Mike
Jones returned to his favoured links
style course for his next release in June
2003 called Atlantic Point. This design
is best described as a USA links course
and crosses the traditional British links
with a coastal Pebble Beach style
grandeur. It also contains a Harbour Town
style lighthouse which stands out as a
key feature overlooking parts of the
course. It is a dramatic course with
small bunkers seemingly littered
everywhere, and with the coastline
directly in play it offers a tough test.
Its best holes come early on and through
the front nine in particular, as these
are the most interesting to play and
often the most visially inspiring. It has
a relentless bunker challenge and by the
time you reach the 18th you may well be
feeling pretty worn out.
Four
Favourite Holes
Hole 2
- An early inland hole and a sweeping
dogleg from right to left. It has a great
view off the tee as it follows the curve
of the hole around the corner and
downhill to the green with the sea in the
far distance. It is a tough hole too at
460 yards, with a whole host of bunkers
scattered around to catch any shorter
shot off tee and forcing you to drive
further to a narrower area. This hole can
catch you out and with the sea coming
into play soon after it may become an
expensive start to your round.
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Atlantic
Point (2nd hole)
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Hole 4
- At holes 4 and 5 the sea is very much
in play to your right hand side as you
travel along the coast. Both holes are
fairly short par 4's but hole 4 is the
longer at 430 yards which makes your play
to the green more difficult. This hole is
remeniscent of the 10th at Pebble Beach
and your nerve will really be tested as
you step up to the tee as the driving
area looks so narrow. It is one of the
tougher holes on the course and is
superbly planted too.
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Atlantic
Point (4th hole)
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Hole 11
- This hole is a 550 yard par 5 that
sweeps around the bay from left to right
to a peninsula green. A tall red and
white lighthouse stands proudly in the
background which i really like. You
cannot cut the corner on this hole so if
you want to attack the green you will do
so from a long way back making it a risky
approach shot. Play safe though and it
should prove to be a relatively easy par
at the very least. A stunning hole
visually with the best view on the whole
course.
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Atlantic
Point (11th hole)
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Hole 18
- The closing hole is relatively
straightforward. A 460 yard par 4 where
it is most important to miss the fairway
bunkers and this means a short shot off
the tee may be the best. The hole itself
slopes down to a bowl like green
surrounded by a grassy bank and backed by
a large hotel building. Guarding the
green are a series of right hand bunkers
which will collect anything that strays
that side. It isnt a particularly
significant hole other than the grassy
bank gives it a really nice visual effect
on the approach shot.
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Atlantic
Point (18th hole)
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Atlantic Point
remains a high ranking course bringing
the coastline much more into play than
traditional links courses usually do.
Whilst this design had a big impact on
its release, for me it hasnt quite stood
its ground against the earlier release
and rival Royal County Kilderry. The
reason for this lies in the challenges,
where often the strategy is too much
about avoiding the larger number of
fairway bunkers. These are generally
shallower and in the end dont actually
look quite as good as the European pot
bunker style. The course clearly does
have an impressive visual landscape, and
has a memorable object in the striped
lighthouse. In comparative terms it still
remains a top class design with great
visuals and is still hugely enjoyable to
play.
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