Post by chipsthedog89 on Aug 25, 2019 11:27:33 GMT -5
Located in the Copeland Islands off the coast of Northern Ireland, this 130 year old links course is a brute of a par 70, and the pride of the locals. Often windswept, and with rock hard fairways, this course can often play shorter than the yardage, with a good variety of uphill, downhill, and dogleg holes. Locals like to think of their course as a "no frills" links, and a thorough test for even the best of players and a hopeful candidate to host the Open Championship one day. A healthy amount of experience is an asset to avoid catching the wrong slope or ending up with a blind approach shot. Recommended to play with all conditions set to very firm, and wind direction set to default (for appropriate downwind holes).
Hole 1 – Outbound
• A straightaway par 4 off the side of the cliffs, this opening hole plays shorter than the yardage. A slope down the left side of the fairway will carry you back towards the centre, while the right bunker makes for a blind approach to the two-tiered green. Missing right on any shot presents one of the few water hazards.
Hole 2 – The Eyes
• This short but challenging par 4 presents the first real decision of the round. Layup short of the two large round bunkers (the eyes) to give yourself a full wedge or short iron, but a blind approach, or take the driver over the bunkers to the severely sloping second fairway. The long, narrow green slopes hard from left to right, so feed your approach in carefully.
Hole 3 – Mahee
• Named for the adjacent farm, this straightforward par 3 plays slightly uphill. Choose the club carefully and plan to run your approach in from short, depending on the hole location. The front right and back bunkers are small, but extremely penal.
Hole 4 – Turnaround
• Pointed back towards the clubhouse, this long dogleg right par 4 presents a narrow drive between mounds and bunkers, and a potentially blind approach to a massive green. Club selection and slope judgment are important, or else the golfer will face some of the toughest lag putts on the course.
Hole 5 – Tabletop
• This short par 4 presents a real challenge off the tea, with a severely sloping tabletop fairway deflecting any tee shot that carries too far left, right, or even long. A series of small sloped bunkers on the left and large cavernous bunkers on the right make the approach difficult, albeit short. The green is protected only by the large valley short, but has no greenside bunkers.
Hole 6 – Pit
• The first par 5 on the course is reachable in two with a good tee shot, but contains its fair share of danger as well. Named after the massive pit bunker on the right side of the fairway, this hazard results in a certain pitchout. The layup is no bargain with a sloping fairway and multiple bunkers, and the green deflects a number of wayward approaches and doesn’t have anything approaching a straight putt.
Hole 7 – Sideways
• The longest and arguably most difficult par 3 on the course is named after the severely sloping right to left and back to front green. A drawing long iron presents the only real opportunity to feed a shot close to the hole here, while any wayward shot is going to result in a sidewinding putt or chip.
Hole 8 – Reprieve
• The shortest par 4 on the course is easily reachable in most wind conditions. The main defense of this hole are the large front bunker, the gorse bushes to the left, and the severely sloping redan green. It is almost impossible to hold a drive on the surface, and even a wedge layup must be judged with the appropriate strength and loft to hold the surface. A good birdie opportunity, but bogey awaits a careless shot.
Hole 9 – Climb
• This intimidating par 4 closes out the front 9. Players must layup off the tee to the base of the 50+ foot cliffs that rise up towards the clubhouse. From here, an approach up the cliff is met with one of the most unique greens on the course, with a large slope in front that funnels nearly all shots down to the surface. This hole generally plays easier than it appears, although birdie is still a challenge.
Hole 10 – Runaway
• The back 9 begins with a steep downhill par 4. Players may choose their angle, but a brave golfer can hit a drive over the rightmost mound to hit the downhill and leave a wedge into the green. An approach off a severe downslope makes judging your yardage into this large green, but leaving your drive in the flat part of the fairway results in a 200+ yard approach.
Hole 11 – Elbow
• This sharp dogleg right par 4 tempts golfers to cut the corner, but the large pot bunker at the corner is nearly impossible to cover unless downwind. Laying up short leads to another blind approach, this time to a two-tiered narrow green. Club selection and playing for a proper release is once again important on this hole.
