Review: Twisted Dune Golf Club (Part 1)

I would like to start a petition to rename Ocean Heights Avenue in Egg Harbor City as Faux Links Lane. On this relatively unremarkable stretch of road, within a mile of each other, are two golf courses of remarkable similarity. One of these courses is McCullough's Emerald Golf Links, which I played 4 years ago, and just up the road is Twisted Dune, which we're going to take a look at today.

There's an interesting story to the inception of Twisted Dune; it was originally meant to be designed by Rees Jones, but after taking on the project, Rees Jones didn't deign to visit the site, so the owners moved on and hired Archie Struthers, a local man who was a former assistant pro at Pine Valley before getting involved in management at a local Atlantic City area country club. That means this course was designed by an amateur, someone who'd never designed a course before. It's basically every golfer's fantasy, but how did this particular fantasy come to life work out? 

Actually, before I start, I'd just like to say something about the tee placement. I was playing the course from the blue tees, which were supposed to be a bit under 6,800 yards. However, on virtually every hole the blue tees were back with the black tees, which are almost at 7,300 yards. For example, the first hole is only 345 from the blues on the scorecard, but with the tees back, it was actually more like 395, basically even with the 400 from the black tees. On courses over 7,000 yards from the tips, I normally give yardages from the tees closest to 6,500 yards, since that's a comfortable distance for most avid but not professional golfers, but for this course I'm going with the full yardage. I basically played the full course (if I had to guess, I'd say around 7,100 yards), so might as well. 

The first hole is a mid-length par 4 and a quiet, restrained start to the round. The fairway's pretty wide, especially if you use a 3 wood; if you go much past 250 yards, it starts to narrow. You do need that width though, considering the hole makes its way through faux dunes on each side, a sight you're going to become very accustomed to over the course of the round. You're better off staying on the left side of the fairway, since the smallish green is protected by three bunkers to the right. 

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is 430 yards and plays along the edge of the property, though you'd have to hit a pretty big hook to go out of bounds. The deep fairway bunker on the left side is a much bigger concern. There's plenty of room to the right at least. You'll then be left with a short or mid iron into the green, which is nestled down in a group of dunes with three bunkers and various forms of sandy waste around the back. 

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is a long par 3, 235 yards, and while it's technically downhill, it's not by much. So you'll be need to use a long iron or even a fairway wood, and you've got a pretty small target out there. The green, which tilts noticeably from left to right, isn't big, and there are six bunkers of varying size surrounding it. At the very least the front of the green is open, so you can run up a shot onto the green. Par is a very good score on this hole.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is the longest hole at Twisted Dune, playing an uphill 570 yards. The hole doglegs right around a massive bunker, and while the hole is basically unreachable into two, there's still an advantage for keeping your drive close to it. A pair of bunkers a little over 100 yards from the green jut into the fairway, and if you want a wedge into the green, you either need a precise lay-up to the left of them or you need to clear them, and unless you hit a good drive into the fairway, that's going to be an issue. This is a long hole that plays very long. Miss the fairway and you may very well have a mid or long iron into the green, and you don't want that. It's a small target, with a lot of back to front slope, and there's a lot of bunkers left and right. In my opinion, this is the best hole on the course, a par 5 that's actually a tough par.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a short par 4, but at 345 yards it's not driveable. The fairway's reasonably open, though it's not the widest fairway in the world. The green is the interesting part of this hole, since the back half falls away from the line of play. There's a pair of bunkers left and right which are rather nasty as well, but this isn't the most difficult or interesting hole in the world.

Someone forgot to take a picture from the fifth tee.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is 420 yards and plays uphill, with the landing area pinched by numerous bunkers. I suppose you could lay up with a long iron short of them, but you'd have 200 yards left and I just don't think that's worth it. You don't have a huge amount of space for your driver, but it's not U.S. Open narrow either. The second shot is a short or mid iron to a green that looks rather intimidating, with a group of bunkers on a small hill short right, but there's actually quite a bit of space to the right; those bunkers are really 20 yards short and not a huge issue. The green's bigger than it looks as well.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole parallels the sixth, playing 435 yards downhill. The fairway's pretty wide, so there's not much to worry about on the drive. The second shot is more challenging, being a short or mid iron to a narrow green protected by several bunkers. The green is two tiered, with the back being higher than the front. Of course, with the hole position in the front, we didn't have to deal with that tier, but I imagine back hole locations are quite difficult.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is the shortest hole at Twisted Dune, playing 160 yards to a fairly large but undulating green. There's a lot of fescue between the green and the tee, which is admittedly a bit intimidating, but it doesn't come into play that much. The big bunker front left is the primary hazard here, but if you bail out right, you can easily get caught up in the rough and be left with a downhill chip from a hanging lie. The green is quite large at least, and not difficult to hit, so this isn't a tough hole.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is a long par 5, just a few yards shorter than the fourth, though at least it doesn't play uphill. To the left we have two ponds (one of which isn't in play, being close to the tee) and a whole bunch of unplayable brush, so you'll naturally be drawn out toward the right side. However, there is a group of bunkers on a small hill that do narrow the fairway a bit, and you really don't want to be in them. You won't be able to get very far out of them. The second shot is a matter of just keeping it in the fairway, since the only hazard is the water left. Then the third will be a wedge or pitch to a green with decent amount of back to front slope. There's water, but if you've got a short third, it won't be too much of a concern.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.