Played Twisted Dune at the New Jersey shore yesterday. We could not think of a better time to play that course. One wonders if the designer had a day like this in mind when he created the course. While I can imagine this " ideal "at other times, I found the experience better than I could have guessed. The temperature was reminiscent of Ireland in the best part of the summer--high 60's to low 70's.
The course is akin to Ireland with its 30-40 foot high built up dunes. The high grass was a reddish tint that created a wonderful visual. The greens were in perfect condition. They rolled so true. They reminded me of Portmarnock when I last played it.They were probably rolling at 10'(?). It was hard to believe this was a public course.
The wind was 15-20 mph, we guessed. The wind seemed to be perfect for what the designer had in mind. The wide fairways provided enough space to let the wind move the ball without the need to aim over trouble. I have been told the builder was a caddie at Pine Valley. The wide fairways with major problems , but playable ones, on each side made me think this was "the poorman's Pine Valley".
While things were not super firm, they were not lush either.
I thought the combination of the temperature, the wind, the look of the grasses, the partly cloudy skies, the greens was so perfect.
I have played this course numerous times. But I came away believing that there are "best" times to play courses. And now is the best for this course, if you get a breeze and these temps.
This is a course where the par fours dominate. We played all the way back--7300 yards. On the front nine I noticed how #1 was flat; #2 was a downhill approach; #5 was short; #6 was uphill. On the back there two difficult uphill approaches and two "Ballybunion" type holes; set between dunes with the green below you.
Make a note---if the wind is up at the shore and the temperature is nice, drop everything and go to Twisted Dune.