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A seaside Links style course overlooking the Peconic Bay.
Charles B. McDonald, known as the father of the American golf, started planning
to build the ideal course in 1902. After visiting famous links courses in
England and Scotland several times, he selected the ideal 18 holes from
these existing courses to build the National Golf Links of America in 1909.
While not a perfect copy, the essence of the original holes was adopted,
such as Redan, Alps, Cape, Punchball, Sahara, Short, Eden, Long St. Andrews,
And Home. This also includes a well-balanced combination of long and short
holes, many strategic holes offering various attacking routes, blind holes,
tee shots that require forced carry, as well as verities of excellent green
complex. Overall, this has been blemished to become a super-class course.
Due to the originality of C.B. McDonald's designs, all 18 great holes are
wonderfully combined in a harmoniously rhythmic routine that offers an exciting
play. The course has one loop, and players will not return to the clubhouse
after Hole 9. The greens are fast, the fairways are firm and the maintenance
is very well kept.
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“Sahara” A short & uphill par four with a dogleg to the left. The tee
shot will overpass a big bunker called Sahara and encounter an ever-narrowing
landing area on the fairway. Players will also see a windmill, known to
be the symbol of the course, which is located on the left side. This will
require a right to left ball to avoid it. Players will have to decide whether
to use a driver (or fairway wood) off the tee shot or lay up with an iron.
The green slopes to the left, with an additional slope descending towards
the back of the green. (This hole was inspired off the design of the 3rd
hole of Royal St. George.) |
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“Alps” A par four with a slight dogleg to the left. A long and narrow
cross bunker divides the fairway and a carry of 200 to 210 yards will
be required to overcome it. Players will notice the approach shot will
be semi-blind. The green is wide and two-tiered with a higher right tier.
There are three bunkers that guard the front and left sides of the green.
If players land the ball in those bunkers, it will make a strong uphill
bunker shot to the green, making a par save extremely difficult. This
hole was selected in the US Golf Magazine as World's 500 Best Holes in
2000 (latest edition). (This hole was inspired off the design of Prestwick
No. 17.)
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“Redan” The redand green is diagonally long starting from the front right
extending to the back left. The green slopes sharply from front right
to back left, and are protected by deep bunkers on its front and back.
This hole was selected by the US Golf Magazine as part of the World's
500 Best Holes in 2000 (latest edition). (This hole was inspired off the
design of North Berwick No. 15.)
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“ “Short” A short par three with a large green surrounded by seven bunkers
of various sizes. It plays with a slightly downhill. The green has complex
slopes. (This hole was inspired off the design of the Royal West Norfolk
No. 4.) |
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“St. Andrews” A long par four with a dogleg to the right. The tee shot
will require players to overpass rough and a large bunker area. The approach
is gently downhill. The green is long, narrow, and surrounded by a pot
bunker to the left and a long bunker to the right. (This hole imitates
the 17th hole of St Andrews Old Course.)
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“Bottle” A relatively straight par four. Off the tee shot,
the fairway is splits to the left and right and runs along seven small bunkers.
Approaching the green offers quite a challenge as two deep bunkers guard
the front and an additional two guard the left. The right side of the green
steeply slopes downhill. The origin of the hole’s name is based on the idea
that the fairway is wide, like a body of a bottle, and the green is narrow
like a bottle stopper. (This hole was inspired off the design of the Sunningdale
Old Course No. 8.) |
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“Long” A straight par five. The tee shot is slightly downhill, and players
should be careful of bunkers to the left and trees to the right. A horizontally
wide bunker makes inroad into the fairway from the left at around 70 yards
in front of the green, so players will be forced to choose either to cross
the bunker or lay up in front of it. The landing area off the second shot
is narrow. The green is slightly elevated and is surrounded by four bunkers.
(This hole was inspired off the design of the 14th hole of St Andrews
Old Course)
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“Plateau” A dogleg to the left. Off the tee shot, players will notice
trees to the right side and a total of six bunkers on both sides. The
hole is characterized by the green, as it is concaved near the center
and a plateau on the left front half. The green is also guarded by three
pot bunkers. (This hole is a designer's original).
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"Sebonack" An almost straight par four. The elevated green is
guarded by an effective bunker to the front left. The green slopes from
back to front with a bump in the middle. |
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“"Eden" A downhill par three with a horizontally wide green which
is surrounded by an elongated bunker starting from the right continuing
all the way to the back. There are three small bunkers that guard the front
of the green. (This hole was inspired off the design of the 11th hole of
St Andrews Old Course.) |
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“Cape” A par four with dogleg to the right. The tee shot requires the
ball to hit over a pond and avoid two deep fairway bunkers to the right.
If players safely hit towards the left side of the fairway to avoid the
bunkers, the approach shot will become much longer. The green is circular
with two large bunkers to the back and left. (A designer's original, which
is also used in the 14th at Chicago.)
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“Punchbowl” A relatively straight par four. With a downhill tee shot,
a carry of 280 yards will be required to carry the right fairway bunker.
With the semi-blind approach shot, the green is Punchbowl consisting of
higher surrounding edges and lower putting surfaces. Punchbowl green is
indicates a massive bowl or hollow that funnels shots toward the center.
Players can see the symbolic windmill again, which is located to the left
side of the green. (The hole is a reference to the characteristics of
many Scottish links holes in which the green isn’t visible on the approach
shot.)
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"Peconic" A par four with a slight dogleg to the left. Off
the tee shot, players will notice four bunkers to the left and right,
as well as a small cross bunker placed at around the 260 yards from the
teeing ground that comes into play. The approach shot will require the
ball to hit over the dune's mound. The green slopes from back to front
and is surrounded by bunkers. The hole was selected by GOLF Magazine as
part of the World's 500 Best Holes in 2000 (latest edition).
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““Home” A double dogleg par five that first bends to the left before turning
back to the right. The fairway is undulating. On the tee shot, there are
two large bunkers side by side to the left that come to play, and a carry
of 230 yards is needed to surpass them. If players succeed, they can try
to hit the green in two shots. For the average players who’ll hit the second
shot from the fairway next to the bunker, they’ll notice that another wide
bunker on the right side at about 135 yards in front of the green comes
into play. The green is long and strongly sloped with a ridge running across
the center. Players will be able to see the wonderful ocean view from the
green. The hole was selected by GOLF Magazine as part of the World's 500
Best Holes in 2000 (latest edition). |
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It is a two-hour drive to the east from New York City to the course,
and less than a two hours’ drive from LaGuardia Airport. Visitors must
be accompanied by a member to play. This course is in the vicinity to
both Shinnecock Hills GC and Sebonack GC.
Top 100 Golf Courses ranked this course ( top100golfcourses.com)
as no.2 in 2018 in its category of top 70 courses in New York State that
has nearly 1000 golf courses. Top 100 Golf Courses ranked no.4 in 2020
in its category of top 100 US courses. The course was ranked 5th on the
2020 World Top 100 golf courses by GOLF Magazine.
The National Golf Links of America is a masterpiece of Charles B. McDonald.
He also designed Sleepy Hollow CC, and co-designed with Seth Raynor
The Creek Club, Piping Rock Club, The Course at Yale, Old White TPC
Course, and Bermuda Mid-Ocean Club.
CB McDonald's dismantled the windmill from the Netherlands and delivered
it to the golf course about 100 years ago after several founding members
mentioned that it would be an interesting addition to the course if
a windmill was available. The members didn’t expect it would come true.
Apparently, the cost of the endeavor was evenly divided among those
members.
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Hole 2 Par 4 330 yards (2)