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Tim Gavrich

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The Woodmere Club
« on: January 12, 2007, 10:07:02 PM »
I saw on the AJGA website that there will be a tournament at Woodmere in August.  A search revealed a little info, but mostly in passing.  I understand the course is an RTJ design.  Is it nice?  How does it stack up against the other clubs in that part of Long Island?

Thanks.
Senior Writer, GolfPass

Brad Klein

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Re:The Woodmere Club
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2007, 03:23:45 AM »
Tim, you love pressing these old-timer buttons. I grew up caddying there, 1968-1972, was cart manager the summer of 1972 and have been back 3-4 times since.

A great setting in the Five Towns area of southwestern Long Island, with the front nine inland on a low-lying secondary woodland and the back nine wrapping around an inlet and marshland of Broswere Bay, a tidal salt marsh that outlets into the Atlantic Ocean near Long Beach.

Woodmere Club is a private club that adjoins Rockaway Hunt Club. It's not as interesting; nor as good as another nearby course, Seawane Club.

Woodmere Club dates to a late 1920s Jack Pirie design that was totally rerouted into its present configuration by RTJ in 1952. Brian Silva did some mounding and minor reworking in the late 1980s or so.

Course is short and tight, par-70, 6,300 yards. Soil is heavy and not well drained. 300-yard 7th has a well-bunkered set of cross hazards and a deep, steeply tiered green with a killer bunker behind -- the first driveable par-4 I knew of. Twin par-3s are really cool -- 11th and 16th, side by side in reedy marsh, both 190-yards from back, with long runway tees, to very difficult greens.

Routing is limited but greens are great throughout the course, with RTJ wings reminiscient of Oakland Hills, though they are lower lying targets and not as steeply bunkered.

Great finish -- the par-3 16th, (above), then two par-4s along a salt marsh inlet where the bay is a factor on the tee shots. Course is bedeiled by heavy, poorly draining soils and by some tidal salt damage on the last two holes but has its charms and is worth a visit. Not great, but fun. I love going back there, in large part because it was where I first played and caddied.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2007, 03:05:56 PM by Brad Klein »

Patrick_Mucci

Re:The Woodmere Club
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2007, 10:20:57 AM »
Brad Klein,

I always enjoyed Woodmere, but, as you indicated, it always played rather wet.

I'd call it a sporty member's course with diverse nines.

Seawane, Woodmere and Inwood make a nice trio.

Tim Gavrich

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:The Woodmere Club
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2007, 10:55:35 PM »
Par 70 and 6300 yards; sounds like my kind of course for competition ;D.  Also, it's impressive that the AJGA is putting more variation in the types of courses at which it holds events.

Thanks for the information.  In the RTJ canon, how does it stack up?

Cheers.
--Tim Gavrich
Senior Writer, GolfPass