My much anticipated round at NGLA could not have been more enjoyable. From the time I turned onto Sebonac Inlet Rd to the time I left the gates, it was just amazing. Of the 4 rounds that we played on our short little jaunt to Long Island, the one at The National was the last to fall into place. After playing our round at The Bridge, we were driving to Maidstone when my friend get the confirmation email from our member contact that it was all going to work out. I was as giddy as a 5 year old on Christmas morning!!
So we arrived at The National, wide eyed and full of anticipation. It's an interesting feeling to have such anticipation that you know you're going to love the golf course even before you play it, but you're so excited to find out why! The why part was realized right when I walked up the steps onto the first tee.
This is the view you're greeted with off to the left of the first tee. 18 green, the iconic giant flag pole and the Peconic Bay...
Then when you look straight ahead low and behold we have the glorious clubhouse and famed windmill in the distance, and oh yeah, the 1st fairway.
The first at NGLA is a short par 4 of about 330 yards. You will want to avoid the center fairway bunker at all costs and most players will be left with a blind approach from inside 100 yards. Here was my view...
The 1st green is an absolute treasure. Loads of humps, bumps and internal contours.
The advantage of playing National for the first time was I had little to no idea how bad missing the green would be to my score. Players that know how tough the green surrounds are now have a certain degree of doubt in their minds when hitting their wedge approach. Here's a view from behind the green near the 2nd tee...
The 2nd hole is another short par 4 with a blind tee shot. From the tee you see the fairway well to the right of the line of which your caddie tells you to play. The ideal line is just to the left edge of the bunker in the center of the picture. A solid strike of the driver can put you on the green with an eagle chance. As you can see in the picture, they were working on the windmill fans, which was a tiny bit of a buzzkill but no way was I in any position to care!
I would hit driver every time off the 2nd tee and hope it wasn't into the wind because I would not want to have this nervy pitch onto that gigantic putting surface. Downhill with nothing in front or behind you to help with depth perception. And the big green makes it more difficult to focus on where you want to land the ball. Very cool looking shot though...
The word that comes to mind when describing the 2nd hole is FUN. It may seem obvious to say but I don't know, I just thought that #2 was loads of fun to play, I'm not exactly sure why, but it just is.
Here's a look back up the hole from the back of the green...
And then we have #3. Alps. Incredible! How someone thought of designing a hole like that in Prestwick, Scotland many many moons ago and then how CB MacDonald saw such a hole and laid it out over this terrain in Southampton, NY is hard to fathom. When you step on the tee you think, oh this is a nice looking hole that bends to the right and up the hill.
Here's your view from the tee...
But not so fast, this hole doesn't go to the right, it goes over this giant mound straightaway. Completely blind is the 2nd shot save for the Alps flag positioned in the center of the 60 yard wide green. If you don't like blind 2nd shots on par 4s, my advice to you is play the 3rd hole at NGLA a bunch of times and see how thrilling it is. If you still don't like it, then just change your mind, because you're wrong.
Here's your view from the fairway...
And after scaling the hill, the amazingly awesome green complex comes into view.
Wow moment...
Upon completion of play, players are asked to ring the bell, and you also see the Alps flag in the picture...
One more look at half of the 3rd green, and a view of the famed Redan hole in the distance...
More to come soon...