Mike
Jones returned to his favoured links
style course design for what was to be
his final design for over 4 years in Cara
Brae. This was a culmination of many
ideas that have been incorporated into
his previous courses, such that it feels
somewhat like a 'best of' design. The
Irish Links style is open and windswept,
but also incorporates clifside hazards
akin to Pacific Breaks, and a farm area
similar to Babylon Ridge. Planting is
yellow gorse and wild grass, but does
incorporate background areas of fir
trees. Bunkers are his best looking and
similar in style to those found on Rugged
Dune with great texturing and an
overgrown look. It would be very easy to
argue this as being his best design, but
given it includes such a variety of
styles, the purist in me prevented me
from rating this a better links course
than Burns Old Links. However as a sign
off, albeit temporary ias it turned out,
this was a crowning achievement to Mikes
design career.
Four
Favourite Holes
Hole 2
- An inland par 4 hole which is one of
the longer at over 465 yards. What i like
about this hole is the wide panoramic
links view of the course backed by the
line of fir trees. Bunkers are well
represented here with two in the fairway,
one at the driver distance and the other
around the 3 wood. A quite unique mark on
this hole is the small rough area that
fronts the uphill green. This will stop
many balls dead in their tracks, making
bump and run shots in fast conditions
much more difficult.
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Cara
Brae (2nd hole)
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Hole 5
- Visually you will find this an awesome
hole, a fantastic par 3 hitting out
across the sea in magnificent Kapalua
style. However at over 230 yards the
distance is a real cause for concern if
you want to find the green, with anything
short or right probably going to cost you
at least one shot. The safe bail out is
to the left leaving an uphill chip, but
even this can start to roll away from the
green if the conditions are fast. A very
tricky test indeed and getting a par here
is a good result.
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Cara
Brae (5th hole)
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Hole 15
- An exceptional par 5 by any standards,
both visually and strategically. It
brings the cliffs into play again, but
the key to the hole is your decision off
the tee. At 550 yards your driving area
narrows the longer you go, but the reward
is to offer a chance of finding the green
in two. Anything down the left is a
disaster though, the gorse or the sea
will gobble you up for a heavy penalty.
Play too far right will bring into play
the two large greenside bunkers. Even a 3
shot strategy has plenty of danger too.
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Cara
Brae (15th hole)
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Hole 16
- The shortest hole on the course at just
over 135 yards. It is a perfect example
of how the designer not only mixes up the
challenges on the par 3's but also
creates picture postcards. This is a
scenic beauty, not just in the use of the
cliffs and sea but the ground planting is
exceptionally realistic and varied.
Clearly a hole like this comes into its
own in the wind in a similar way to the
Postage Stamp at Royal Troon. On a benign
day though you will be expecting to get
close to the flag.
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Cara
Brae (16th hole)
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Cara Brae can be
played in many ways, as boldness will be
rewarded with shortish irons into the
greens, however taking on some of the
hazards will not be plain sailing, and
the cliffsides and deep bunkers could
easily reap havok on the scorecard. Take
a more cautious approach will eleminate
some of the danger but leave you many
more difficult approach shots. Whilst
Cara Brae remains an Irish links course
at its core, it actually has much more to
offer visually as a wild windswept look
blends with impressive sea views, bright
colours, and enclosed treelines. If you
want to get just one course to try out
and see what a multitude of ideas Mikes
has incorporated over the years then this
without doubt is the course to get.
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