The post Our bucket list: 13 courses our staff can’t wait to play in 2021 appeared first on Golf.

The post Our bucket list: 13 courses our staff can’t wait to play in 2021 appeared first on Golf.

Dear Garden City. And Gamble Sands. And Sheep Ranch. And Lawsonia. And Tobacco Road.

Dear Fishers Island (twice!). And Philadelphia Cricket Club (twice, too!). 

Dear St. Andrews. And Carne Golf Links. 

Dear Grayhawk. And Giants Ridge. And Paso Robles. And last, but certainly not least, at least to this author, Whitnall Park. 

Please tidy up your tee boxes, fairways and greens. (Or, maybe in some cases, please cut those fairways a little wider.) Please plant your flags. (Away from trouble would be nice.) Please keep your beverages cold. (And plentiful.)

We are coming. 

Sincerely, 

The GOLF staff. 

Our 2020 golf is, sadly, over. Our 2021 golf, happily, starts NOW. Below are the 13 courses our staff can’t wait to play.   

Michael Bamberger: The Tillinghast course of the Philadelphia Cricket Club. I made a double-bogey 6 on 18 in my last full round there of 2020 to foul up a good card. I believe I can do better.

Alan Bastable: Six years ago — feels like 60 — I took a whirlwind tour of Bandon Dunes for a video project I was working on with my colleague, Josh Sens. We didn’t get to play much golf (for shame!), but we did have the pleasure of visiting the mystical Sheep Ranch, which was then a rough-and-tumble, 13-hole routing. (Tee times were secured via a sporting goods shop in town, you generally had the place to yourself, and you could play the “holes” — really, there were only greens — in any sequence you liked.) You didn’t need to be Tom Doak or Gil Hanse to appreciate the mind-bending potential for the site: Clinging to cliffs high above the mighty Pacific, the property was a golf dreamscape. It seemed inconceivable that the land wouldn’t one day be developed into another jewel in the Bandon crown, and sure enough, in 2020, Sheep Ranch became just that. It’s an admittedly lofty goal for 2021, trekking across the country for a return visit to the Ranch (maybe ’22 is more realistic), but the early reviews have me giddy. I can’t wait to see what they did with the place.    

Josh Berhow: My home state, Minnesota, has a lot of great public golf courses I have yet to play, but I’m going to knock out a bunch of them next year. StoneRidge, just east of the Twin Cities, is near the top of that list, but leading it is a trip to Giants Ridge. It’s a golf/ski resort about 90 miles south of Canada, and it’s home to two dynamite golf courses. One, The Quarry, is widely considered the best public course in the state. My first trip there is high on the priority list for 2021.

James Colgan: With the release of GOLF’s first “top courses in New York” ranking, fellow Long Islander Tim Reilly and I came to a startling realization: We’ve played hardly ANY of the best courses in our area. Sure, it’s one thing to pine after a Shinnecock tee time, but only four of 30 courses between the two of us? That’s bordering on shameful. In ’21, I’m hoping to knock out a few more of the Long Island giants — The Creek Club, Maidstone, maybe even Piping Rock. If I had to choose just one (an impossible task with Long Island golf), I’d say Garden City is my dream tee time next year. My only ask? That I can bring a friend.

Kevin Cunningham: Fishers Island. I’m not telling the how or what or when, but I may have a connection to get on the famed Seth Raynor design on a tiny island off the coasts of Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. I mostly played munis in 2020, so I think this will be a nice little change of pace. It probably won’t happen, but I assure you everyone will hear about it if it does.

Dylan Dethier: Gamble Sands. I moved to Seattle this summer and have already played Chambers Bay a couple times, which means it’s time to check off the next dream course in the state. I eagerly await the pilgrimage to eastern Washington to check out David McKlay Kidd’s epic design, plus a couple others — Wine Valley, Palouse Ridge, Suncadia and others — on the trek to and from. Pacific Northwest adventures await.

