Bethpage State Park Red Course

6,570 yards, 127 slope from the Middle tees "We're all getting birdies here." Waiting on the Sixteenth tee, the older gentleman in the Notre Dame gear proclaimed it so. All of us would walk away with birdies on this hole and there was no other possibility. It seemed promising enough as everyone got off the … Continue reading Bethpage State Park Red Course →

Essex County Country Club

6,617 yards, 132 slope from the Blues There's Essex County Club in Massachusetts and Essex County Country Club in New Jersey. Both are rather old with interesting histories and the result of complete renovations by famous Golden Age designers. The club in New Jersey that is the subject of this review is the oldest country … Continue reading Essex County Country Club →

Sleepy Hollow Country Club

6,630 yards, 136 from the Blues The life of a golf course. They are conceived, that idea then carried and spoken to others until developed into some kind of reality, at which point the business of building them is set in place. They grow, and those who play them grow fond or perhaps even resentful … Continue reading Sleepy Hollow Country Club →

Paramount Country Club

6,466 yards, 128 slope from the Black/Blue Combos Tillinghast intrigues me the more and more I read and talk about him, as well as play more of his courses. He was a prolific writer and I have recently enjoyed his first person accounts of designing this course and that, where he certainly focuses on the … Continue reading Paramount Country Club →

Metropolis Country Club

6,587 yards, 135 slope from the Blues I had some time to kill. One does not want to show up as a guest too early, whether for social functions, doctor appointments or the golf course. There was a liquor store nearby so I naturally went in to look at the bourbon. I walked out with … Continue reading Metropolis Country Club →

Baltusrol Upper

6,173 yards, 136 from the III tees Twenty minutes after walking off the Eighteenth of the Lower, we found ourselves on the First tee of the Upper. That First tee is behind the clubhouse, making it feel like a secret eighteen holes only the more wily among us know about. Surely our experience of the … Continue reading Baltusrol Upper →

Baltusrol Lower

6,225 yards, 134 from the III tees Something was off with me. I couldn't get into a groove, couldn't get a feel for the course, couldn't put my finger on it. Out of sync. We started in the early morning. There's a routine this time of year, late in the season. We all are now … Continue reading Baltusrol Lower →

Quaker Ridge Golf Club

6,456 yards, 137 slope from the Blues Quaker Ridge is in Scarsdale, New York, which is right above Manhattan for the uninitiated. I am among those who have not spent a whole lot of time in this area, even though it is an absolute mine field of spectacular courses that pretty much sit side by … Continue reading Quaker Ridge Golf Club →

Baltimore Country Club (East)

6,664 yards, 136 slope from the Blues Twenty minutes north of Baltimore proper is the Five Farms property of Baltimore Country Club, where the East and West courses reside. The East course is more well known, designed by A.W. Tillinghast and opening in 1924. The grandeur of the land is rich with hills, far and … Continue reading Baltimore Country Club (East) →

Bedford Springs Old Course

6,446 yards, 137 Slope from the Ross tees Bedford Springs is generally in southwestern Pennsylvania, midway between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Nestled in the Cumberland Valley among with the Allegheny Mountains, the mineral springs have attracted mankind to the area since the dawn of time. Historically, the resort rose to prominence in the early 1800's and … Continue reading Bedford Springs Old Course →