[Kyle Henderson]

While only 6218 yards from the back tees, St. George’s Golf and Country Club
(East Setauket, NY) plays much longer than one would expect due to the rolling topography, especially when the wind blows. It also features a number of subtle humps and slopes in and around the putting surfaces to test even the best of short game players. The course’s only glaring weakness, to my eye, are the tight corridors and back and forth routing of holes 12-15.

Recent efforts to remove thousands of trees, eliminate cart paths, restore native grasses, recapture green surfaces, and refine mowing patterns by Superintendant extraordinaire Adam Jessie (with a master plan from Gil Hanse) have brought St. George’s to a level far above and beyond its tongue-in-cheek nickname, “Royal Bushwood.”

This is a hidden gem. Play it if you can.

Some images:

1st tee (par 4, 374yards)


1st approach


2nd tee (par 5, 574 yards)


2nd landing zone


3rd fairway (par 4, 408 yards)


3rd looking back


4 approach (par 4, 360 yards)


4 mounds (a very deep trench bunker sits between the mounds and green)


4 from behind right


5th (par 4, 356 yards)


5th from behind and right of green. Note tree stumps left to stabilize mammoth slopes.


6th green from left side (par 5, 465 yards)


7th left side view (par 3,181 yards)


8th landing zone (par 4, 382 yards, green is in shadow)


9 (par 3, 147 yards)


10th green hard against Sheep Pasture Road (par 4, 380 yards)


11th (par 3, 194 yards)


12th looking back (par 4, 420 yards). More trees are pegged for removal in this section of the property, which remains a bit constricted at present.


13th approach (par 4, 450 yards… into the wind on this day)


13th looking back at the amazing fairway contours.


14th (par 4, 388 yards)


15th (par 3,164 yards)


16th approach (par 4, 318 yards)


17th (par 3, 122 yards)


18th (par 5, 535 yards)


18th fairway bunkers


Golf is great here.

[Mark Arata]

Great pictures Kyle, it is a great hidden gem, deserves more recognition IMO. Was a blast to play, and the conditions were excellent. Adam Jessie and his crew have done a fantastic job there.  The 10th hole is an insurance adjusters nightmare, but a fun golf hole...Still think they should paint the fence green and put the 380 sign on it, but I guess a green monster in NY wouldnt go over well......

[Jim Eder]

Thank you, the pics look terrific.  #2, 13, 15, 16 etc just look fantastic!! The course seems to "just have it".  Thanks for educating me on what looks like another great couerse.

[Keith OHalloran]

Kyle,
Thanks for the photos and the description. I am in the camp of admirers. Do you have any pictures of the combined fairways on 2 and 18? The mowing patterns that they have employed are my favorite changes (although tree removal has been incredible as well)

[Brad Klein]

The idea of a hidden gem is misleading cliche; it's a way of covering up for the fact that the golfer or traveler in question has missed out and overlooked a course that was there all along to be admired. St. George's is a a brilliant example of artisanal work. I was stunned when I finally saw it and have written up an elegiacal account of the place, to be published soon (I trust) in Golfweek. What a wonderful layout -- a model for how simple and timeless golf can and should be.

[Kyle Henderson]

The idea of a hidden gem is misleading cliche; it's a way of covering up for the fact that the golfer or traveler in question has missed out and overlooked a course that was there all along to be admired.

Well, it was my first time in (or even near) the state of NY...

[Mike Sweeney]

Just curious if Adam still post here if he has any original photos or diagrams of the original 12th. I always thought that hole could be really fun with the right bank (as you play the hole) shaved down to fairway length.

Great course with just a few warts keep it from being better known. Shocked it is only 6200ish yards as it plays 6600ish.

[Joe Bausch]

If I told you the original clubhouse was located near the current 17th hole, and the yardages of the holes originally were as follows, could you figure out the original routing?!

1.  330
2.  420
3.  365
4.  165
5.  340
6.  110
7.  435
8.  280
9.  460

2905

10.  450
11.  385
12.  136
13.  370
14.  428
15.  266
16.  460
17.  181
18.  260

2936

for a total of 5841.