Luke Kerr-Dineen: I try to go to England about once a year to visit family. That obviously couldn’t happen this year. I’m desperately hoping — and cautiously optimistic — that it will in 2021. When it does, I’ll drive up to St. Andrews to visit my half-brother. We’ll sneak a round in on the Old Course, and it’ll be worth the wait. 

Jessica Marksbury: My best friend’s wedding was supposed to take place in California wine country in June this year. Because of Covid, it was moved to November and then moved again, to June of 2021. Part of the festivities will include a pre-wedding round of golf at Paso Robles Golf Club. I don’t know anything about the course, but there’s no question that I will love every second, and it’s the round I’m most excited to play.  

Zephyr Melton: Philadelphia Cricket Club. I shared a round there this past fall with GOLF’s very own Michael Bamberger, and I’m not sure I’ve ever enjoyed a course more than that one. The scene was tranquil, the pace was fast, and the greens were pure. I can’t wait until I can go back.

Nick Piastowski: Whitnall Park Golf Course. Or Currie Park. Or Greenfield Park. I played one, or all three, of those Milwaukee County Parks Golf Courses when I was in high school. In college. Every year after college. Not this year. Sadly. I’m going to play Whitnall in 2022, struggle there like I always do, drink a Miller Lite and eat a hot dog there like I always do, and be really damn happy there, like I always am.  

Tim Reilly: Fishers Island. Let me be clear: I do not have a standing invite to play Fishers Island in 2021. It’s on the top of my bucket list, and something I’m eager to cross off. I’m a Long Island boy, and there’s nothing more Long Island than taking a ferry ride to the course. I’m putting the good vibes out there to anyone with a connection. I look forward to accepting a forthcoming invite. Maybe my colleague Kevin Cunningham will introduce me to his contact. … (Editor’s note: This is truly shameless.)

Josh Sens: Tobacco Road in North Carolina. I’ve had this one on my radar for a long time now. Partly because I’m a big Mike Strantz fan, but also because it’s one of the most polarizing courses in the country. People either seem to think it’s a work of revolutionary genius, or an overcooked disaster. I’m pretty sure I’m going to fall into the former camp, but either way, I’m itching to see it. I was all ready to make a trip there before Covid hit, so it’s at the top of the list when traveling becomes more feasible again. And bonus: It’s in the Pinehurst area, so lots of other places to hit along the way.

Alan Shipnuck: Some friends and I are optimistically planning an Ireland trip for next summer, as a way to celebrate the end of our Covid oppression. There are so many wonderful courses over there, but we’re focused on the wild and woolly northwest corner of the island, and I am particularly excited to finally get to Carne, a mythical place in my mind thanks to the reveries of the poet of the linksland, John Garrity.

Andrew Tursky: Grayhawk in Arizona. I played the Talon course this year, which was a great layout with awesome desert views. With a tee time, they also provided access to the practice range. I hear the Raptor course there is even better, though. I can’t wait to get back and check out the other course.

Sean Zak: Lawsonia! I last played their Links course about a decade ago, before people started to really appreciate it. I didn’t appreciate it at all. Need another look — and soon!

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The post Our bucket list: 13 courses our staff can’t wait to play in 2021 appeared first on Golf.

The post Best golf courses in New York, according to GOLF Magazine’s expert course raters appeared first on Golf.

The post Best golf courses in New York, according to GOLF Magazine’s expert course raters appeared first on Golf.

For every great course that made GOLF’s 2020-21 ranking of the Top 100 Courses in the U.S., dozens of more must-plays were left on the outside looking in — including at least a handful in your home state. Some of these designs just missed out on a Top 100 nomination, others finished deeper down the ranking, but all are worthy of your time. To shed light on the best courses in every state, we broke out the full results of our Top 100 Courses polling into state-by-state lists. Here’s a closer look at New York.

