Over the last week, I had the opportunity to play both of these courses, which are located just a few miles from each other in Long Island.
Fresh Meadows is an underrated golf course. It has one of the best opening holes in Long Island, a downhill and expansive 450-yard Par 4 with a water hazard on the right side of the hole. 12 is a severe "down-and-up" dogleg-left 452-yard Par 4 featuring OB on the left. How many long par 4s have you played in which you had to leave the driver in the bag? Great fun. 11 is a 199-yard Par 3 that plays downhill to a green that is very difficult to hold, especially into the wind. But, the strength of the course is the outstanding condition of the greens, and the lack of bad holes. The weakness is the finish. Each 9 features the best holes early and middle.
Engineers was awesome. I love the combination of forgiving fairways and bold greens. We played all 19-holes, including the famous short-par 3 14. Apparently, 14 is only open every other weekend. I'd try to play it when this hole is open. The removal of the fescue strengthens the course, since it features a lot of blind shots. You will need your A-mental game because you will 3-putt! You will feel like you've gotten screwed when your beautifully struck wedge directly at a tough pin position results in the ball rolling off the green. On the 18th hole, my host made the putt of his life. First he somehow kept his approach on the far left side of the hole, since the other two approaches all fed towards the hole from that side. He then played 25 feet of break and somehow holed a 40-footer that would have led to a 3-putt if it did not go in. Fortunately, I had already closed out the match. A real fun match-play course and a great course to practice your putting. The green speeds were slowed down by rain earlier. At an 11, I think the green speeds would be almost unplayable.
One thing I did learn about golf in the New York area. Very few clubs have driving ranges in which you can hit off grass. Some, do not even have driving ranges at all. I don't mind hitting off mats, but I do know people who think it ruins their golf swing.