Later I'll post a figure I've put together with my stab at the original routing!

[Mark McKeever]

It looks like a gem on some beautiful terrain!  Thanks for posting the pictures!

Mark

[mark chalfant]

Kyle,

Thanks for the photos of this gorgeous course.  The striking ensemble of par fours, so vintage and so fun to play, are one of the greatest sets of two shotters on the entire land mass of Long Island.  Adam Jessie and his staff are doing a fantastic job with sensitive restoration. The strategic bunkering at Saint Georges is also exemplary.  Emmet's talents are sometimes underrated

[Mike Tanner]

From those photos, it looks like St. George's is proof that a course doesn't have to be long to be challenging. Or to be rewarding to play. Is the false front on No. 16 really as dire as it appears?

[Joe Bausch]

From those photos, it looks like St. George's is proof that a course doesn't have to be long to be challenging. Or to be rewarding to play. Is the false front on No. 16 really as dire as it appears?

Yes. 

This pic with normal size golfers nearby gives you an idea of the slope and distance changes.

[Joe Bausch]

St. George's opened in 1917 (don't have the exact date yet), but it was announced in the Daily Eagle on July 30, 1915 that a club was being formed:

[Joe Bausch]

In July of 1919 the Daily Eagle did a fairly extensive article on the recently opened course:



It is a fun read and I'm curious as to the original routing.  I believe there were a couple of clubhouse fires and I don't think the original routing is known for certain, if at all.

With the hole descriptions and yardages from the article, much of it I think it easy to piece together.  But I'm not quite sure about certain areas, which are:

• Just how did the 18th hole run in 1919.  I believe the road that divides the course changed at one point, so I'm just sort of guessing how that hole ran, thinking in terms of a short walk from the 17th green and the terrain as described.  So I think it was basically a short par 4 playing to a green close to the current 11th green.

• I'm really struggling with how holes 8-10 in 1919 were located, which are essentially today's 1-3.  The current 3rd hole is 408 yards long, but in 1919 (#10) it played 450.  And the current par 5 2nd plays at 574, but in 1919 (#9) was shorter at 460.  And the current 1st hole is a bit longer now (374) than as the 8th in 1919 (280 yards).  Hence, I could be reaching here but I'm thinking maybe the original 8th hole ran in the current driving range, and the long original 9th played to a green since moved, and the tee box for the original 10th to be in a different location.

• Note that I think the current 18th hole, originally #7, played much shorter (435 yards) and the tee box for the par 3 not in danger!

See my diagrams below to help evaluate my work!

[Mike Sweeney]

Joe,

Thanks. Holes 4,7,8 and 10 are pretty squeezed by the road. Makes me think the road was in a different position at some point in time.

[Patrick_Mucci]

If you like quirk, you'll love St George's.

A few years ago I started a thread about St George's.

One hole in particular caught my attention.

The 4th hole (I believe) and its green complex with its deep fronting trench bunker, mounds and deep flanking and rear bunkers.

Many other holes were extremely UNIQUE.

A terrific course to have fun on and be challenged at the same time

[Patrick Kiser]

Good stuff there El Capitan.  I still can't believe I left my camera in the car. Oh well...

Thanks Joe for sharing the potential routing changes.  I did not know about this.

Couldn't agree more with Pat about the 4th.  What a kick!  Either Joe or Allan needs to post some shots of those two "trench warfare" fronting bunkers (first one being shallow while the second is deeper).  A real flash back in time that plays well even today.

The 7th was also pretty damn fun and semi-blind on the approach.

A lot of blind shots from the tee or in approach mode with lots of character.  Tee to green is tight and you often if not always get a chance to see ahead on what you will face on the following holes (e.g. 4th tee you get to see the 7th green, 8th tee and 10th green, etc.)  I like that kind of anticipation and buildup for what lies ahead, especially given the blind approaches.  A very sporting course is how I would describe St.George's.  You cannot get bored here.  Not possible.  

