Aerial of the Day #52 - 21 Mar 2002

[Scott_Burroughs]

Here's another request that came very early on in the AOTD thing, and I'm finally showing it.  There's another GCAer who would also have significant interest in this one.

De plane, bosth!  De plane!  De plane!

[redanman]

North Shore LI?

[ChipOat]

Since this was my suggestion, I need to be careful w/clues and I've NO creativity as to clever hints.

Try this, golf history buffs: 2 majors - 2 well known winners.  A splendid hidden gem.

Pat Mucci - you may give only clues until 1:00.

[Scott_Burroughs]

Bill,
   No.  I know what you're thinking, though.

[SPDB]

I'll echo Chip's comments.

HEADS UP!

[ChipOat]

More clues:  Recent Doak restoration (I haven't seen it but Brad Klein says it's good).  Besides Doak, there is an RT Jones connection here, as well.

[SPDB]

clever, chip.

[Mike Cirba]

Where are the "woods"?  

[Scott_Burroughs]

I can see where if you were alone out on the tip of the peninsula playing those holes, one might have idle, wild thoughts running through your head, though it might cost you a few dead presidents in lost balls if the wind picks up.

[Doug Wright]

Don't know where or what this course is, but I sure like the looks of the bunkering...varied, well placed and interesting. Looking forward to hearing more.

All The Best,

[Scott_Burroughs]

Honing in, Bill was not far off with his north shore of LI guess, because this course IS on LI, just closer to the south shore.  A certain scribe mentioned above got his first peek of "real" golf here as a wide-eyed 11 year old.

[Brad Klein]

Wow! I grew up playing and caddying on this great layout. Big clue - one segment of course includes a 5-5-5-3-3 sequence

[Scott_Burroughs]

And that would be said scribe in the flesh (or keyboard)!  Is that you on the short par 3 over the pond?

[Mike_Sweeney]

Inwood about 2 miles from JFK?

[Scott_Burroughs]

That is correct.  It's a lot closer than that as the plane flies!

Inwood CC, home of the 1921 PGA Championship (won by Walter Hagen) and the 1923 U.S. Open (won by RT "Bobby" Jones, his first major).  Original architects listed as William Exton and Arthur Thatcher in 1901 on golfcourse.com, with subsequent work by Herbert Strong (1911), Hal Purdy (1959), Frank Duane (1972), and Tom Doak (1998 ).

As described in Brad's book Rough Meditations, this was the first peek of a "real" golf course he got as he snuck in as a kid.

The short par 3 #10, at 106 yards is supposedly the shortest par 3 in U.S. Open history.

It is almost literally at the end of the runways ("de plane!") at JFK ("dead presidents"), formerly known as Idylwild (sp?) ("idle, wild") across the water.

[Mike_Sweeney]

I played it once about 4 years ago, and they were in the middle of a bunker restoration. One 9 was complete, and they were working on the other 9. I was surprised after the round that it was a "Major" course. However, except for the JFK planes overhead, it was a very fun course to play

[ChipOat]

Miscellany:

JFK was formerly Idlewild Intl Airport.  Part of the course is actually located within Queens although still on the body of land known as LI.

Jones won his first major here by defeating Bobby Cruickshank in a playoff with a legendary mid-iron (2 iron) from the right rough over a pond that was NOT put back in its original location when Doak did his restoration (don't know why - Brad Klein or Pat Mucci might).  The spot from which Jones' heroic shot was (supposedly) played is identified by a stone marker in the ground.

The 10th hole is, indeed, the shortest hole in US Open history - including Newport, Myopia, original Shinnecock, et al.

Inwood was discussed in 2 recent threads - "Really Short Par 3's" and "Jewish Clubs".

Although it doesn't have anywhere near the ambience and atmosphere of Garden City Golf (what does?), for my money it's every bit the layout of all but the top 5 tests in the Met section.  Belongs in any thread on "most underrated by all but the most knowledgeable" in major cities - anybody want to start that one?

Not quite like Lossiemouth (RAF fighters at 300 feet) from a noise perspective, but when the wind puts the Concorde flight patterns right overhead (it's flying again), it gets LOUD.

[Jamie_Duffner]

I'm assuming a private course?

Some interesting land available or is it just marsh and this picture was low tide.  

[ChipOat]

Private club; no new land available at affordable cost - what shows in the picture is marshland at low tide.

Since the water table is literally just below ground-level, the green complexes at Inwood are pretty impressive man-made elevations in order to get deep bunkers.  It's the only course in the area where the bunkers and greens aren't (usually) at the same elevation.

[Brad Klein]

Can't believe nobody commented on the front nine (left side of map) where the scorecard reads 4-4-5-5-5-3-3-4-4. Whoever heard of five consecutive holes at major site w/o a par-4?

I don't get the point about the pond at 18 having moved. It seems to me locked in with old stone and a Swilcan Burn Bridge to the green that was there in photos i've seen of the 1923 Open. I've been going there there regularly since 1965 and never heard of any change to that in previous years.

Herbert Strong greens (like Engineers) still have bold contours. Best thing that ever happened to the course (besides hiring Doak) was a fire that roared along the western side of the property and to the right of second hole that burned out about 400 trees.

Sadly, folks at the course had a perfect view of the WTC Towers on 9-11.