Courses with Great Bridges

[Bill_McBride]

Dismal Red
Rock Creek
Friars Head

I've forgotten the bridge at Friars Head.  Please refresh my memory!

[Mac Plumart]

Bill, I forget which hole it is but it is on the back nine.  You putt out and walk off the back of the green, get on a bridge that takes you to the back side of a massive dune/cliff over looking the bay and the views are stunning.  They even have a bench for you to sit down and take a break and enjoy the views.  Then you walk to the next tee box.  

Can anyone help on which holes that bridge is between?

[Garland Bayley]

Bully Pulpit

[Eric Smith]

The other bridge at Sleepy

[Bill_McBride]

Bill, I forget which hole it is but it is on the back nine.  You putt out and walk off the back of the green, get on a bridge that takes you to the back side of a massive dune/cliff over looking the bay and the views are stunning.  They even have a bench for you to sit down and take a break and enjoy the views.  Then you walk to the next tee box.  

Can anyone help on which holes that bridge is between?

I don't remember a bridge, but there is a stairway ("to heaven," almost literally) behind the 14th green that takes you up to the breathtaking 15th tee, the long par 4 downhill toward the Sound.  

[Mac Plumart]

That's it, Bill.

Maybe.

It was definately a bridge...going on the backside of the dune/cliff.

[Jonathan Mallard]

I'm going to take a different approach...

Working as a bridge engineer for a living, what I see are non-redundant fracture critical structures.

[Tim Martin]

Lancaster CC has a couple of really cool bridges on a property that is filled with elevation change. Sorry but I don't have any pictures.

[Steve Lapper]

That's it, Bill.

Maybe.

It was definately a bridge...going on the backside of the dune/cliff.

No, what you guys are referring to is the wooden bridge spanning the sandy cliff from behind the 15th green to the 16th tee. It was built a few years back and traverses the band of Pygmy beech trees out across a wide expanse of a severely pitched sandy slope above the beach head referred to as the "Friars Head" cliff on the northern shore of the LI Sound.

[Bill_McBride]

That's it, Bill.

Maybe.

It was definately a bridge...going on the backside of the dune/cliff.

No, what you guys are referring to is the wooden bridge spanning the sandy cliff from behind the 15th green to the 16th tee. It was built a few years back and traverses the band of Pygmy beech trees out across a wide expanse of a severely pitched sandy slope above the beach head referred to as the "Friars Head" cliff on the northern shore of the LI Sound.

Maybe built after Tiger and I played there after meeting Slapper at the Creek, no recollection. 

[Adam_Messix]

Matthew Mollica beat me to it by mentioning the bridges from 1 tee to fairway, after 2 green, after 6 green, and from 16 green to 17 tee at Ellerston.  They are impressive.

The other place that has impressive bridges is the Madison Club.  The one behind the 18th green is quite attractive. 

[JC Jones]

The Old Course

[Tom_Doak]

You've named all of the ones I thought of, except for my personal favorite ... the small bridge between the upper parking lot and the pro shop at Crystal Downs.  I just love that little bridge, I feel special every time I go over it.

I was going to try to build something similar on the 3rd hole at The Rawls Course, just for character, but in the dirt it seemed silly.

Oh, the other one that stands out is on the back nine at The Bridges in Rancho Santa Fe.  It's a very long span [400-500 feet] over a deep ravine, and it sags in the middle, which is a bit scary to see.

[John Cowden]

Pasatiempo has four on the backside--10/18, 11, and two on 16.  I tend to skip the one on 11 and simply walk through the barranca ahead of the bridge to drop my clubs on 12 and, ideally, walk up with only a putter and driver in hand.  If I have to take a bridge, bogie or worse awaits.

[Chuck Glowacki]

That's it, Bill.

Maybe.

It was definately a bridge...going on the backside of the dune/cliff.

It's not exactly a bridge more of a walk-way that goes from 15th green to 16 tee.  Built right into
the dunes with great views of the Long Island Sound.

[Scott Sander]

Crooked Stick has two.  (I prefer this one behind #6, but only because of the golfer using it.)


Here's one from the aforementioned PDGC - View is from #10 Tee looking back at 18.

[Brad Tufts]

How about the big bridge on the super-quirky 257y par four#12 at Palos Verdes GC?

[Alex Miller]

How about the big bridge on the super-quirky 257y par four#12 at Palos Verdes GC?

A great bridge! From their website, though it might not fully illustrate the scale.

[Thomas Dai]

I think there's a course in South Korea called 'Nine Bridges'. Any relevance, or just a name?
atb

[Keith OHalloran]

Bill McBride,
It must have been built after you played Friar's Head. The bridge obviates the need for a bit of a walk back from the green to the next tee. The reason I say it "must" have been built after you were there is that is you saw it, you would remember it. It is one of the most amazing bridges, walks, views and feats of engineering I have ever seen. As Mac stated, they built a seat in, and it is hard to imagine a better place to grab a seat and take it all in before your round ends.

[John Mayhugh]

Matthew Mollica beat me to it by mentioning the bridges from 1 tee to fairway, after 2 green, after 6 green, and from 16 green to 17 tee at Ellerston.  They are impressive.

Both of you guys left off the #humblebrag.   

[John Mayhugh]

You've named all of the ones I thought of, except for my personal favorite ... the small bridge between the upper parking lot and the pro shop at Crystal Downs.  I just love that little bridge, I feel special every time I go over it.

I liked this one too.


Kirtland has a good one on the 13th.


Victoria National has a number of these to facilitate walking.  I enjoy these sorts of bridges so close to the water.


Nothing special about this sort of bridge except the type of golf it evokes.


No pictures of the bridges crossing the PA Turnpike at Oakmont.  Nothing pretty, but kind of fun to use.

[JC Jones]

You've named all of the ones I thought of, except for my personal favorite ... the small bridge between the upper parking lot and the pro shop at Crystal Downs.  I just love that little bridge, I feel special every time I go over it.

I liked this one too.

Great picture, John.  A few things stick out to me:

Crystal Lake peeking through to the south and in the background. 

More noticeably is the reminder of the modesty.  Nothing fancy or over the top with the bridge or the shop.  Just one of the greatest golf courses and places in the world, being itself and who it has always been.  Lets hope it doesn't change.

[Douglas Kelley]

Old American Golf Club, a Tripp Davis design outside of Dallas which is an ode to the ODGs, has a pretty cool old railroad bridge behind the 2nd hole:

[Matthew Mollica]

Anyone mentioned the bridge from 5th green to 6th tee at New South Wales GC ?