After a glorious 18 on Lost Farm in the morning, we made our way over to the Dunes for lunch and an afternoon 18. The weather didn't cooperate fully, although the storm that came in as we were making the turn--like the sand strewn all over the fairways and greens at Lost Form--made for an even more memorable experience. We stopped after 9, but we finished our round the next morning--and, boy, was the wait worth it, as the back nine at Barnbougle Dunes might be the best I've ever played. We loved it so much, we decided to play another full 18 on the Dunes that afternoon, capped by a surreal sunset. (If you're keeping tabs, that's twice we've been at a Doak/C&C complex--Barnbougle and, more recently, Streamsong--and both times we chose to play the Doak course, instead of the C&C course, again and again.) I'll split my review/photo tour by front and back nine. As noted in my Lost Farm review, note in my pictures the spectacular natural movement in the fairways at the Dunes. And, for conditioning buffs out there, we also played Barnbougle in early August 2014--i.e., the Australian "winter."
Barnbougle Dunes, Entrance (after such a long journey, the greeting crowd at the gate assures you it was worth it)
Barnbougle Dunes, Clubhouse (the view from the clubhouse, out over Bass Strait, puts any mind at ease)
Barnbougle Dunes, Front NineAs I mentioned in my Lost Farm review, Barnbougle Dunes starts slowly, as 1 and 2 play away from the dunes on the flattest land on the course--with the 2nd playing straight alongside the landing strip used for private planes. The first is the better of the two holes, a par-5 with a semi-blind tee shot to a very wide fairway rising gradually to a green whose undulations hint at what's to come--as does the view right toward the dunes. The third hole begins in earnest the venture into the dunes, as the green on the downhill dogleg-right par-4 is framed beautifully by a dune on the left and behind, a bunker well short (i.e., if you find it, your shot is the dreaded mid-range bunker shot, not a typical greenside splash), and the dogleg-creating dune ridge running the length of the hole on the right. Some people call the short par-4 4th the best hole on the course, but while it might be visually, I don't think it is strategically. People say it's drivable, but I can't see how or why you would try to drive the green from the tee. Even though I hit a cut (which is what you would need to hit if you wanted to drive the green), I played the hole with a 4-iron and 60-degree wedge both times, and made a birdie and a par. Still a great hole, and the beginning of a great five-hole stretch ending with 8. Five is a stunning, and fun, par-3, with a huge steep slope to the left of the green that golfers can use to bank their tee shots close to the hole. (Like the 15th at Lost Farm, even though the tee is hard by Bass Strait, the hole is routed brilliantly away from the water and into the dunes.) Six, like 8, is a winding par-4 through the dunes to an elevated tee, although 8 winds more to the left, has a semi-split fairway, and is the longer, harder, hole, with a steeper climb to a steeper, back-to-front, green. The 7th is my favorite hole at the Dunes, a short par-3 set amid a sea of dunes with a view of Bridport in the distance--and with a green, especially the steep falloff at the back, that will give many nightmares. Nine is a tricky par-4 with a blind, directionless tee shot over a ridge and plunging down to a narrow, twisting fairway. Both nines end at the clubhouse.
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 1 (fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 1 (green)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 3 (fairway) [N.B.: The bunker short of the green is actually a fairway, not a greenside, bunker, providing a nice trompe l'oeil.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 4 (tee)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 4 (fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 4 (fairway) [N.B.: The scale of the "shoulder" bunker guarding the steep slope in front of the green should now be apparent. It renders blind even wedge approaches.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 4 (green, looking backward down the fairway, with the massive bunker short right of the green obscured from view even though only yards away)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 5 (view from the walking path connecting 4 green and 5 tee) [N.B.: The partial collapse in the path was the result of the wicked storm that hit Tassie the night we arrived--and prompted Richard Sattler, who was in the pro shop, to delay the opening tee time, which was ours.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 5 (tee) [N.B.: High up the slope to the left of the green is the target, as balls hit there will feed down and right to the green, and possibly close to the hole.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 5 (tee)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 7 (tee) [N.B.: Without question one of the greatest, and most devilish, short par-3s in the world.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 8 (dune to right of tee, with a storm fast approaching)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 8 (lower-right fairway; to the left of the rough on the left is another elevated fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 9 (looking backward up the fairway at sunset, with the town of Bridport on the horizon)
