I'm in New York for a couple of days and got over the disappointment of not being able to play Bethpage Black this week (Met Open + aeration) by taking several people's advice and playing the new Stonebridge course designed by George Bahto as a tribute to Seth Raynor and CB MacDonald.
What a treat to play recreations of some (actually, most) of the designs usually talked about as classics: Alps, Eden, Redan, Cape, Biarritz, Long, Short, Principal's Nose. Of course, almost no one playing the golf course has a clue about the nature of the designs and just think they can overpower the course, which, as 6200 yards from the tips, isn't far from the truth. But I didn't care and spent 4 absolutely delightful hours thinking strategically and just enjoying myself.
The only negative is that walking is NOT allowed, which is particularly annoying. As the greens, which have very severe undulations on almost every hole, were very slow most of the teeth of the course were removed and scoring was pretty easy. I shot 75 with pars on Alps and Redan and a couple of birdies on the back, including the 18th, which has a multitiered green.
My suggestion for those of you who are planning a trip to Long Island is that a stop is certainly worth the trip and the best way to play the course might be as an afternoon ride after a morning round walking.
I have one more day of golf on this trip (Friday) and most likely will play Bethpage Red early in the morning unless someone has another suggestion for an alternative. I certainly appreciate the heads up received about Stonebridge through this forum.