of those holes where a bogey is alright.
For my review of the back nine, click here.
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