Sunday, Aug. 03, 2008

Oyster Bay Golf Links layout filled with the beauty of nature

All about the views

SUNSET BEACH, N.C. -- Oyster Bay Golf Links is adorned with a number of man-made beautification features including ornamental white oyster shells and well-manicured plants and landscaping.

None of it is really necessary.

The course's setting amidst marsh, lakes, hardwoods and a vast variety of birds and wildlife provides all the beauty required, and contained in the natural charm is a 25-year-old Dan Maples layout that is both fun and challenging.

"Nothing but views on every hole," said Terry Lee, an elementary school teacher from Myrtle Beach with a 10 handicap who took part in a review of Oyster Bay in late July. "Everywhere you look there is something to take your mind off golf. I could play this course every day. If I lived up here I'd probably be a member because it's tough and beautiful."

Joining me and Terry in the foursome were Terry's wife, Tammi, who is also an area school teacher with a 10 handicap, and Simon Painter, the producer of Le Grande Cirque at the Palace Theater who carries a handicap of 20.

We were joined on the course by alligators, hawks, osprey, herons and a host of other long-legged, long-beaked birds that patrol lake banks in search of dinner. A flock of fish-feeders were lined up on the right side of the 16th fairway, and a couple squawking osprey were perched in nests above fairways and greens.

"It was like a nature walk," Simon said. "It's a stunning course. I think it's certainly the most beautiful course I've played in the year I've been playing."

Oyster Bay measures 6,685 yards, which would be considered short by today's standards, but it has a par of only 70, long par-4s and an unorthodox lineup of three par-3s on the front nine and just one par-5 on the back. You can hit driver on nearly every par-4 and par-5 from the gold and blue tees, though not from the red. "It's a nice challenge from the tips," Terry said.

Holes have their own identity, and many have noticeable elevation change. "It's a course where you can remember the holes because each hole seems to have its own personality," Terry said.

Despite all the marsh and water, it is not oppressively difficult if you're hitting it straight because the trouble is usually to the side of the hole rather than in the fairway. "For a rookie golfer like me it's not too off-putting for me not to come back," Simon said.

Course conditions were good, including TifEagle Bermudagrass greens that were seldom flat and sometimes had two or three steep tiers. "The greens were big and I liked the fact that they undulated and weren't slippery fast where you were afraid to hit it," Tammi said.

The rough was high enough to be penalizing, but not high enough to lose balls, and there are enough bunkers to keep you honest. "The bunkers are deep and set up for a challenge, but they're not tricked up," Terry said.

Likes

Everyone enjoyed the views, of course, and Simon especially liked the varied landscapes, with some tree-lined holes and others open to marsh and lakes. "There are some holes that are sheltered and some holes that are open to the wind, so that was quite nice to have that variation," Simon said.

Tammi thought the yardage book helped keep a player from reaching water hazards and marsh, and the practice putting green was a fair representation of the course's 18 greens. "The practice putting green was good and they allowed you to chip on it, which was nice," Tammi said. "Not all courses let you do that." She also liked the fact that homes are off the course on a majority of holes.

Terry enjoyed the course conditions and friendly staff, and Simon also liked the large and fairly fast greens.

Dislikes

Tammi thought the red tee yardage of 4,665 yards was short. Distance could have been added to four par-3s that measure 100 yards or less, and "several short par-4s that I hit iron or 7-wood off," she said.

Terry thought the discrepancy in the difficulty of the back nine par-3s was too great when comparing the gold tees and the blue tees. Simon concurred, citing back-nine par-3s that measure 135 or less. "The tee box was slightly too close on some of the short par-3s," he said.

Par-3s

The 190-yard fourth hole is slightly uphill, has a large bunker guarding the right side of the green and is adjacent to the eighth hole - separated only by a thin tree line. The 160-yard eighth is also slightly uphill, and has marsh and a bunker to the left side of an elevated green.

The other par-3 on the front is the 165-yard sixth. It has a large green, a pair of large bunkers short and right of the green, and a large bed of white oyster shells to the left and in front of the tee boxes.

