Upstate New York: An Overshadowed Golf Region
When it comes to golf in the state of New York, most of the attention is focused on the New York City metropolitan area—for good reason. After all, it is home to U.S. Open sites Bethpage, Shinnecock Hills and Winged Foot, not to mention courses like National Golf Links of America, Maidstone, Garden City and Quaker Ridge that […]
Pound Ridge Golf Club, New York
Pete Dye’s courses have induced plenty of different states among golfers, from the frustration of hitting multiple shots into the water at TPC Sawgrass’ 17th hole to the elation of hitting a career drive toward the lighthouse at Harbour Town Golf Links’ 18th hole. But until now, there was one state Dye had never explored: New York. […]
Wykagyl Country Club
Measuring a mere 6,702 yards, Wykagyl Country Club does not intimidate on paper, but since it was built more than a century ago, its relentlessly hilly, rocky terrain has provided a worthy challenge for the game’s best. And if not for a location in the heart of New York’s golf-rich Westchester County, where neighbors […]
Huntsville Golf Club, Pennsylvania
More than any single redesign project in U.S. history, Jones’ work on The Country Club displayed the virtues of turning back the clock to an era of natural looking mounds, swales and flow lines. Rather than imposing himself on the course, Jones allowed the site and its original features to set the tone for his work. Indeed, he was most successful at The Country […]
Inniscrone Golf Club, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia’s Main Line is home to such museum pieces as Hugh Wilson’s Merion East, and the William Flynn-Howard Toomey collaborations at Manufacturers and Philadelphia Country Club’s Spring Mill course. Any new course along this real estate certainly draws comparisons to these classics. But at Inniscrone Golf Club, Gil Hanse and his associates, Jim Wagner […]
A Round at Oakmont Country Club
Lee Trevino once said that “there’s only one course in the country where you can step out right now and play the U.S. Open, and that’s Oakmont.” He later added that first they had to slow down the greens. You’ll get no disagreement here. I played Oakmont for the first time last August and I felt like I […]
Philadelphia Cricket Club
The tee is mildly elevated. The green is markedly elevated. The 459-yard par 4 is mightily intimidating. The drive must carry a stream about 175 yards out, as well as a long slit of sand edging more than halfway across the fairway from the right. Majestic hardwoods frame the landing area. There is no […]
Philadelphia Country Club, Pennsylvania
Byron Nelson won the U.S. Open only once, in 1939 at Philadelphia Country Club’s Spring Mill Course. For every golfer who can recite that bit of golf history, a dozen more will say, “That’s the year Sam Snead blew it with an 8 on the last hole.” Indeed, Snead had needed only a par […]
Pittsburgh Field Club, Pennsylvania
During the 2007 U.S. Open, one of the world’s greatest courses was occupied, wearing down the best players in the world. But savvy visitors to Pittsburgh were able to enjoy a round at Pittsburgh Field Club just a few miles from Oakmont, across the Allegheny River. While it doesn’t have nearly the bite of […]
Augusta Country Club, Georgia
Like the guy who married Halle Berry, Augusta Country Club is notable for who it stands beside. The Country Club and Augusta National Golf Club share a fence, a famous creek, a valley and a couple dozen members. Their histories intertwine, too, as histories always do in little Southern towns. While the rest of […]
