I played a "Hidden Gem" near the GA coast down in the Golden Isles area. Is "Hidden Gem" the right terminology for a course that just opened late last year or does that insinuate that it has been around for a long time and just never discovered. If so maybe we should call this a "Jewel in the Making".
Nestled in the pine trees just northwest of Brunswick is a wonderful new public golf course that is easy on your eyes, easy on your wallet, and although I wouldn't say easy on your golf game it provides a good challenge with out being too penal for the average player (provided they choose the proper tees).
Coastal Pines GC near Brunswick, GA. I think it opened around December 1, 2001
http://www.coastalpinesgolf.com/The website appears to still be under construction, but the virtual tour of holes has about 75% of them done
It was designed by Mark Bennett and Augusta Golf Designs.
http://www.digitalimpactdesign.com/augusta/Some of the things that immediately endeared me to the course were its lack of cart paths and the firmness to which it plays. As to the cart paths the owner said “I hate them on a golf course” so we don't have them except around tees and greens. Otherwise carts are free to scatter and as the course is built around 25ft above sea level and on a good sandy base it is claimed that it drains almost immediately. It is also quite apparent that the concept of walking was a rudimentary fundamental in how the course is laid out. It is a very walkable course.
For a course owned by two hands on owners (husband & wife, Claire & Wade Carruth) the attention to detail here is just great and you can see that in all the little things that were done right.
The golf course flows effortlessly from the first green to the last.
1st. - (Par 4 - 400yds.) Good opening hole, slight dog leg left, great width allows for a little extra room for your first shot of the day. But don't let that extra room fool you, the width provides great strategy as the best angle to approach the green is to cut the dangerous inside edge of the dogleg and challenge the bunker inside the dogleg. A slight mound in back of green divides the green into two areas.
2nd - (Par 5 - 548yds.) Good straightforward hole. Again ample width in driving area, a single bunker on the right pinches the landing area for most peoples second shot.
3rd - (Par 4 - 318Yds.) Interesting little hole. At only 318yds. from the back tees it tempts you to have a go at it, but the water pinching from the right side near the green keeps your interest if you attempt that route. A large bunker short and right will keep slightly stray shots from rolling into the water and also protects the green well.
4th - (Par 3 - 159Yds.) Very nice par three with long carry over native wetland area from the back tees. From the tees it appears like a Herculean effort will be required, but as you approach the green you see that it is much more forgiving that it looks from that back tee. Forward tees provide easier angle as well as taking more of the carry away also.
5th - (Par 4 - 437Yds.) Very tough hole (#1 handicap) long very slight dogleg right, second shot is a difficult forced carry into the green over another native wetland. If every hole were to have these type of forced carries I would not have felt highly about it, but as this is really the only place where you have one of this magnitude. It seems to work well, I think the architect said I am going to put this long par 4 that depending on how you play the tee shot will require you to play a deft long iron shot at least once during the round. Large green with some great undulation is well situated to accept this type of shot
6th - (Par 5 - 545Yds.) If there is a questionable hole here I think this was it. If you are not able to hit it over 260-270 off the back tee you are going to be in an area that forces a lay-up. However the lay-up area is pinched by a native area on the right, and if you hit it down the left but a little to far there is a water hazard that can come into play. If you do hit a drive of 260 or more in the fairway you could probably take a fairway wood or long iron and take it down the right side carrying the native area. It just seemed too unfair. Especially for the first time around. I would play it different the second time around.
7th - (Par 4 - 446Yds.) Very long hole requires big drive. Hole is straightforward and gives ample width to accommodate the big drive that is required. Also the green is receptive to a run up shot, which at 446Yds. is good.
8th - (Par 3 - 180Yds.) Straightforward hole, but pretty in its simplicity. Bunkers short right and left. Green tucked behind bunker on the right offers some nice pin placement possibilities.
9th - (Par 4 - 372Yds.) Fairly nondescript hole, good, but doesn't stand out. Green is slightly tucked back to the left on the approach. Approach favors a draw shot. Small lake short and left of the green but not too close.
10th - (Par 5 - 595Yds.) Long Par 5 hole. Would be tough to go at in two as green is tucked back to the right slightly in a stand of some trees. No issue if you play it as a three shot hole, but enough that if you want to go at it in two you would have to hit a power fade to work it back into there. Good hole.
11th - (Par 4 - 352Yds.) Almost a little cape hole. At only 352Yds from the tips you don't have to test the water inside the dogleg left, but if you do you are rewarded with a fairway that kicks your ball up towards the open entry to the green.
12th - (Par 3 - 182Yds.) Mid length par 3 protected by lake short and right of the green. Again some good hole locations possible as this lake comes up fairly close to the green on the right. Bunker protects the left side approach and hole locations.
13th - (Par 4 - 423Yds.) Strong hole slight dogleg to the left. Fairly nondescript, but a good hole. Native wetlands run across the hole seperating the back two tees from the fairway, but carry is not much more than 100yds.
14th - (Par 4 - 382Yds.) Fairly sharp dogleg right, may turn a little too quickly. Requires two good shots.
15th - (Par 3 - 208Yds.) Tough long par 3 requiring a carry over native area. This one again may be a little tough for the higher handicapper. From the back tees it is an awfully intimidating site, but the forward tees again are dramatically different (easier) angle and not much of a carry required. If a high handicapper chose the back tees here he (or she) could find himself with a shot required that he doesn't have.
16th - (Par 5 - 516Yds.) Fairly straightforward par 5. If there is a spot to go for a par 5 in two out here this is it. Green is well bunkered, but not so severe as to scare you away from having a go at it in two.
17th - (Par 4 - 350Yds.) Finesse may be the play on this hole. It temps you to take a run with the driver or 3-wood, but if you hit it 250Yds or more some water pinches into the fairway from the left side. Green is well protected with bunkers right and left.
18th - (Par 4 - 402Yds.) Great finishing hole. Gorgeous huge sentinel pine tree (about 230Yds out from the back tees) bisects two alternate fairway options. The left option is the tougher tee shot requiring you to hit it dead straight or even work the ball slightly with a draw, but rewards you with an easier approach to the green. The right corridor while much easier to execute off the tee presents you with a approach that requires a partial carry over a lake short and right of the green. Depending on where the hole location is that carry could be nerve wracking.
Still no digital camera sorry or I would have some pics to go along with this profile.
Again I thought overall it was a wonderful golf course for the money with really only one hole I kind of questioned. And I am not so sure that given another shot at that hole I wouldn't play it much differently knowing what I know now.
This is a refreshing course given the price, and the way that it plays fairly firm and fast. Don't get me wrong, Coastal Pines will never be on anyone's top 100 list, but I thought it was for the most part pretty solid, and walkable. If you are down in the Golden Isles area don't miss it. It is in the middle of nowhere, but well worth the trip.