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.

Review: Brigantine Golf Links (Part 1)

Sometimes, you have to acknowledge reality. Sometimes your golf game isn't where you want it to be, but you're going on a trip soon and you know you'll have some time to play a round. Do you pay a hundred dollars to play the good course, then get super angry the whole time because you're struggling to break 100? Or do you go to the cheap, less difficult place where you know you won't care so much? That's the situation I found myself in as I headed to Atlantic City in early April for a bachelor party. I knew I'd have time to play, but my round at the Woods not even a week earlier had gone so badly, it just felt silly to spend upward of 75 dollars to play one of the multitude of good courses in the vicinity. I wanted golf, but I didn't want to break the wallet doing so.

And that brings us to Brigantine Golf Links. This is a housing development course, full stop. There is no hole where the playing corridor isn't lined with houses. Interestingly, this is one of the first housing development courses ever made, dating back to the 1920s, though the course was closed during the Great Depression and reopened in the 1950s. Maybe not quite as historic as Atlantic City Country Club over on the mainland, but it's something, right? Just be prepared to see lots of houses in the pictures.

The first hole is a short and gentle par 5, doglegging gently around a pond that never really comes into play. A gully cuts across the fairway about 150 yards from the green, but unless you're stupendously long or very short, it won't come into play. The green isn't exactly big, but it's not small either, and there are no bunkers around it, only gentle mounding. I imagine quite a few people walk off this hole under par, it's really quite easy.

The first hole. I told you there would be lots of houses.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The short little flags were one of my favorite things about Brigantine.

The second hole is a fairly short par 4 that is significantly less wide open than the previous hole, though you can't quite tell that from the picture. There's a native area just left of the fairway, and the long pond that crosses in front of the tee reaches much of the way down the right side. If you can, a drive down the left side is preferable, as the green -- guarded by bunkers long left and short right -- is angled to more easily accept shots from the left.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is, at 210 yards, the first and longest par 3 at Brigantine. Water fronts the green, but it's far enough short that only a really chunked shot would go in. The two bunkers right and short left are more of a concern. The green is once again of a reasonable generous size, not too small but not overly large. Not a hole you'd expect to make birdie on, but not one you'd see too many doubles or triples.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a mid-length par 4 that is pretty simple. The one bunker on the hole is barely even in play, well short of the typical landing area. The green is average sized and has no trouble around it. Brigantine gets off to a pretty gentle start, with two decent birdie opportunities in the first four holes.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

Looking back down the fourth hole.

The fifth hole isn't a tremendously long par 4 at 405 yards, but it is the most difficult hole the golfer has encountered up to this point. The doglegs right between one fairway bunker right and two left, and it does so pretty close to the tee. A ditch crosses the fairway at around 300 yards, so that eliminates driver for the longer hitters. Even so, the ability to hit a fade is very helpful off the tee, as there are pine trees right that prevent the golfer from cutting the corner. If you hit a draw, you won't be able to hit much more than a long iron off the tee. The green also has one bunker right and two left. This is easily the toughest hole on the front nine.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is a 510 yard par 5, and is also the best hole on the front nine. The hole is reachable if you take a direct line, but that means cutting the corner of the dogleg, bringing bunkers and water into play. If you lay well back with the drive, it brings a series of crossbunkers about 100 yards from the green into play. Of course, the green is best approached from the left side, which is where the crossbunkers are. If you can go for the green in two, a faded wood or long iron will suit you well.

The sixth hole.

The group in front of me was letting me play through, so this is the only picture of the sixth I got from the fairway.

The seventh hole is, at 150 yards, the shortest hole at Brigantine. There are three bunkers around the green, but otherwise it's a pretty simple hole. The green isn't especially undulating and it's decently sized. Definitely a decent birdie opportunity.

The seventh hole.

The eighth hole is another mid-length par 4 that looks very simple. However, the direct line may not be the best option, as the bunker short right of the green makes shots hit from the middle of the fairway more difficult. To open up the best approach, the tee shot should be hit down the left side.

The eighth hole.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is yet another mid-length par 4, but this one plays ever so slightly uphill. There's a pond right, but a decently hit drive should easily get past it. The green is guarded by two bunkers left and one right, and has a fairly significant back-to-front slope. When you get to the green, you'll notice that this is the one spot on the golf course, other than maybe looking back from the first tee, that you can see the ocean.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

Despite being on a small island, this is the only ocean view.

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

Review: Royal Manchester Golf Links (Part 2)

It's time for the back nine at Royal Manchester, here's the front if you haven't seen it yet.

The tenth hole is another medium-length par 4, and it presents the player with the classic strategic dilemma. The closer you get to the fairway bunker on the right, the better angle you'll have to attack the green, which is guarded by a bunker to the left. Do it right and you'll have a good chance at a birdie. All in all, a very solid hole, if not a particularly revolutionary one.

The tenth hole.

This is a good place to approach the tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a medium-length par 3 playing over a shallow valley to a green defended on three sides by bunkers. If you can be below the hole, that is a big advantage, this green slopes pretty sharply from back to front.

The eleventh hole.

The twelfth hole is, if you're playing the blue/white tees, the longest hole on the golf course at 540 yards. If you're going to miss this fairway, miss it right, the mounding is very significant and the grass is cut short enough that golf balls are pretty findable. Thick jungle runs the entire way down the left side of the hole. If you're going for the green in two, a fade is going to be the better shot, and lay-ups are best hit from the left side of the fairway. The green is best approached from the left side.

The twelfth hole.

