Really Good but Not Well Known courses in NYC area

[Will Lozier]

As I give math quizzes all day, and having really enjoyed watching the golf yesterday at Plainfield    and seeing the thread about Engineers and even Bayonne, I am looking at aerials of NYC amazed at the abundance of GREAT golf courses in the area that we talk about all the time here. I am curious about REALLY GOOD courses that rarely get a mention.


For example, Rock Spring Club is a Raynor/Banks that looks excellent from the club's photo tour - interesting terrain, solid routing, lovely presentation, etc. - I had never heard anything about it. I looked for references to RSC on GCA.com and there are just a few with no real raves about it.


Is it as good as I might think? What are the others that fall within this category?

[Jud_T]

Tamarack in Greenwich is a really good Charles Banks track that has had some nice renovation work done.  The Punchbowl 11th and Biarritz 12th alone are worth the price of admission as is Banks' steep and deep bunkering.  The right greenside bunker on the par 5 17th has to be seen to be believed.  I agree that there are a number of good to very good courses in the area that often get overshadowed by Fishers, NGLA, Shinny, Winged Foot, Yale et. al. 

[Mark Woodger]

Inwood is a lovely place - https://www.inwoodcc.org/
Essex County Country Club is a nother very nice course.
I think both are pretty well know on this msg board but i expect the average golfer has never heard of them.
 
 

[Chris_Blakely]

Huntington Country Club, Huntington, NY

St. George Golf & Country Club, Setauket, NY

Both are Devereux Emmet courses and both are very very good.

Chris

[jeffwarne]

Huntington Country Club, Huntington, NY

St. George Golf & Country Club, Setauket, NY

Both are Devereux Emmet courses and both are very very good.

Chris

Engineers
Metropolis
Inwood
Rockaway Hunt
The Creek
Piping Rock
North Shore
Scarsdale
Bonnie Briar
Apawamis
North Shore

[Will Lozier]

These are all under the radar courses for the regular golfer, but not so much our crowd. What courses would WE, the GCA.com folks not know about?

[Chris_Blakely]

Brentwood CC is a public under the radar Devereux Emmet course out on long island that is solid with fun greens.

Blair Academy has a very unique 9 hole course on their camps in Blair, NJ

The Knoll West is well known on this site.

Anything else that is under the radar, but not well know in the area would be beyond the limit of what most would be willing to drive to and fro' in one day.

Chris

[Phil Young]

There are also the two true hidden Tillinghast gems, Sands Point GC where Keith Foster did a fabulous restoration & Southward Ho CC which is unique among Tilly's designs because of the combination of features that aren't found on any other of his designs.

[Mark Woodger]

i wonder how many of the course on this topic are looking for members?
Others i can think of although maybe known here again:
Pound Ridge - http://www.poundridgegolf.com/
Woodway - http://www.woodway.org/golf-course
Upper Montclair CC - hosted an LPGA event i think but again the average golfer might not have heard of it.
 Country Club of Sands Point is another very enjoyable track

[Jason Way]

I have heard good things about Kelly Blake Moran's Laurel Links.  Looks gorgeous in the photos I have been able to find, but I haven't read much about it here. 


It's on my list to visit next time I am out at Friar's Head.


Also in that area, has anyone seen the new Long Island National?  What is the status since going private?

[Steve Lapper]

Paramount CC belongs in the below conversation.


There are also the two true hidden Tillinghast gems, Sands Point GC where Keith Foster did a fabulous restoration & Southward Ho CC which is unique among Tilly's designs because of the combination of features that aren't found on any other of his designs.

