Winged Foot tee time: 9 ways you can play U.S. Open host Winged Foot
Winged Foot Golf Club on Wednesday, one day before the start of the U.S. Open.
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Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., is private. The course for this week’s U.S. Open is not open to the public. You need a key to get in.
Well, here are nine of them. See you on the first tee.
9 ways you can play Winged Foot
1. Become a member
How to: This is the most direct option. Contact the club here. Apply for membership. Get accepted for membership. Play golf at Winged Foot, which reopens for members on Sept. 26. Easy. …
The key: You’ll needed some patience and some pennies. It’s invite-only, and there’s reportedly a lengthy waiting list. It’s then time to pay up. It’s been reported that the initiation fee costs up to $200,000, and there are annual dues. The best golf in life isn’t free.
2. Get an invite from a member
How to: This is a less expensive option. It might cost you just a few drinks even. Find a member. Befriend the member. Have the member invite you to play golf. Play golf at Winged Foot. Easy.
The key: There are two. Finding a member will be hard. The member list isn’t published. You’ll have to do some asking. Finding one who will invite you will be difficult, too. Be pleasant. Be patient. And when they do the asking — “Hey, do you want to play Wing…” — say yes quicker than a Bryson DeChambeau swing.
3. Play in an event as an amateur
How to: One well-known Winged Foot event is The John G. Anderson Memorial Four-Ball Invitational, which features two-man amateur teams from clubs from across the world, though the 84th edition, in late July, was postponed this year. In addition, the 2004 U.S. Amateur was played at Winged Foot, and four golfers who played in that event — Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson, Brian Harman and Michael Thompson — are returning this year. Should the Open or Amateur return to Winged Foot, qualifying is open to anyone.
The key: Practice, practice, practice. The teams in the Anderson want only good players. Only good players reach the Open and Amateur. So become a good player.
4. Play in a charity event
How to: Winged Foot hosts multiple charity golf events a year. One, hosted by the Children’s Medical Research Foundation, is Oct. 6, just over two weeks after the U.S. Open.
The key: The events are for charity. You’ll have to donate. But they’re for a good cause. Or causes. Theirs. And yours.
5. Become a Winged Foot caddie
How to: Pick up a member’s bag, toss it over your shoulder and start stepping. Caddies can play after outings on Mondays and sometimes on quiet Tuesdays. Danny Noonan, or the actor who played Danny Noonan in “Caddyshack,” Michael O’Keefe, was a Winged Foot caddie in the ’70s — and was on a bag for two practice rounds this week, too.
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