New York golf by the numbers:

Number of courses and U.S. rank: 832 (5)*
Number of golfers per capita rank: 23*
Average public-course greens fees: $$ out of $$$*
Average daily temp and rank: 45.4 (37)
Annual precipitation and rank: 41.8 in. (25)

*Source: National Golf Foundation

Best New York golf courses (2020/2021)

1. Shinnecock Hills (Southampton) [1, 2]

Venue for five U.S. Opens since 1986, most recently in 2018, this is William Flynn’s undisputed design masterpiece. Apart from being handed a magnificent piece of land upon which to work, Flynn was given something else nearly as valuable: time. Work commenced in 1928 and the course didn’t open until 1931. True, the Great Depression commenced during construction but the grace with which the holes flow across the property is a tribute to the hands-on, slow-build process.

2. National Golf Links of America (Southampton) [1, 2]

NGLA, or “National,” as it’s known, brought Seth Raynor and C.B. Macdonald together for the first time and what they created still stands as a marvel of strategic design. Some of its template holes, including the Alps 3rd, the Redan 4th, the Short 6th and the Leven 17th, are arguably superior to their namesake holes in the United Kingdom that Macdonald copied. Legendary golf writer Bernard Darwin summed it up nicely when he opined, “The National Links is a truly great course; even as I write I feel my allegiance to Westward Ho!, to Hoylake, to St. Andrews tottering to its fall.”

3. Fishers Island (Fishers Island) [1, 2]

Accessible by ferry or air, this exclusive retreat off the Connecticut coast is populated by the oldest of the Old Money crowd, many of whom still enjoy hoofing it. Why wouldn’t they, given the classic Seth Raynor design that tracks along the island’s northeast edge, the delightful tumbling terrain and the spectacular views of Long Island Sound. Are the 3rd, 4th and 5th holes as intoxicating as any three consecutive holes on this list? It’s a question worth considering.

4. Friar’s Head (Riverhead) [1, 2]

Tree-dotted dunes, open meadows and bluff-top views of Long Island Sound highlight play at this 2003 Bill Coore-Ben Crenshaw design. Phil Mickelson opined that it is his favorite modern course. Holes such as the par-5 14th call to mind an East Coast version of Cypress Point. Constant refinements, no matter how small, have helped this course continually power up the rankings. From a presentation perspective, few courses are as dialed-in.

5. Winged Foot – West (Mamaroneck) [1, 2]

Hale Irwin survived the 1974 “Massacre at Winged Foot” U.S. Open to win at seven over par. Geoff Ogilvy didn’t fare much better in 2006, when his five-over total took home the trophy. Mark Brooks, 1996 PGA champion, summed up this Golden Age A.W. Tillinghast design this way: “There are probably six hard holes, six really hard holes and six impossible holes.” Frighteningly contoured, pear-shaped greens, cavernous bunkers and a procession of rugged par-4s define the trouble here. On a “difficulty” scale of 1 to 10, Jack Nicklaus once rated the West course a 12. That said, Gil Hanse’s recent, stunning expansion of all the green pads has brought back an element of creativity with which few parkland courses can contend, all of which was on display at the 2020 U.S. Open won by Bryson DeChambeau.

6. Garden City (Garden City) [1, 2]

Devereux Emmet and Walter Travis share credit for this old-school design that plays across Hempstead Plain on Long Island. The water is 10 miles both north and south, so sea breezes are a frequent companion. Laurie Auchterlonie won the 1902 U.S. Open here with record scores, owing to the debut of the longer, more durable Haskell ball. Garden City’s tilted greens, like the 10th and 15th, are lay-of-the-land architecture at its highest form.

7. Maidstone (East Hampton) [1, 2]

Recently restored by Coore & Crenshaw, Maidstone’s glorious edge-of-the-Atlantic location is once again fully evident. Maintaining coastal dunes is an art form: expose too much sand and it blows away; cover it up and you lose a sense of place. Maidstone has struck the perfect balance. Adding to the pleasure of its romantic location is an exceptional set of Willie and John Park greens, many of which feature dramatic false fronts. A dream course to play on a regular basis.