The new found openess to the course adds another dimension for depth perception now and a fantastic example is the approach on the 13th.  From the fairway you can not see the green, but there's the 17th green in the distance and it melds in perfectly with the 13th fairway to create complete deception in depth.  Freaking brilliant and so creative.  And what about that 17th?  Devil of a hole.

Just a lot of solid holes throughout and one hell of a finishing hole in the 18th.  Loved that roller coaster green.

To Mike's point about the cramping and the road, I want to say I heard the 12th fairway had something to do with the road, but Adam would probably be in a better position to confirm.

The before and after on this course is just mind boggling.  What a transformation!  What they've literally uncovered already and are now recovering (fairway width and green playing area) can only improve this course think.

Regarding course conditioning, for a course that plays some 20,000 rounds a year ... I was impressed in its shape.  Excellent is how I'd describe it.  Rock solid greens with optimal speeds as well.  Adam and his assistant Tom are to be commended for doing a fine job considering the summer they've had.  Also, the native areas tie in nicely, aren't overdone, and the shade of brown adds to the palate of colors I feel.

Mark and Mike point out a few things and I'll add the transition from the 17th to the 18th tee and the mesh fence as well.  However, it's a necessity it appears.  Sort of distraction ... like water ... but I could see how the regular member could get over this pretty easily.

How this course has been under the radar like this is beyond me.  

I'm just glad I got the chance to experience my first Emmet at a place like St.George's.

[Joe Bausch]

More on the 4th hole at St. George's, a 360 yard par 4.

The tee shot is blind:



Once you scale the hill, in the distance you see the green and the mounding in front:



From 150 yards out, maybe a suggestion of a bunker in front of the green:



But from 50 yards one is coming into view:



And from the left front part of the green you can see there are two bunkers, one 'high', and one 'low'.  Quite a fortress!



You can have some pretty interesting stances:



Looking back to the FW:



I remember the green being subtly contoured:



And elevated as this shot from long and left shows:

[Kyle Henderson]

Joe,

Thanks. Holes 4,7,8 and 10 are pretty squeezed by the road. Makes me think the road was in a different position at some point in time.

Sheep Pasture Road used to run where the current 12th hole sits. One can see what used to be the front doors of the houses along the left side of the fairway.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Joe,

Thanks for those pictures of the 4th hole.

They give the golfer an appreciation of the uniqueness of the green and green surrounds.

It's such a "sporty", enjoyable course.

It's a shame there aren't more like it.

[Jim_Kennedy]

As cool as that 4th green is, I really get a kick out of this bunker in the 6th fairway that was there in '54 but gone by '61. At the time it looks like the hole played 450ish and this hazard was about 300 from the tee.

[Kyle Henderson]

As cool as that 4th green is, I really get a kick out of this bunker in the 6th fairway that was there in '54 but gone by '61. At the time it looks like the hole played 450ish and this hazard was about 300 from the tee.

The right portion of that bunker on 6 is still there in essence as a cluster of 3 smaller bunkers (see Joe's overheads), but one can run their drive through a gap on the left that measures around 1/3 of the total corridor width (or air mail them with a BIG hit).

[Jim_Kennedy]

Kyle,
The bunkers that are there today look to be 30 yards short of the one in the '54 aerial.
Essentially the same, but different location.

Looks like a great place for a game.

[Kyle Henderson]

Kyle,
The bunkers that are there today look to be 30 yards short of the one in the '54 aerial.
Essentially the same, but different location.

Looks like a great place for a game.

Quite right. It would've taken quite a drive to reach the original bunker with hickories...

[Dave Falkner]

I am thinking that those traps might have come into play on the 2nd shot, especially considering the fact that the prevailing wind is sw during the season (into the face of the drive)

on a separate note Gil Hanse was supposed to be out today  building a bunker complex on the right side of 16, 4 more cedars bit the dust as part of this work    the course gets better everday

I have some great  before and after shots   just cant get them to show up

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