Piping Rock Club

6,712 yards, 132 slope from the Gold tees There are some golf courses I'm glad I still get to experience for the first time. It's easier to fully appreciate, instead of wondering if I'm missing something or just outright not enjoying it altogether. It's like tasting a really good bourbon. Those who don't drink a … Continue reading Piping Rock Club →

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 →

The Creek

6,583 yards, 134 slope from the Silver tees The history of the game in the United States is enshrined in Long Island. Fortunes were made and golf courses built on tremendously ideal land for the cause, sandy soil and an abundance of coastal proximity. The Creek is among those historical treasures that has remained so … Continue reading The Creek →

St. George’s Golf & Country Club

6,408 yards, 136 slope from the Championship tees "And the child in the dress was our first club champion." I was wrapping up my visit when my host walked me to the photo sitting in the lobby. A black and white photo with a couple families standing side by side, and yes, this included a … Continue reading St. George’s Golf & 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 →

Hudson National Golf Club

6,680 yards, 140 slope from the Blue/Whites The apex of Summer was upon us. There's a time in each part of the season when it feels like it has been this way with this weather forever and will be this way forever more. Accustomed to the heat, the air conditioning, the trees, grass, flowers in … Continue reading Hudson National Golf Club →

Hay Harbor Club

2,843 yards, 114 Slope The scorecard remained blank. In fact, I forgot about it altogether until that night when I emptied out my golf bag. I took one just before we teed off and had every intention of keeping score, but that all changed as we walked off the First tee into the fairway, the … Continue reading Hay Harbor Club →

Fishers Island

6,556 yards, 144 slope from the Blues The boat rises and falls in relaxing rhythm with the lapping waves. The man rests along the foredeck with his feet kicked up, indifferent to the world. Elsewhere, we're in a Subaru station wagon with someone we just met. I forget the name of the driver but do … Continue reading Fishers Island →

Bayonne Golf Club

6,712 yards, 142 slope from the Blues A lunch long ago. In a hotel amidst snowy Boston, my travel companion and I deep in discussion on the subject of golf. I was still in the beginning stages of learning the game and course architecture. My companion, much more well traveled. The lunch was first recounted … Continue reading Bayonne Golf 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 →