Review: Brigantine Golf Links (Part 2)

It's time for the review of the back nine at Brigantine, go here to see the front nine.

The tenth hole is the longest par 5 on the course, playing 540 yards right into the prevailing wind. The wind brings the left fairway bunker solidly into play, and you definitely don't want to be hitting your second shot from there. Assuming you're in a good position, your best bet on the second is to lay up at around the 100 yard marker. There's a pond lurking a little past that, and since I sincerely doubt too many people will be able to go for the green outright, it's just more trouble than it's worth to try and get as close to the green as possible. From there, it's a wedge to a relatively small green flanked by sand.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

I honestly forgot about the pond to the right until I was writing the review.

Looking back at the tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a short par 4, and the best hole on the golf course. It's only 330 yards, but it gives you many options. The big bunker to the right is obviously quite intimidating, but bailing out to the left is a bad idea. There's another bunker left, unseen, and the angle to the green is very bad. So it's over the right bunker, and you'd think that you'd want to get as far over it as possible. But a water hazard left, a native area right, and a narrowing fairway means the further you drive it, the more risk involved. I hit a long iron to the right side of the fairway, leaving a fairly simple wedge to the green, and I think that's probably the best strategy. The green itself is quite large and significantly sloped in the back. Definitely don't want to be putting down that hill.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green

The twelfth hole is a mid-length par 3 at 190 yards. There's water short and right, but you'd have to hit a pretty big slice to find it. The bunkers right and short left are more concerning. The green is pretty big and has plenty of slope within it, so two putts aren't the easiest. I'd say this is probably the best of the par 3s at Brigantine.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is a not quite short par 4 with a significant dogleg to the right. There is water along much of the right side of the fairway, but if you bail out left, you'll be left with an awfully long approach, considering the length of the hole. The calculus may change depending on the hole location, but when I played it, the flag was in a very accessible location, making my decision to use driver on the tee a no-brainer. It left me with just a little half-wedge to a completely open hole location. If the flag is on the right, I think going at the green from the left side of the hole and from further back would make more sense, rather than risking the awkward half shot over the corner of the bunker.

The thirteenth hole

I got this picture while playing 11. The two holes are very close together.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a fairly long (for this course) par 4 at 415 yards. The drive is pretty wide open, with no hazards to speak of. It is a bit on the narrow side, so if you're not feeling too good about the accuracy of your driver, a 3 wood wouldn't be the worst idea. The second shot is more interesting, playing to an undulating green guarded by three bunkers. This hole definitely requires precise iron play if you want to make a birdie.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is the final par 3 at Brigantine. At 180 yards, it isn't too long, but the water lurks both short and left, and is close enough to the green that it's always going to be on your mind. I imagine many end up right of the green (that's what I did), which is technically safe, but the green is narrow and getting up and down is difficult.

The fifteenth hole.

The sixteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that starts off in a completely nondescript fashion. No bunkers, no trouble, just a wide-open fairway. However, things change once you're standing over your second shot. I've seen some pretty interesting greens in my time, but this one is definitely up there. It's a long, thin green that climbs several feet from the front up to the back. Putts up the slope are ridiculously slow, and I can only imagine how fast they are going down. I didn't find out because the hole was in the back, and I was very careful to leave my second in the middle of the green. If you go over the green here and the hole is in the back, I honestly don't see any chance of getting up and down for par.

The sixteenth hole.

The yardage book said the green was pretty extreme. This is when I realized that wasn't an exaggeration.

The sixteenth green.

If you face this shot for your third ... good luck.

The seventeenth hole is the longest par 4 on the golf course, but it plays longer than the 420 yards might suggest. A pond cuts across the fairway a bit more than 250 yards from the tee, meaning that you have to lay up with a wood or long iron. That leaves the golfer with a mid-iron into the green, which is small and well guarded with sand.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is an extremely short par 5, playing only 450 yards. As such, it's a fantastic opportunity to close out with a birdie, or even an eagle. However, there is water running down the right side of the hole. It's pretty far right though, if you're taking an aggressive line you shouldn't have to worry about it. The green is just as wide open, with the two bunkers significantly separated from the green. They'll only catch out really badly hit second shots. Once again the green has a noticeable back-to-front tilt, though nothing like what the golfer saw on the sixteenth.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching 18.

The eighteenth green.

Clearly, considering the location of the course, Brigantine isn't as good as it could have been. If the architects had free reign over the section of the island, there could have been half a dozen holes on the bay, maybe more. But that's not the course they built. They built a housing development course, and you know what? It's honestly pretty good. The front nine is a bit underwhelming and pretty easy, but the back nine has some pretty decent holes. The eleventh and sixteenth were particularly memorable and definitely stand up well.

More importantly, the course managed to maintain a sense of flow. Because it was built in the pre-golf cart era, the distances between greens and tees were kept to a minimum. You could easily walk Brigantine if you wanted. And it felt like a cohesive unit; sure, there were pretty much always houses on both sides of the hole, but I never felt too isolated from the rest of the course. Overall, I'd say the 40 dollars I paid was maybe a little much, but not by a lot. The value wasn't bad. I would consider playing here again, should I ever end up in the area.