I'd be very much interested in what people think of the work Kay did at McCullough's Emerald Links in Little Egg Harbor, NJ -- just 10-15 minutes from the AC Boardwalk.
Matt, I'm with you on MEGL--it's a good round of golf at an affordable price, especially considering the alternatives in the area, most of the publics are over three figures in high season. It's public, so the architecture is in keeping with a broad market, but it's enjoyable. The three or four times I played it was on the wet side, but that's maintenance and not architecture.
The interesting thing about the course was the effort Kay put into the re-creation of the famed Lido hole -- the one Mackenzie made famous in his design contest submission. The hole at McCullough's doesn't have a major water backstop in the action but it still works quite well and frankly the course provides a number of interesting design elements with overseas linkages.
The only real notable letdowns in my mind are the two weak holes across the road -- #15 and #16 -- and the lame closing hole which would have been much better if the water on the right side were put in closer to the driving zone -- especially as short as the hole plays.
Have others played the course and what were your impressions ?
Matt,
I didn't think 15 and 16 were all that bad--there was a smallish piece of land to fit a few holes on--15 is a layup and a wedge, green has hat big slope in it that can be used as a backstop, and 16 is a fun hole to try get close to the pin on. I thought 14 was the weakest hole, it's just narrow and straight, and really doesn't do too much, but again, considering the land available, it may have been the best alternative available.
Front nine is overall good and fun. Any possible improvements in my mind would be a more traditional biarritz green at 2. 3 green feels almost too small, this may be true for the hole that provided inspiration.
I don't see any problem with the 7th hole as it is--come on Matt, do we really need elevated tees everywhere? Half the fun is picking a line and executing, or not. And, the penalty isn't that bad, the waste area isn't that unkempt, unless your ball disappears in the scrub and weeds on the edges.
10 is tough with a good green. 11 is a fun hole to blast driver on and see how close you can get to the green. Good vistas from up there--it feels like the highest point in Atlantic County! (It's not, the highest point in the county is near the NJT line outside of Hammonton--bit of useless trivia for y'all). 12 is tough, 13 was deceiving, distance-wise. Looked to be a lot of dead grass on that green when I played at the end of July. Maybe because of the trees and air circulation? 17 is fun to go for in 2. 18 is ok for a closer.
I really like it, it's a much better value than BHP and Seaview, maybe a little cheaper than Renault and Twisted. Pace of play may be an issue, but again, this is management, not architecture. Play it early or late in day. I'd love to play it when it's really dry. I would like to see bigger greens all around. My fiancee lives right up the road about 10-15mins, and every weekend we'd be coming back from Ocean City or Longport beach and it looked so inviting to play, late afternoon in the summer.