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Brian Clark
Beach Park
2021-06-26
$66 (cart included), played on Friday, June 2021 at 1:30 PM
Had some free time when driving through this area, so decided to give a shot at this 1999 Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout. Yardage is not a problem here (5 tees) with the Blacks at 7,031 / 74.2 / 141 down to the Auburn at 5,048 / 69.6 / 125 on this mixed Links rolling and wooded Par 36/36 layout. Many of the holes have forced carries (150-190) and slight doglegs that require 200-230 yds to get clear shot to the green. Swamps, heather, trees border almost all of the fairways so stay clean or bring extra balls. The fairway/greenside sand traps have been fluffed and play very fair without any steep fronts. The undulating greens were holding all incoming shots and yet they still putted true and fast at 9-10. Surprisingly, the carts didn't have any GPS or Hole layout on the score cards. I guess for the $70 18/cart they figure everyone has a course APP or has played here before. (Not Me)
Getting paired up with local "Flat Bellies" Trevor/Travis that played from the Brass tees 6,631 / 72.4 / 137 had me struggling to hit the corners as their 250-275yd drives were 50-75yds past mine. Looking back, those Hybrid tees at 6,361 / 71.2 / 134 would have been better for my level of tee shot as the Par 4's were all under 400 yards. Almost every hole you can see how to play it from the tee box with only a few swamp crossings in front of the greens. Front 9 holes that stand out are #4 a 424yd Par 4 Hcp 3 and #9 a 452yd Par 4 Hcp 1 that needs a 230yd drive to see the green. The Back 9 seems a little more tighter on those tee shots and not seeing the full fairway landing areas from the tee box. The #14 is a tight Par 4 LH dogleg at 363yds that needs a 200-230 yd shot to see the elevated green. Finishing up on #18 a 600yd Par 5 Hcp 6 that has the last 100yds all water will have you thinking about that 3rd shot if your first two were a little short. Course conditions were very good today from tee to green BUT for the six (6) hours to complete our round. There were three (3) foursomes of older (than me) men playing from the Brass tees that should have used the Silver (6,124/70.1/131) tee instead. To make matters worst, we had four (4) groups on the #10 hole with a 30minute gap in front of the group on the green. The ranger said he told the lead group to "Pick up the Pace", where he should have said, "Start on #11 or #12". Great track and worth the stop, as long as you're not in a hurry.
Would travel: 30-60 Miles, Vacation Worthy
Bottom line: I would play again, Better than average course for the area, Expensive and worth it
Condition of Course, Difficulty, Ambiance, Layout, No Houses on Course, Clubhouse
$66 (cart included), played on Friday, June 2021 at 1:30 PM
Had some free time when driving through this area, so decided to give a shot at this 1999 Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout. Yardage is not a problem here (5 tees) with the Blacks at 7,031 / 74.2 / 141 down to the Auburn at 5,048 / 69.6 / 125 on this mixed Links rolling and wooded Par 36/36 layout. Many of the holes have forced carries (150-190) and slight doglegs that require 200-230 yds to get clear shot to the green. Swamps, heather, trees border almost all of the fairways so stay clean or bring extra balls. The fairway/greenside sand traps have been fluffed and play very fair without any steep fronts. The undulating greens were holding all incoming shots and yet they still putted true and fast at 9-10. Surprisingly, the carts didn't have any GPS or Hole layout on the score cards. I guess for the $70 18/cart they figure everyone has a course APP or has played here before. (Not Me) Getting paired up with local "Flat Bellies" Trevor/Travis that played from the Brass tees 6,631 / 72.4 / 137 had me struggling to hit the corners as their 250-275yd drives were 50-75yds past mine. Looking back, those Hybrid tees at 6,361 / 71.2 / 134 would have been better for my level of tee shot as the Par 4's were all under 400 yards. Almost every hole you can see how to play it from the tee box with only a few swamp crossings in front of the greens. Front 9 holes that stand out are #4 a 424yd Par 4 Hcp 3 and #9 a 452yd Par 4 Hcp 1 that needs a 230yd drive to see the green. The Back 9 seems a little more tighter on those tee shots and not seeing the full fairway landing areas from the tee box. The #14 is a tight Par 4 LH dogleg at 363yds that needs a 200-230 yd shot to see the elevated green. Finishing up on #18 a 600yd Par 5 Hcp 6 that has the last 100yds all water will have you thinking about that 3rd shot if your first two were a little short. Course conditions were very good today from tee to green BUT for the six (6) hours to complete our round. There were three (3) foursomes of older (than me) men playing from the Brass tees that should have used the Silver (6,124/70.1/131) tee instead. To make matters worst, we had four (4) groups on the #10 hole with a 30minute gap in front of the group on the green. The ranger said he told the lead group to "Pick up the Pace", where he should have said, "Start on #11 or #12". Great track and worth the stop, as long as you're not in a hurry.