[Bill Crane]

I second Essex County Country Club, and Paramount and would include these courses in NJ that I have played:
Hollywood C C - Deal NJ  (Walter Travis)
Manasquan River G C -  Brielle, NJ   ( Robert White )
Echo Lake - Westfield, NJ   (Donald Ross)
Hawk Point - Washington NJ (Warren Co - {there are 5 Washington Twps in NJs} - a K B Moran course)
Canoe Brook - 36 Holes,  Summit, NJ ( Walter Travis / Colt & Allison per club website)
Morris County - Convent Station  ( Seth Raynor )
And of course, the best course to play and walk on a regular basis, my home club, Springdale GC,  a William Flynn renovation sited next to Princeton University Campus, hard against the Cleveland Tower.
And many, many more.
 
Wm Flynnfan
 
 

 
 
 

[Jeff Fortson]

Rockaway Hunting

Glen Head

Wheatley Hills

[Phil Young]

Steve,

Although once true you've done far too good a job at telling the golf world about Paramount. It has gone from a "hidden gem" to a known Tillinghast masterpiece!

[Ed Homsey]

Pleased to see Hollywood GC get a nod.  I would add another Travis course to that list:  North Jersey CC.  Some of Travis's finest greens, challenging terrain, interesting routing.

[Brian Joines]

I haven't played it yet but the GCA write-up and Mr. Cavalier's photo tour of Whippoorwill Club were both eye-opening. I had spent the month prior researching courses for an East coast trip and Whippoorwill never hit the radar. It's a true testament to the quality of golf in the NYC area.

[David_Tepper]

Hominy Hill in Monmouth County, NJ is a Robert Trent Jones public course that has hosted both the Mens & Womens Publinx. I have not played there in 20 years and don't know what kind of shape it is now in.

[Joe Bausch]

Steve,

Although once true you've done far too good a job at telling the golf world about Paramount. It has gone from a "hidden gem" to a known Tillinghast masterpiece!

I played Paramount in July 2013.  I really enjoyed it.  Here is a recently re-processed photo album on a day where the morning lighting was challenging, but a trip back out to the course later in the afternoon helped yield some nice shots on the back nine:

http://www.myphillygolf.com/uploads/bausch/Paramount/index.html

[Jaeger Kovich]

Knickerbocker.
Forsgate Banks.


Curious about - Siwanoy, White Beeches, and Arcola

[Patrick_Mucci]

Mountain Ridge
Preakness Hills
Hackensack
The Knoll
Spring Brook
Bedens Brook
Spring Lake
Due Process

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

So, so many great second tier NYC area


Not yet mentioned, I hope...


Knickerbocker, NJ
Montclair, NJ
Tuxedo Park, NY
Whipoorwill, NY
Lehigh, PA
Saucon Valley, PA
Wykagyl, NY
Piping Rock, NY
Country Club of Fairfield, CT


So many more.....

[Jon Cavalier]

Thanks Brian. Whippoorwill is fantastic - here's the tour: http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,60050.0.html

Tamarack is also really good. Some of Banks boldest templates.

I just played Engineers for the first time today and thought it was excellent - those greens are absolutely wild.

I'll also second Rock Spring, Essex County, Montclair and Inwood.

Hollywood is on my list but from what I've seen it looks fantastic. Deal Golf Club, right next door, is also a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed Cold Spring and Brookville - two nice Raynor courses.

Huntington Crescent Club (Emmet) is also worth a play.

St. George's is outstanding but a bit of a hike from NYC.

Wee Burn, also a stretch distance-wise, is great.

Paramount is most certainly worthy of a place on this list - a Tilly gem and really fun golf course. Same goes for Fenway, which is often overshadowed by its high profile neighbors.

Knickerbocker isn't really under the radar but it's worth mentioning here.

Knollwood and the Knoll are both worthwhile courses.

Morris County and North Shore are two lower-profile Raynor courses that I really enjoyed.

Essex Fells isn't great but it's good enough to mention.

Forsgate's Banks course doesn't get much pub but it's a really fun place to play.

[Chuck Glowacki]

Noyac

[Jud_T]

Hotchkiss...

[Keith OHalloran]

I have always liked Cherry Valley in Gaden City. It is an Emmet and overshadowed by its neighbor, but very good.