Classic Course: Quaker Ridge
With its gently rolling terrain, stately trees, and intimate playing environment, Quaker Ridge epitomizes Westchester County parkland golf. The course’s routing is Muirfield-esque—the holes of the front nine run counter-clockwise around the club’s perimeter, embracing the clockwise homeward nine—allowing for a highly satisfying exploration of the property. Jimmy Demaret once said that Quaker Ridge could […]
Fifth Time’s the Charm at Shinnecock Hills
By Jeff Silverman When the latest edition of the U.S. Open rolls across the fields of Shinnecock Hills in June, canny assessors of architectural handicraft should notice a variety of amendments since the USGA last brought its carnival to town in 2004. You remember 2004: That was the year the fairways were about as […]
Shinnecock Hills U.S. Open Preview
By Adam Schupak SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — As soon as the great, rambling white-and-brown gabled structure that is Shinnecock Hills Golf Club pops into view, hearts pump for golfers as if on a first date with a beautiful woman. Golf’s original clubhouse, a Stanford White design, dominates the surrounding landscape on the south shore of […]
Playing Shinnecock Before the U.S. Open
By Ian Critser Through a welcome twist of fate, I recently found myself sitting on the porch at Shinnecock Hills after walking 27 holes, a mere month before the 2018 U.S. Open. Driving up Tuckahoe Road, the iconic Stanford White clubhouse dramatically reveals itself as you crest a hill. Stepping inside, it feels as […]
The 5 Most Underrated Golf States
By Adam Schupak Underrated. By definition it means to underestimate, play down, sell short—you get the drift. For a golf course, or in this case the entire collective layouts of a state to be termed underrated, it’s a bit like being considered The Best Player Never to Win a Major—is it a compliment or […]
The Story of Liberty National, NYC’s Local Track
By James A. Frank Paul Fireman is a man with a rare sort of vision—the ability to see possibilities where others don’t. Back in 1979 he saw potential in a fledgling British shoe manufacturer. He became the U.S. distributor, eventually bought the company, and in 2006 sold that company—Reebok—for $3.8 billion. About that same […]
Shenendoah Golf Course at Turning Stone
Why don’t more golf instructors design courses? Teachers understand how real golfers play, which should make them good at building to complement our games. But I can name only one prominent teaching pro who is also an architect: Rick Smith. As a teacher, Smith has worked with countless amateurs as well as Tour pros including […]
Where to Stay and Play Golf in Saratoga Springs
The bustling upstate New York town of Saratoga Springs offers a wide variety of vacation options, with the best usually found in August. That’s when the abundant area golf courses are at their greenest, and the color green—as in cash—is busting out all over at the storied Saratoga Race Course. In “The Season,” July 21 […]
Classic Course: Cherry Valley Club
The history of this Long Island course mirrors the evolution of American golf architecture
Fishers Island Club
From Manhattan Island to Cape Cod, the distance as the crow flies is exactly 200 miles. At the precise midpoint of that route lies the most captivating golf course on the East Coast—and arguably in the world—Fishers Island. It’s not an easy course to get onto, not an easy club to get into, and (unless […]