Hole 12 – Copeland Mews
• Named after the adjacent small town, this very long par 4 plays back down towards the sea and provides one of the first real views of the iconic McCann’s Lighthouse. A demanding tee shot that must split the large right bunker and the two smaller lefthand bunkers, while avoiding OB right, will leave golfers with a downhill approach to another redan green. Play an appropriate trajectory shot to set up a birdie chance at this picturesque par 4.
Hole 13 – Rocky Shore
• The last par 5 on the course, this one presents a partially blind drive as the player must decide whether they want to take on the left bunker. Similar to Hole #6, a missed fairway presents a challenging layup with a large mound on the right side of the fairway and a trio of church pew style bunkers on the left. The large green has a large back tier, but falls off hard to the back, left, and front. A potential eagle opportunity awaits.
Hole 14 – McCann’s Lighthouse
• The shortest par 3 on the course also has the smallest green. Perched along side of the rocky shore and with a clear view of the lighthouse named after the club founder, this hole presents the only short iron par 3, but golfers must play conservative towards the centre of the green or else risk catching the false front or surrounding small pot bunkers.
Hole 15 – Giant’s Grave
• This mid length par 4 presents an interesting challenge, as the wide fairway is easy to hit but contains a 45-yard long, 10 foot mound (the Giant's grave) in the middle beginning at around 300 yards off the tee. Careful placement is a must to avoid a blind approach shot off a severe slope. The green has many subtle breaks and different sections, making approach placement very important. Missing left is a challenging up and down.
Hole 16 – Lookout
• This long par 4 features a very wide, flat fairway. Cut off as much on the left as you can to shorten the approach into this large green. Judging your approach can be very difficult since there is no backdrop to estimate distance, just a pin perched on the horizon. Once at the green, looking left provides the best view of the beach and lighthouse.
Hole 17 – Perch
• The trend of difficult par 3s continues with this 203 yard hole nestled against the ocean. A slope in front makes running shots up to the front hole locations difficult. The Sunday pin on the far right of the green is particularly difficult, as players must carefully navigate the slopes to avoid disaster.
Hole 18 – Home
• The home hole continues along the cliffside back to the clubhouse. While the tee shot provides another wide fairway, being too far right can once again lead to an impeded view of the green. Hugging the left side of the fairway leads to the best approach to this green that slopes consistently hard from back to front and is guarded by four deep bunkers. A finishing par is no small accomplishment
.
Hole 1 – Outbound
• A straightaway par 4 off the side of the cliffs, this opening hole plays shorter than the yardage. A slope down the left side of the fairway will carry you back towards the centre, while the right bunker makes for a blind approach to the two-tiered green. Missing right on any shot presents one of the few water hazards.
Hole 2 – The Eyes
• This short but challenging par 4 presents the first real decision of the round. Layup short of the two large round bunkers (the eyes) to give yourself a full wedge or short iron, but a blind approach, or take the driver over the bunkers to the severely sloping second fairway. The long, narrow green slopes hard from left to right, so feed your approach in carefully.
Hole 3 – Mahee
• Named for the adjacent farm, this straightforward par 3 plays slightly uphill. Choose the club carefully and plan to run your approach in from short, depending on the hole location. The front right and back bunkers are small, but extremely penal.
Hole 4 – Turnaround
• Pointed back towards the clubhouse, this long dogleg right par 4 presents a narrow drive between mounds and bunkers, and a potentially blind approach to a massive green. Club selection and slope judgment are important, or else the golfer will face some of the toughest lag putts on the course.
Hole 5 – Tabletop
• This short par 4 presents a real challenge off the tea, with a severely sloping tabletop fairway deflecting any tee shot that carries too far left, right, or even long. A series of small sloped bunkers on the left and large cavernous bunkers on the right make the approach difficult, albeit short. The green is protected only by the large valley short, but has no greenside bunkers.
Hole 6 – Pit
• The first par 5 on the course is reachable in two with a good tee shot, but contains its fair share of danger as well. Named after the massive pit bunker on the right side of the fairway, this hazard results in a certain pitchout. The layup is no bargain with a sloping fairway and multiple bunkers, and the green deflects a number of wayward approaches and doesn’t have anything approaching a straight putt.
