Barnbougle Bougle Run

Designed by Bill Coore, the 14-hole Bougle Run short course at Barnbougle – comprising twelve par three holes and two par fours (at #4 and #8) – lies in the coastal dunes between the front and back nine on the adjacent Lost Farm layout.

The course, which takes in some of the highest points on the entire Barnbougle property, is set slightly back from the coastline, providing great views across the Lost Farm course and Anderson’s Bay.

Owner Richard Sattler wanted a short, fun course that would rival others that he’d seen at Bandon Dunes and Pinehurst. The idea was to create a layout that complemented the other two courses, only shorter and more fun.

As the owner says, he was looking for something “that takes less time to play … people could play the course before taking off to get a flight or after getting off a flight and arriving here late in the afternoon, for example.”

Discovering the exact site for the Bougle Run came about following a scrub fire in late 2019, between the 8th green on Lost Farm and the enormous dune next to the right side of the 10th fairway on the same course.

The fire revealed a track that led up the side of the sand hill, and on walking up this previously hidden path to see what lay beyond, Richard Sattler was convinced more golf holes could be built.

Bill Coore was called in and he reckoned as many as twenty-four holes could be routed around this tract of land. Eventually, it was decided to build four holes on the practice area that link to ten holes in the new found part of the property.

Construction took only four months during the COVID pandemic, with Riley Johns carrying out initial shaping then everybody on site –from green keepers to bar staff, housekeeping workers to pro shop employees – helping out.

The opening two holes take players away from the 8th green on the Lost Farm course into the main ten holes that lie on top of the dune ridge. Par threes vary in length from 163 yards at the 2nd to 82 yards at the 3rd, with two par fours at the 4th and 8th.

Bougle Run isn’t too difficult for high handicappers but it’s also fun and challenging for the more accomplished player. Interestingly, the shortest tee on every hole has been positioned so that a putter can be used to play the hole!