BARNBOUGLE DUNES: A hole-by-hole pictorial!!! (18th hole posted)

[Shane Gurnett]

Tom, this may not be quite the angle that you mean, but heres how it looked before the clubhouse was built in 2003 pre-opening

[Tom_Doak]

Shane:

Thanks for that.  Amazingly, you could see a lot of that background from 175 yards out, before the clubhouse was built ... and if you go over to the very left edge of the fairway in the landing area, you can sort of still see it around the side of the clubhouse, but not right behind the green as designed.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Even after the clubhouse was built, but before extension, this was one of my favorite approach shots on the course, it is a great pity it was put where it was, without consideration for it's impact on the golf course.
It was always such an interesting view of the estuary, wind blown tidal dunes and marram and quite a contrast to the view from 4-5 walk. It now reminds you that you indeed back in civilization with satellite dishes and air conditioning, which is a pity

[Kevin Pallier]

The suggestions to mow the bank up the approach in front of the green, or the side-slope between the two halves of fairway, are ridiculous because at present those areas are just way too steep to mow.  I personally like the interrupted fairway in front of the green which forces you to make a decision..

Tom

Sorry to backup a bit - why so ? I've seen mowers on ropes used to maintain slopes at NGLA why not Barnbougle ? Even if it's not mowed completely it could be maintained somewhat better than in currently is.

Back to the present hole - have you ever thought the shelf is a bit too narrow on the neck into the left hand side of the green on #9 ? The runoff is quite severe and I saw plenty of balls disappear into the marram in the three days I was there particularly considering the wind.

I would have thought one could have developed a bowl type area to collect balls moreso and may have been a more considered approach given the bunkers right and angle of the green ?

[Tom_Doak]

Kevin:

That bank to the left of #9 required some of the biggest earthwork we did at Barnbougle.  It was very big and steep originally, and Eric pushed dirt down into the bottom short of the green for several days to get what we got.  I guess we could have done more, but the few times I have played it, it always seemed to work as intended.

[Tom_Doak]

Found a picture that makes it clear, from Matthew Delahunty's post on another thread.  [Thanks, Matthew.]

Everything to the left of the dune behind the flag is part of the clubhouse extension, but the view to the left gives you a pretty good idea of what is being blocked out.

[Kyle Henderson]

10th hole overview


The closing nine holes bring golfers into a wider playing field relative to the intimate valleys that define most of the opening nine.


Continuing with the prevailing wind, the tenth climbs gently to a generously-proportioned green.


The shortest line of attack near the left bunkers will also yield the best angle for approaching the green.


The margin between “position A” and a 1-stroke penalty is measured in yards.


Longer hitters can easily fly the fairway bunkers and face this short but semi-blind approach.


Viewed from the 18th hole (left), the rising slope and bunkers guarding the front corners of the 10th green are rather imposing.


Viewed from the right, the confounding contours of the 10th green are sure to inspire the adventurous golfer.

[Kyle Henderson]

11th hole overview


Playing down wind, the 11th hole rewards tee shots hoisted high to the fairway’s left center.


The general slope of the fairway is from left-to-right, so there is usually no need to challenge the short right bunkers in typical wind conditions. The bunkers along the left usually extract a full-shot penalty.


From the landing zone, the fairway dives down before climbing to another hilltop green site.


A careless second shot down the right leaves this daunting third.


Anyone that manages to reach the green in two will have an excellent chance of converting on one of the course’s more benign greens.

[Jason Topp]

I really liked this hole - at least when I played it down a very significant wind. 

I think the ridge at the edge of the green as well as the danger from the fairway bunkers make this an interesting hole both on the tee shot and for the layup because there is a big advantage to approaching from the right in order to avoid the need to stop the ball just over the sharp ridge on the left side of the green.

I know others have found the hole rather plain but to me it is close to ideal - plenty of room to play safe but at a cost for doing so.

[Bill Brightly]

If you play the ball left to right, this is one hole that you will love. Talk about fitting your eyes. After a good drive, I was set up perfectly for a 3-wood fade, which I hit well and left myself a simple 25 foot uphill eagle putt. Since I was giving a shot to my Australian opponent and he had a 15 for birdie, I boldly tried to sink my eagle... Funny thing about uphill putts, you often have downhill comebackers...Nice par, Bill. (This 3-putt bothered me the rest of my trip until I returned to the US and read the discussion between Kyle and Tom Doak about the varying greenspeeds due to wind-blown sand and areas that are protected from the wind, and how water collects better in some spots. That is when I realized it was not my fault...)

[Scott Warren]

Does the 10th hole remind anyone else of the 10th at Brora, or is it just me?

[Tom_Doak]

Scott:

I actually am drawing a blank re: the 10th at Brora.  I can't believe that it is much like the hole at Barnbougle since I didn't notice.  I always thought of our 10th green as being a little bit like the 2nd at Machrihanish, though not as severe!


