On a day in the past few weeks, I played the Old Course and New Course in quick succession. The Old Course was obviously a transporting experience, but after the day was over I came away really impressed by the New Course and wondered why it is not discussed or praised more often. It can't match the subtlety and mystery of the greensites of the Old, but Old Tom's greensites on the New can stand on their own and be proud. A common feature used brilliantly throughout is a little No doubt it suffers because of its proximity to the course just east of it, but lets have a real discussion about the merits of it.
A couple of highlights for me:
#5 - Par 3, 170 yardsA wonderful green, the back half of which is separated by a neat little chasm.
#8 - Par 5, 480 yardsA very neat little par 5, which requires real decision making on each shot. A necklace of 3 fairway bunkers can catch a well struck tee ball, depending on the direction of the breeze.
The approach needs to thread two large sandhills, a bunker benched in each - a striking visual.
The green is generally bunkerless beyond the hills, but the sandhills sitting prominently in front of the green obscure the green's surface and fool with depth perception.
From behind left, you can make out the contoured area of the green that will catch (or repel) most of the approaches.
and viewed from the 9th Tee looking back
#11 - Par 4, 330 yds.A neat little short par 4. The green end is the real treat - a natural green complex tucked in neatly to the dune.
From the tee:
The approach:
From the dune behind the green
#15 - Par 4, 380 yardsAnother great medium sub-400 yard par 4 that challenges at the greenend. These pics don't capture the complexity of the front of the green, which is guarded by a tiny hill and a false front that tend to repel shots down the left into a little hollow, from where recovery is pretty difficult. The safe play is obviously to play long as it is shared green with #3.
The approach
Greenfront
