Jim,
Friars Head is well worth a trip to Long Island. The routing alone is worth studying. The rest is up there with Coore and Crenshaw's best work, no doubt.
I would second a few on here that mentioned you should also play a few other courses while around, but I would personally do everything I could to play it, even if it was thew only course I could fit in my trip. It is that good. Better than Shinnecock? That's a tough call, depending on what you like. But certainly in the top clubs in the US.
YP