Bill B:

In my two rounds at Barnbougle in December, I was in the perfect place to hit the big fade 3-wood with my trusty old persimmon club.  The first time, I knocked it about 15 feet from the hole.  The second, I cut it just a hair more, and thought it was even better ... and I never found the ball!  It must have gotten just off the green to the right and down into an animal hole or something.  The grass wasn't really that thick, I could not believe I lost it when I thought I'd have an eagle putt.

[Kevin Pallier]

Does the 10th hole remind anyone else of the 10th at Brora, or is it just me?

Scott

It actually reminds me more of the 7th at Old Macdonald only it is a Par 4. After the drive it is pretty similar (without the gorse of course)

From the BD website:

"This par four is more about the second shot than the first. A large fairway with more room to the right, your best aiming point from the tee is the gorse to the right of the green complex. Your second shot here needs to take into account the distance, wind and elevation change. Be sure to take enough club to get you all the way up to the green."

[James Bennett]

#11 may be a relatively benign green once you are on it.  Just try missing the green on the left and look at the chip/pitch that is left.  Steeply up a bank then down hill!  It really makes play down the rhs the only option for a birdie.

[Kyle Henderson]

12th hole overview


Turning into the predominant airstream at the 12th, golfers are confronted with the third of four stellar, short par 4s.


The aggressive line is right at the heart of the reachable green (over the center bunker), with the required carry lessening as one aims farther to the left. Anything pulled left of frame may end up in the 11th fairway and leave a blind short iron in.  Right is dead.


After a conservative drive, the second short must contend with the subtle yet vexing slopes defending the green’s edges. This day’s pin sits playfully in a small depression more easily accessed by more aggressive lines.

[James Bennett]

That pin!

crisp sand-wedge from 50 metres, lands just a metre or so long, and it is long gone.

In the afternoon, a putter from 45 metres, to about 8 feet.

Great fun both times.

[Patrick Kiser]

One of my favorite holes on this course.  Just a damn good short par 4 that absolutely tempts you because of the green's placement.

The hole demands respect with what lies short and to the right.  It's a Vijay hole if I ever saw one.

But you don't need driver here.  3W will get you there as I found out by accident.  The recovery can be quite brutal, but you don't have to go for that sucker pin to the right side of the green.

This hole makes me think "get your par and be happy".  At worst take your meds with a bogey and move on.  Card wrecker for sure if you're not careful.

[Terry Thornton]

My favourite hole at Barnbougle and my fave short 4 in Oz. I start looking forward to playing this hole about a fortnight before I get to Bridport.

If you tire of playing approach shots to this green you're tired of golf. Past the green and slightly left is a good place to approach the green if you're playing with a non-prevailing breeze.

[Kyle Henderson]

My favourite hole at Barnbougle and my fave short 4 in Oz. I start looking forward to playing this hole about a fortnight before I get to Bridport.

This is quite understandable and probably shared by other frequenters of Barnbougle. I wonder if it would be so loved if it were deemed a par "3."

[Sven Nilsen]

Although it doesn't look like it, the right side bunker is absolutely cavernous and rivals the bunker on the 4th for scariest place to end up on the course.  I'd say the one at the 12th is tougher, as the face is steeper and any shot out of the sand into that tiny green is sure to cause some puckering.

[Kevin Pallier]

12 is a great hole - one of the better short P4's in Australia. It really tempts one to pull driver - really tempts.

[Scott Warren]

If you tire of playing approach shots to this green you're tired of golf.

Terry Thornton - our very own Samuel Johnson!

Kyle: The second of three great short par fours? I thought it was the third great short par four we've encountered by this point in the round?

[Tom_Doak]

This green was not intended to be quite as small as it turned out.  The original version was shaped on my first visit during construction, but after some severe winds in October, by the time I got back, there was nothing left of it -- about three feet of sand was blown completely away!  We could barely scrape up enough sand from the fairway again to build what we did, but we made sure we got irrigation on it right away after that.

[Brett_Morrissy]

Interesting construction anecdote Tom, would you have preferred the larger green?

I wondered as soon as I read this that it reminds of old classic greens that would "never be built" today, that they turn out to be the most admired.(because the green is smaller than originally intended)

I have also wondered if design influenced by construction by the elements, in particular wind, yields interesting results - once again seem to be most admired?

It is a great hole, and as Terry noted, all I aim to do is get it onto the fairway within 60m so as I get to play or be challenged by the multitude of approach shots.

And standing on this green, with two outstanding outlooks- a view of the next hole is exciting, and the view back down 17 with the Marram waving in the wind is truly memorable.

[Bill Brightly]

This is a great short hole.  I have to admit that the first time I played it I had honors and was looking to play to the fairway on the right! if I was playing alone I would have. When my opponent politely pointed me in the right direction, I just could not "see" the shot that is required. It is so hard to know how much room you really have on the left, the longer you hit it, the less you have. I tried to play a safe 3-wood and blocked it into the mass of marrum short right... So what I really like about this hole is that both the safe play and the aggressive play require good shots to avoid real trouble. And it is such an unusaul looking tee shot that makes the golfer uncomfortable. Not fearful, just uncomfortable.