The back nine features a pair of tough and beautiful par-3s over water. The 15th plays dramatically harder from the 210-yard back tee, which is well left of the other tee boxes, plays predominantly into the wind and has a bunker fronting the green. The other tee boxes measure less than 135 and hit into a predominant cross wind with a bunker to the left of the green.

The 17th measures 165 from the back tees, but only 120 from the white and features a fairly narrow island green surrounded by oyster shells with a pair of bunkers back right. The back tee takes the green straight on, while the other tees take the green on from an angle on the left side of the water. "It's a great island green, and 165 yards is a good distance," Terry said.

Par-4s

Long par-4s account for much of Oyster Bay's difficulty. Five measure 440 yards or more - maxing out at the 470-yard 16th - and those same holes are at least 420 from the blue tees.

"They give you all you want with some of these par-4s," Terry said. "It feels like it's 7,000 to 7,100 yards. You'd better be a good driver to play the back tees. But it's better than a drive-and-chip course. I love the challenge of the distance."

The third hole, measuring 460 yards from the tips and 425 from the blue, has a green that is straightaway but seldom used and a green to the left over water. A pair of fairway bunkers on the left are easily reached off the tee and are nearly entirely blocked by trees down the left side from a large three-tiered green, and a right fairway bunker is 260 from the back tee. "You've really got to bust if off the tee to get a look around the corner," Terry said.

A decent drive is needed to carry the marsh on the 440-yard 10th, which measures 430 from the blue, though the 250-yard red tees are well beyond it, and it is followed by the 450-yard 11th.

The dramatic 330-yard 13th is a slight dogleg right with a green rising high above a lake to the right with a fronting cement wall. Trees line the left side of the hole, a pair of trees sit in the left side of the fairway 220 yards from the back tees, a pair of bunkers line the water on the right side of the fairway with a tree between them, and a large, deep bunker must be carried to reach the elevated green.

"You want to play to a full shot into the green, and play to the center of the green," Terry said. "Long, short and right could be trouble. This short par-4 is a great hole."

The 470-yard 16th measures 450 from the blue and 360 from the red and is a monster. Water runs along the right side and cuts the fairway off between 150 and 90 yards from the green. It's not only tough to reach the green in two, but a good drive is required to carry even the water, and the green rests against water on the right.

"The par-4s are very long, probably too long for me," Simon said. "I need three shots to get to the edge of the green."

The deep green on the 400-yard 18th has a low-lying area of wetlands in front and a large bunker to its right.

Par-5s

The tee boxes of the 550-yard fifth and 560-yard ninth holes would abut each other along a stretch of marsh if not for a group of trees - the fifth going to the left with marsh along the right side and the ninth going to the right with marsh along the left. Trees line the opposite sides of both fairways.

The fifth has bunkers on the right side along the marsh to avoid on the drive, the ninth has bunkers on both sides of the fairway in the drive landing area, and both holes have bunkers on either side of the fairway both inside 100 yards and near the green.

The 535-yard 14th has a tall tree in the middle of the fairway 340 yards from the green and 240 yards to the front of a water hazard fronting a fairly small green. A big drive that avoids the tree is required to entertain thoughts of reaching the green in two. All three par-5s are difficult to reach in two, measuring 525 yards or more from even the blue tees.

Favorite holes

Terry liked the 535-yard, par-5 14th, which he reached in two shots with a driver over a tall tree in the middle of the fairway and 3-wood over water crossing the fairway near the green. "The large tree in the middle of the fairway makes for an interesting tee shot. You have to go over it or around," Terry said. "... It's a tough hole but fair."

Tammi enjoyed the par-5 ninth hole, which played a tough 450 yards from the red tees with marsh on the left and trees on the right.

Simon liked the signature 17th hole. "The island green was a real challenge," he said.

Least favorite holes

Both Terry and Tammi claim there weren't any holes they disliked, mainly because of the views. "You either had great views of the marsh or lakes, or the fairways were lined with beautiful oaks," Tammi said.

Simon thought many of the par-4s were too long. "The very long par-4s were too long for my drives," Simon said.

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