...on a municipal track in south Jersey??
Hard to believe, but at the suggestion of Brad Klein, architect Stephen Kay decided to add a replica of the original on what is the 7th hole of McCullough's Emerald Golf Links, in Egg Harbor, NJ.
The course, whose other holes are all replicas of holes from the Old Country, was built over a landfill and I've provided a full report on another thread ("To replicate or not to replicate?").
Mackenzie's hole plays to 464 yards, par four, although it can play as "short" as 390 yards along the most direct, daring line. At its widest point, the fairway stretches 159 yards, end to end. It also plays into the prevailing wind, which can be considerable on the open site near the ocean.
Conceptually, there are three distinct avenues for the tee shot. The longest and safest route is out to the right, where the hole effectively becomes a dogleg left, and given the minefield of bunkers once encounters on the second shot from that angle, effectively becomes at least a par 4 and a half.
There is also an island of fairway in the midst of a HUGE waste bunker that one can try to play to (estimate is 180 yard carry, and a 250 yard drive would go through it), or one can take the most daring route attempting to carry all of the sand (approximately a 275 yard carry).
The green sits appropriately elevated, and is guarded by a bunker on the right side. A drive to the more difficult left leaves the best angle of approach. The green is also rather undulating, with OB not far behind.
I played from the tips, and I have to admit that I think this hole is going to confuse the hell out of golfers. From the tee, one can see the distant green, but there is nary a clue about where to go, or what your options might be. Similar in a way to St. Andrews, one can make out very little due to the recessed tee area that seems to be a little below the elevation of the rest of the hole. So, for the golfer, one can see high grasses waving in the wind, some fairway out to the right, some fairway somewhere left, but little to distinguish the features in any way. I suspect most will determine that it's a crapshoot their first time playing, and end up going directly for the hole, whether they meant to be daring or not.
Personally, I LOVED this type of confusing lack of visibility. I just doubt that others who grew up with "target golf" will be so equally enthused. Perhaps at some point the course will provide yardage books, etc., with precise point to point distances in full color, but for my taste, I preferred to play it with a little less information and a LOT more adventure!
If nothing else, the hole is uncompromising to the modern game and expectations. Perhaps an architect less concerned with authenticity would have built a very elevated tee, or attempted to create more "definition" in the fairway(s), but this hole as it exists today is ruggedly surreal and seemingly unconcerned with what anyone else thinks about it.
Bravo!