8. Bethpage – Black (Farmingdale) [1, 2, P]

The Black intimidates golfers with a sign at the 1st tee that recommends the course “only for highly skilled golfers.” Among the highly skilled? Tiger Woods, who won the 2002 “People’s Open,” as that U.S. Open came to be known. Woods was the only golfer to break par for 72 holes, owing to rugged, uphill par-4s, massive bunkers and the wrist-fracturing rough found on this Rees Jones-restored A.W. Tillinghast layout. The Black is one of the great routings, highlighted by the masterful way Tillinghast placed the fairways and greens from the 2nd hole in a valley all the way through the dogleg left 9th. The par-5 4th and its iconic cross-bunkering is a world-beater.

Book a tee time at Bethpage Black.

9. Sleepy Hollow (Briarcliff Manor) [1, 2]

This Westchester County course has always enjoyed a spectacular component to it, courtesy of breathtaking views of the Hudson River. What it lacked was playing interest from 50 yards and in to its greens. That changed in 2016 when Gil Hanse embarked on a two-year project to imbue the greens with a C.B. Macdonald flair that, well, even Macdonald would appreciate.

10. Quaker Ridge (Scarsdale) [1, 2]

This quiet club across the street from Winged Foot has counted Jack Nicklaus and Pete Dye as admirers. Its outstanding cluster of gently rolling par-4s, notably the 6th and the 11th, provided a terrific canvas for amateurs such as Justin Rose and Jason Gore in the 1997 Walker Cup. Dating to 1916, the course was made over by A.W. Tillinghast in 1926 and Gil Hanse’s restoration this past decade has the course at peak. The par-3 9th is one of the hidden gem one-shotters in the Northeast, though it may take a few rounds to figure out why.

11. Oak Hill – East (Rochester) [1]

This classic parkland layout has hosted multiple majors and a Ryder Cup. A recent renovation made the suburban Rochester marvel even better, bringing it back in line with Donald Ross’s original design. Architect Andrew Green overhauled the 5th, 6th and 15th holes, cut back trees and re-worked greens throughout the course. The new drainage system allows for faster putting surfaces — expect higher scores (and better sightlines) at the 2023 PGA Championship.

12. Winged Foot – East (Mamaroneck) [1]

Neither as long nor as tough as its illustrious West sibling, the East enjoys its own devoted fanbase for its variety and the encouraging manner in which ground game options are now presented. Great attention has been paid to the mow lines, with short tight fairway grass on the high side of the entrance to all the greens. The dirty secret at Winged Foot is that more than a few consider the 13th and 17th as the best par-3s on the property, an outlandish claim until you play them.

13. Piping Rock (Locust Valley) [1]

Fresh off his work at National Golf Links of America, C.B. Macdonald started adding to his repertoire of template designs at this golf-meets-Gatsby Long Island club. The Biarritz and Knoll holes made their debut here, for instance. Among architecture buffs, Piping Rock’s Knoll 13th with its raised green that falls off starkly on all sides remains its finest iteration. The front nine wraps around a former polo field while the back heads into the hillier portion of the property. The course is also home to one of Macdonald’s finest par 5s, the 6th, which features a bedeviling back plateau ringed by trouble.

14. The Creek (Locust Valley) [1]

An epic combination of parkland and seaside golf, this McDonald-Raynor classic serves up a greatest hits of the duo’s favorite design elements. After a solid but sedate tree-lined opening five holes, the course explodes into glory at the spectacular 6th, which plays into a famous reverse Redan green. From there, players hit down to Long Island Sound. Hole Nos. 10 through 14 wind through sand and water, an unforgettable trip to the beach highlighted by a massive island Biarritz green.

