Bonnie Briar Country Club, NY

[DonJ]

My college is hosting a fundraiser at the Bonnie Briar Country Club, Larchmont, NY.  It is a Devereux Emmet design.  

I was wondering what people thought of the course?

[Tim_Weiman]

Don J.

It has been 30-35 years since I've seen Bonnie Briar. I think you'll find it old fashioned, quirky and fun, a throwback to a different era.

If you regularly play lots of modern stuff, you may find it refreshing.

Westchester County as a whole is a real treasure for golf.

[Craig Disher]

I've seen an old aerial of the course which showed a par 4 that seemed to have the tee aimed directly over the fairway of the previous hole. If I read it right, you could drop your bag by the tee box as you walked over a stream which fronted the green, then retrace your steps to play the next hole. Tim - do you remember if that still exists? OTOH, I might have misunderstood the photo.

[SPDB]

Grew up in Larchmont, but never played the course, and didn't know anybody who belonged. This may not say anything about the quality of the course, given that its very, very close neighbors are Winged Foot and Quaker and Fenway. I can positively report that they have some great sledding hills, which may suggest that the land has some nice movement.

[Steve Lapper]

My college is hosting a fundraiser at the Bonnie Briar Country Club, Larchmont, NY.  It is a Devereux Emmet design.  

I was wondering what people thought of the course?

I grew up on this course. It is attributable both to Tillinghast (some rerouting) and Emmet. It plays tighter than many of its neighbors and has considerably more short and steep elevation changes. As for the fairway/tee cross...that is mostly illusionary as play winds up not interfering with the tee shot. The whole course is placed on relatively small acreage and has nearly no room to change/expand. Enjoy...it is still fun and quirky.

Steve

[Daniel_Wexler]

Like many others, I snuck onto Bonnie Briar's outlying holes (14-16 especially) nearly every weekday afternoon during my youth.  Honorary memberships galore....

Though it will never be confused with Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge or, for that matter, even Wykagyl, I always have found it to be a pleasant little old-style track with a reasonable dose of "Tillinghast polish."  This is evident on the par threes in particular, especially the fifth which is really a very exciting all-or-nothing sort of hole.

I used to surmise that Tillie hadn't altered Emmet's routing too much given both the severity of the surrounding terrain and no evidence of the central, heavily wooded acreage having ever housed golf holes.  But a glance at a 1924 scorecard shows the first five holes of the back nine to be an entirely different set than are in play today, while a 1940 aerial matches the present routing precisely.  So if Emmet was in fact there in 1923 (he actually redesigned an earlier, nondescript layout), then we can pretty well credit Tillie with the alterations.

Also, I'd bet that the 297-yard seventh is an Emmet original as it strongly resembles similar two-shotters on a number of his original (often defunct) layouts.

Any thoughts Rick Wolffe??

DW

[SB]

A very fun course, and shouldn't beat up your guests.  A member told me that Tillie did his work while at Winged Foot which is a nine iron away from holes 2-5.

They recently did quite a bit of irrigation work and possibly some bunker work, so the course should be in good shape.

[Steve_ Shaffer]

Any new comments?

http://www.bonniebriar.org/

[mark chalfant]

A charming and scenic Golden Age layout over rugged property. A splendid group of varied par fours and short par fives at Bonnie Briar. be sure to go !



more here,    www.devereuxemmetsociety.blogspot.com

[Jim_Kennedy]

This is a photo from the BB website.   


It seems very similar to a hole at what was the Women's National GC, also an Emmet.


It also seems to have some similarities to the finishing hole at the defunct Hob Nob Hill GC, although there is just an aerial of that one,  no ground-level photos.

Did DE use this concept in (m)any other places? 

[Matt_Ward]

The aspect of BB that I have always found interesting -- is that you begin with a monster part-4 which is likely the most uninteresting hole on the property. Plenty of movement with the property as is typical with many Westchester County courses - the lacking ingredient at BB is the "danger" element -- holes where different scoring outcomes can happen -- even to the better players.