Hole 7 – Sideways
• The longest and arguably most difficult par 3 on the course is named after the severely sloping right to left and back to front green. A drawing long iron presents the only real opportunity to feed a shot close to the hole here, while any wayward shot is going to result in a sidewinding putt or chip.
Hole 8 – Reprieve
• The shortest par 4 on the course is easily reachable in most wind conditions. The main defense of this hole are the large front bunker, the gorse bushes to the left, and the severely sloping redan green. It is almost impossible to hold a drive on the surface, and even a wedge layup must be judged with the appropriate strength and loft to hold the surface. A good birdie opportunity, but bogey awaits a careless shot.
Hole 9 – Climb
• This intimidating par 4 closes out the front 9. Players must layup off the tee to the base of the 50+ foot cliffs that rise up towards the clubhouse. From here, an approach up the cliff is met with one of the most unique greens on the course, with a large slope in front that funnels nearly all shots down to the surface. This hole generally plays easier than it appears, although birdie is still a challenge.
Hole 10 – Runaway
• The back 9 begins with a steep downhill par 4. Players may choose their angle, but a brave golfer can hit a drive over the rightmost mound to hit the downhill and leave a wedge into the green. An approach off a severe downslope makes judging your yardage into this large green, but leaving your drive in the flat part of the fairway results in a 200+ yard approach.
Hole 11 – Elbow
• This sharp dogleg right par 4 tempts golfers to cut the corner, but the large pot bunker at the corner is nearly impossible to cover unless downwind. Laying up short leads to another blind approach, this time to a two-tiered narrow green. Club selection and playing for a proper release is once again important on this hole.
Hole 12 – Copeland Mews
• Named after the adjacent small town, this very long par 4 plays back down towards the sea and provides one of the first real views of the iconic McCann’s Lighthouse. A demanding tee shot that must split the large right bunker and the two smaller lefthand bunkers, while avoiding OB right, will leave golfers with a downhill approach to another redan green. Play an appropriate trajectory shot to set up a birdie chance at this picturesque par 4.
Hole 13 – Rocky Shore
• The last par 5 on the course, this one presents a partially blind drive as the player must decide whether they want to take on the left bunker. Similar to Hole #6, a missed fairway presents a challenging layup with a large mound on the right side of the fairway and a trio of church pew style bunkers on the left. The large green has a large back tier, but falls off hard to the back, left, and front. A potential eagle opportunity awaits.
Hole 14 – McCann’s Lighthouse
• The shortest par 3 on the course also has the smallest green. Perched along side of the rocky shore and with a clear view of the lighthouse named after the club founder, this hole presents the only short iron par 3, but golfers must play conservative towards the centre of the green or else risk catching the false front or surrounding small pot bunkers.
Hole 15 – Giant’s Grave
• This mid length par 4 presents an interesting challenge, as the wide fairway is easy to hit but contains a 45-yard long, 10 foot mound (the Giant's grave) in the middle beginning at around 300 yards off the tee. Careful placement is a must to avoid a blind approach shot off a severe slope. The green has many subtle breaks and different sections, making approach placement very important. Missing left is a challenging up and down.
Hole 16 – Lookout
• This long par 4 features a very wide, flat fairway. Cut off as much on the left as you can to shorten the approach into this large green. Judging your approach can be very difficult since there is no backdrop to estimate distance, just a pin perched on the horizon. Once at the green, looking left provides the best view of the beach and lighthouse.
Hole 17 – Perch
• The trend of difficult par 3s continues with this 203 yard hole nestled against the ocean. A slope in front makes running shots up to the front hole locations difficult. The Sunday pin on the far right of the green is particularly difficult, as players must carefully navigate the slopes to avoid disaster.
Hole 18 – Home
• The home hole continues along the cliffside back to the clubhouse. While the tee shot provides another wide fairway, being too far right can once again lead to an impeded view of the green. Hugging the left side of the fairway leads to the best approach to this green that slopes consistently hard from back to front and is guarded by four deep bunkers. A finishing par is no small accomplishment
.