15. Glens Falls (Glens Falls) [1]

With so much content and information available in 2020, stumbling across a “hidden gem” has become progressively more difficult. Yet, this Ross course 30 minutes north of Saratoga Springs was off the radar as recently as five years ago. Situated between the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, the short par-4 5th with its “top hat” green through the par-3 9th to a Volcano green complex are as good a series of Ross holes as you’ll find. The excitement doesn’t let up with the course finishing with its penultimate hole across hilly land to a green in a saddle and a par-3 finisher played across the edge of a lake.

16. Sebonack (Southampton) [1]

In a pairing of unique talents, Tom Doak and Jack Nicklaus teamed up to build this high-end, private course in one of the world’s most hallowed golf zip codes, next door to National Golf Links and Shinnecock Hills. The design reflects each man’s influence, including boldly contoured greens and rough-cut sandy hazards. While there’s no ignoring the prime locale, which offers several sweeping views of Great Peconic Bay, the elegance of holes like the uphill par-5 9th underscore the fact that Sebonack’s artistry could hold up anywhere.

17. Whippoorwill (Armonk)

18. St. George’s (Setauket)

19. Atlantic (Bridgehampton)

20. Wykagyl (New Rochelle)

21. Fenway (Scarsdale)

22. Oak Hill – West (Rochester)

23. Westchester – West (Westchester)

24. Monroe Golf Club (Monroe)

25. Hudson National (Croton-On-Hudson)

26. Century (Harrison)

27. Westhampton (Westhampton Beach)

28. Southampton (Southampton)

29. The Bridge (Bridgehampton)

30. Engineers (Glen Head)

SYMBOL GUIDE

1 = GOLF Top 100 Course in the U.S.
2 = GOLF Top 100 Course in the World
3 = GOLF Top 100 Resort
P = Resort/public golf course

Ed. note: Some courses were omitted from our rankings because they did not receive enough votes.

Course spotlight: Atlantic (Bridgehampton), ranked No. 19 in New York. In one of the toughest markets in the world, Rees Jones set out to create an artificial golf course in a potato field. How many routings did the course have in the first few years? Bobby Ranum, the recently retired superintendent, could be the best I have ever seen. Bobby, along with the head pro and Rees, slowly evolved Atlantic over time, removing artificial mounding and adding central hazards that greatly increased strategy. Atlantic can now hold its head high in that very high-rent neighborhood. — GOLF Top 100 Course Rater

How we rank America’s best golf courses

For the newly released 2020-21 U.S. list, each panelist was provided a list of 489 courses. Beside that list of courses were 11 “buckets,” or groupings. If our panelists considered a course to be among the top three in the country, they ticked that box. If they believed the course to be among Nos. 4-10 in the U.S., they checked that box, followed by 11-25, 26-50, and so on.

Panelists were also free to write in courses that they felt should have been included on the ballot (we had fewer than a handful of such additions in the U.S. vote).

Points were assigned to each bucket; to arrive at an average score for each course, we divide its aggregate score by the number of votes. From those point tallies, the courses are then ranked accordingly. It is an intentionally simple and straightforward process. Why? Because it invariably produces results that are widely lauded. Like the game itself, there’s no need to unnecessarily overcomplicate things.

For much more on how we rate courses, click or tap here.

Meet our course raters

We empower and hold accountable a group of 97 well-traveled — and well-connected — golfers/aficionados, each capable of expressing their own sense of design excellence at the highest level. The group is seasoned and experienced — we look for raters who know what’s out there, what’s changing and what’s coming down the pike. And from judging posts across four continents, our panelists are positioned to place courses from different regions around the globe into proper context, one of the main reasons GOLF’s Top 100 Courses rankings are the most esteemed in the game.

Other ranking outlets employ thousands of raters. Our less-is-more approach creates a more meaningful and thoughtful list. Think about it: When you plan a golf trip, do you call every golfer you know for their take? No. You contact a handful of people whose opinions you value most.

Meet our full crew of panelists here.

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