Don't go too far left on the second.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is the shortest par 4 at Royal Manchester at 350 yards. It's also the most well-bunkered hole here, with sand running down the right third of the hole up to the green. Those bunkers gradually eat away at the fairway, so the further you hit your drive, the less space you'll have to work with. You can lay back behind the sand, but you'll have a longer second shot than you'd probably want to have on such a short hole.

The thirteenth hole. Lots of sand to the right.

The thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green, with the eleventh in the background.

The fourteenth hole is a medium-length par 4 that doglegs pretty sharply to the left around a big fairway bunker. This is a narrow hole, so using a 3 wood or long iron is probably a good idea. The green is big and multitiered, and when the hole is on the back tier like it was when we played there, it's very difficult to get an approach all the way back, considering the proximity of both the tall fescue and thick forest beyond the green.

The rightmost stack is a pretty good place to aim your drive on 14.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is a medium-length par 3 to a green with small bunkers in front and behind. As you can see from the picture, there are a fair number of trees around the green, and while they don't come into play, it's a noticeably different aesthetic at work here. This is the only hole on the course that doesn't have the tall fescue along the sides, and while there's nothing wrong with the hole itself, it feels very out of place.

The fifteenth hole, with its out-of-place trees.

The sixteenth hole is a 520 yard par 5, and this month's exciting addition to our running series: "Oh crap, we've run out of room on our golf course". You wouldn't expect it from a par 5, but that's how Royal Manchester does things. After you finish 15 you are taken down a long path through the woods to the sixteenth tee. A very long walk. We're talking several hundred yards. And guess what? The hole plays in the exact opposite direction we just walked, and the green is actually right next to the fifteenth tee. I took a look at the satellite view, and I'm very confident that this irritation could have been avoided if a par of 72 had been sacrificed. Keep 15 where it is, have 16 as a long par 4 running in the opposite direction as this 16 but keep it on the same corridor, extend 18 a bit to make it a short par 5, and connect 16 and 18 with a par 3. This is the only time the course is distinctly walker unfriendly, but it comes at the end of the round, so it really sticks in my mind.

Anyway, that's enough about hypothetical routing changes, let's look at the hole we actually got. Left is quite obviously a bad place to be, thought if you can get close to it, you will have a shorter second shot. Otherwise, it's a reachable par 5 with some significant greenside bunkering. I'm not sure if this green is actually the smallest one on the course, but it feels like it.

The sixteenth hole.

This is the last time you get to see the electric station.

The sixteenth green, small and flanked by bunkers.

Looking back down the sixteenth hole

The seventeenth hole is the longest par 4 on the golf course if you're playing from the tips, but is a more mild 391 yards from the blue/white tees. This is an interesting change of scenery. We haven't exactly been in the trees the past few holes, but trees have been in view, and even almost in play on a couple of occasions. And then you come to this hole, and there is literally nothing sticking up above the horizon. All you can see is this hole, set in a little bowl, framed by brown fescue. It's almost desolate in a way, though that's more unkind than I'd like it to be. There's one bunker, a fairway bunker that is quite easily avoided, and the entire hole plays uphill. The green is big and very undulating. It's tough, but not in an annoying sort of way.

The seventeenth hole. It's a very spartan view.

This picture looks like I was almost lying on the ground, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't.

The eighteenth hole is the longest par 4 on the golf course from the blue/white tees, and unfortunately, it is tough in an annoying sort of way. There's nothing too wrong with the drive, but much like the ninth, the second shot plays over a pond. Much like P.B. Dye, Royal Manchester suffers from lackluster conclusions to both nines, and at both courses, the reason is egregious and unnecessary water. It was bad at P.B. Dye, but it's even worse here. The ponds are in front of the green on both holes, and the ponds clash even more with the overall course aesthetic. At least P.B. Dye had ponds elsewhere on the course, Royal Manchester doesn't. As a hole itself, it's not the worst thing I've ever seen, but it doesn't fit with most of the course, and it's a terribly cliched way to end a round of golf.

The eighteenth hole.

The pond even has a fountain.

We may have ended on a harsh note here, but let there be no question: Royal Manchester is the best course I've played this year. By a wide margin. There was strategy and thought on a few holes, the greens were interesting, it was walkable, there were no trees or narrow fairways, it was a generally very solid golf course. And I will say, the course conditions were excellent. The course was running pretty well, and despite the large amounts of rain the Mid-Atlantic has gotten in the past few months, it was pretty dry and firm out there, and the long fescue was nice and brown.

I haven't even gotten to Royal Manchester's little secret: The value of a round is extremely good. To play at 12:30 PM on a Saturday, I paid $40 per person. That is extremely reasonable, and much less than I would expect to pay for a golf course of this caliber. This is a full-length, very well maintained "championship" golf course about halfway in between two reasonably large Pennsylvania towns, one of which is the state capital. The closest analogue I have to Royal Manchester that I've played is the Iron Forge course at Penn National. They're in similar environments, both aspire to be linkslike, both are similarly upscale, and both are in rural southern Pennsylvania. I won't get into a detailed analysis, but Royal Manchester is essentially always the cheaper option. Royal Manchester is a better course than the Iron Forge course, and it's more convenient to play for a larger number of people.

So, is Royal Manchester the 11th best public golf course in the country? Does it stand up to the hype Golf Advisor has given it? Uh, no. So if you do go there, don't expect anything spectacular. That's not necessarily a bad thing, like I said, up to this point it's the best course I've played this year. It was well-maintained and well-priced, interesting in a few spots, and the round took less than 4 hours. I'd definitely considering driving an hour and a half to play it again. Can't ask for more than that, right?