National Golf Links of America

Last updated

Club information
Location Southampton, New York
Established1911
TypePrivate
Total holes18
Events hosted Walker Cup (1922, 2013)
Designed by Charles B. Macdonald
Par 72
Length6,873 yards
Course rating 73.6

National Golf Links of America is a prestigious links-style golf course in Southampton, New York, located on Long Island between Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and Peconic Bay. Though the course is noted for hosting the initial Walker Cup in 1922, which the United States won 8 and 4, it has never hosted a major men's championship. [1] The Walker Cup was again held at the National in 2013. [2] The private club has been called "America's snootiest golf course" due to its exclusive nature. [3]

Contents

History

Windmill at National as viewed from Shinnecock Hills National Windmill.jpg
Windmill at National as viewed from Shinnecock Hills

The course was designed by Charles B. Macdonald, who had been schooled at the University of St Andrews in Scotland during the 1870s. Macdonald was introduced to golf at St. Andrews old course, playing many rounds there with Tom Morris, Sr. and Tom Morris, Jr., both of whom were multiple winners of the Open Championship, founded in 1860 as the first major championship in golf.

Macdonald, the founder and original designer of the Chicago Golf Club, had been paired with John Shippen, an African American, in the 1896 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. Following the event, he quit Shinnecock and founded the new club. [4] He set out to design a course that would rival the prominent golf courses located abroad, looking at potential sites in Cape Cod and Napeague before settling on a plot of land on Sebonac Neck next to Peconic Bay. [5] Macdonald relied on his extensive knowledge of Britain's finest holes, using them as templates for his new course.

The course was constructed adjacent to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, and now also borders Sebonack Golf Club, which opened in 2006. [6] Construction of the golf course was supervised by Seth Raynor, a local civil engineer from Long Island who went on to design several golf courses of his own, including the Fishers Island Club. [7]

Jarvis Hunt designed the club house that overlooks Peconic Bay National-golf.jpg
Jarvis Hunt designed the club house that overlooks Peconic Bay

When it opened in 1911, the course was called the National Golf Links of America because its 67 founding members, which included Robert Bacon, George W. Baxter, Urban H. Broughton, Charles Deering, James Deering, Findlay S. Douglas, Henry Clay Frick, Elbert Henry Gary, Clarence Mackay, De Lancey Nicoll, James A. Stillman, Walter Travis, and William Kissam Vanderbilt II, resided in various parts of the United States. [8] The clubhouse was designed by Jarvis Hunt, one of the club's founding members. [9] [10] James Hepburn—one of the founding members of the PGA of America—served as one of the early head professionals, working at the club from 1914 until 1928. [11] There is a small bar half-way round the course which contains P.G. Wodehouse memorabilia, and the course is mentioned, surprisingly negatively, in the preface to The Heart of a Goof short story collection.

The National Golf Links of America was selected as the host of the 2013 Walker Cup in September 2008. [12] In 2009, "The National" was ranked 15th in Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. [13]

The current head golf professional is Jim Morris.

On April 18, 2018, the right wing of the building caught fire, but was extinguished by local fire departments causing minimal damage to the exterior.

Course design

National Golf Links of America is laid out over 250 acres (1.0 km2). [5] The course is a par 72 and plays 6,873 yards (6,285 m) from the back tees. [14] Many of the holes were patterned from famous golf courses in the British Isles and adapted to fit the local setting:

Some of the other holes were original designs, the most notable of which is the par four 14th hole. It was named "Cape" because the green was located on a small peninsula that jutted into a bay. The green was later moved during construction of Sebonac Inlet Road but is now surrounded on three sides by a large bunker. [17] A unique feature on the golf course is a windmill located between the 2nd and 16th holes. A member once remarked that a windmill would make a nice addition to the course, so Macdonald purchased one when he was in Europe and sent the member the bill. [18]

National Golf Links of America
Tee Rating/Slope 123456789Out101112131415161718InTotal
Back73.6/137327330426195478141478424540333945043243517436539740437550235346873
Middle71.7/133307270411177466131462404532316042940838816133636738135047832986458
Forward68.8/127289240378159451110406286514283339137035214728631136031944829845817
Par444343545364443444453672
SI 111511391773528418141210166

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References

  1. ↑ Clavin, Tom (16 November 2003). "The Home of American Golf". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  2. ↑ "2013 Walker Cup Matches". Archived from the original on 9 March 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
  3. ↑ Boyle, Robert H. (26 February 1962). "The Ways Of Life At The Country Club". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved 16 September 2009.
  4. ↑ Weber, Bruce (14 June 1992). "Members Only". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  5. 1 2 Graves, Robert Muir; Cornish, Geoffrey S. (2002). Classic Golf Hole Design: Using the Greatest Holes as Inspiration for Modern Courses. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 64–72. ISBN   0-471-41372-0.
  6. ↑ "Sebonack Golf Club To Host 2013 U.S. Women's Open". United States Golf Association . 25 June 2008. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Seth Raynor (1874-1926)". Shoreacres. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "The National Golf Links of America". The American Golfer: 163–170. August 1910.
  9. ↑ "Jarvis Hunt: Works" . Retrieved 13 July 2008.
  10. ↑ "Jarvis Hunt". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Clubmakers: James Hepburn (Carnoustie/London/New York)". AntiqueGolfScotland.com. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Herrman, Mark (21 September 2008). "Walker Cup Headed to Island". Newsday . Long Island.
  13. ↑ "America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses/2009-10". Golf Digest . May 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  14. ↑ "National Golf Links of America". Metropolitan Golf Association. Retrieved 6 September 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  15. 1 2 3 4 "National Golf Links of America". GolfClubAtlas.com. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  16. ↑ Macdonald, C.B.; Whigham, H.J. (July 1914). "Redan Hole at the National Golf Links". Golf Illustrated.
  17. 1 2 "Feature Interview with George Bahto". GolfClubAtlas.com. Retrieved 6 September 2009.
  18. ↑ Clemente, T.J. (20 April 2007). "Scotsman Charles MacDonald Creates the National Golf Links Here". Dan's Papers. Bridgehampton. Retrieved 6 September 2009.[ permanent dead link ]


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