Barnbougle Dunes, Back NineAs good as the stretch from 3-8 is, where Barnbougle Dunes really shines--and opens up from a slightly cramped front nine--is on the back. The vast fairway on 10 is the only flat spot on the back nine, which plays over amazing terrain, starting with a green site on 10 that is at once grand and aspirational--in fact, it's the first thing you see when driving into Barnbougle, and it more than whets the appetite. After the long par-5 11th, which plays right over a ridge and then slightly left up a hill in the same direction as 10, the golfer turns back around to confront the confounding 12th, a short par-4 that, like 4, plays into the prevailing wind and therefore isn't really drivable. But 12 is harder than 4, because it's more exposed (playing along a huge ridge to an infinity green) and therefore gets even more wind, making finding the wide fairway no easy task. Thirteen is a beautiful par-3, perhaps the flattest on the entire property (it plays only slightly uphill), but with a wild green full of slopes and hollows you can use to your advantage (I know Tom has posted that the 13th green was his tribute to a green of yesteryear, but I can't recall the name or location of the original). Fourteen is, like 11, another long par-5 that plays to the east (away from the clubhouse and toward Lost Farm), rising to a perched green after a drive that must navigate a string of bunkers along a diagonal ridge. Fifteen turns back around for one of the course's better holes, a par-4 with a huge ridge down the center of the fairway running all the way up to the green, forming a deep and steep falloff left. Sixteen is a great par-3, played from the highest point on the property, with epic views over both courses, again routed, like 5 and Lost Farm's 15th, downhill and away from the water. Also like 5, there is a large slope left of the green that the golfer can use to work his ball close to the hole--except, unlike five, the slope is obscured by a well-placed bunker. (Six months after I played Barnbougle, I hit my approach shot on Streamsong Blue's 15th and, immediately after seeing my natural cut start left, said, "If I know Tom Doak, I know there's a slope on the left of the green that will work my ball back toward the hole." Sure enough, I was right.) Seventeen and 18 are back-to-back dogleg-right par-4s, with both playing along Bass Strait back toward the clubhouse. If I have one complaint about the Dunes, it's this somewhat repetitive routing (in addition to 17 and 18, the par-4s 6 and 8 feel similar and play in the same direction, the par-5s 11 and 14 feel similar and play in the same direction, the par-4s 12 and 15 both play uphill and in the same direction, and the par-3s 5 and 16, though playing in opposite directions, feel somewhat similar). Of the two final holes, 17 is the better hole with the more demanding and more scenic tee shot, and more interesting undulations in the fairway and by the green. The approach into 18 is somewhat underwhelming (although there is an intriguing runoff on the right side), but apart from that shot, and the tee ball on 10, the back nine is truly all-world. Eat some food, sit by the fireplace, and take in the views from the clubhouse to cap off a surreal experience.
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 10 (tee) (a benign start to one of the greatest stretches of holes on the planet)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 10 (fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 10 (fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 10 (green)
Barnbougle Dunes (the green site at 10, one of my favorite green sites in the world)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 11 (fairway) [N.B.: People rightfully talk about the classic rumpled fairway at Westward Ho!'s 6th hole, but the natural rumples in the fairways at Barnbougle are equally mesmerizing and ideal for golf.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 12 (from the gully below the tee box, with the flag perched on top of the ridge in the distance to the right) [N.B.: Though the fairway seems wide and hittable, the wind can easily move a good-looking shot right and into the junk along the face of the ridge.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 12 (right fairway bunker, with green beyond and 17 in the distance to the right)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 13 (tee)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 13 (green)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 13 (green, looking backward with 17 in the distance)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 14 (view backward from the tee over the 13th green (foreground) and 17th hole (background), with the town of Bridport in the distance)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 14 (view to the right of the fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 14 (fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Holes 14 and 15 (looking back from the 14th green, with the 14th fairway left and the 15th hole right)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 14 (green)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 15 (tee)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 15 (fairway)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 15 (green) [N.B.: The ridge that dominates the fairway (see previous picture) continues to the green and creates a massive dropoff left.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 15 (looking backward from the green)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 15 (looking backward, with Lost Farm across the river)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 16 (view from the tee to the right over the Bass Strait, with Bridport in the distance)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 16 (tee) [N.B.: Like at the 5th, a slope to the left of the green allows the golfer to feed the ball back to the hole; unlike the 5th, the slope is obscured by the bunker, so the proper play is less obvious at first glance.]
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 17 (view to the right over Bass Strait)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 17 (green)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 17 (green as seen from the 12th green)
Barnbougle Dunes, Hole 17 (looking backward from behind the green)
Barnbougle Dunes (a classic Doak bunker)
Barnbougle Dunes (another classic Doak bunker; they look magical in black and white)
Barnbougle Dunes, Wallabies (they kept us company throughout our two rounds)
Barnbougle Dunes at Sunset
