... under Courses by Country and Architecture Timeline.
This Whippoorwill profile was five years in the making, from first playing it to getting a suitable complement of photographs a few weeks ago. The inconsiderate Sandy throttled me in 2012 but often things happen for a reason and the course reflected in the photos is materially better than what would have been portrayed earlier. Also, the extended process enabled me time to discuss this course in detail with the late, great George Bahto. Always ebullient, he became even more animated when discussing Whippoorwill, such was his passion for Banks’ work there. An avowed sucker for Macdonald/Raynor/Banks works, I sneak this one into their top 5 combined portfolio along with Yale, Fishers, NGLA, and Yeamans Hall. That statement might shock
some given the plethora of other high profile designs from which to pick but I give the edge to Whippoorwill and its New England like landscape.
The mix of drama with strategy is highly authentic and the varied manner in which Banks attacked the rugged topography is sterling: around the depression at the first, steeply downhill on 2, uphill at 3, up and over at the reachable 5 par 6th, past massive slabs of granite on the seventh, and so forth. In flavor and boldness, Whippoorwill might remind some of The Addington. At both places, you get the overwhelming impression that their architects would think the golfers of today are wimps, whining about the hazardous hazards. Situated on a hill, Whippoorwill is a tough walk like The Addington but so many views/shots unfold that I like the trade-off. Yard after yard, this 6,640 yard course is both action-packed and scenic. Who doesn’t enjoy weaving heroically through large playing corridors, past foreboding hazards in an effort to position your ball properly on greens that feature both tilt and contour?! Few do it better than long time pro Jim Wahl and ace Met golfer Brian Krex, whom I have had the pleasure to watch playing here. The design doesn’t favor one shot shape and Jim agrees that the golfer is asked to every possible shot in the bag over the course of one’s round.
While getting ‘street cred’ in Westchester County is brutal, this course has the chops to carve out its own distinctive reputation and following. The handful of GCA’ers I know who have played it – Joe Andriole, Neil Regan, Geoff Childs, Noel Freeman , my brother Bill – all swear by it. The folks at the helm have it moving in the right direction and the results are spectacular. Like the course, the alterations are large-scale, a lot more than pushing out a green edge four feet and waiting for polite applause. For instance, if The Whip successfully clears the forest behind the 6th green this winter, the golfer will be greeted with a majestic quarter mile view from the peak of the 6th fairway, across a lake on 7, to that fairway some 150 feet below!
Epic stuff fashioned by the hands of the highly underrated Charles Banks. See if you don’t agree. I only wish George was still here – working with him on this course profile would have been a blast! I am jealous of the time Gib spent with George at The Whip some years ago and I can’t wait for him to share memories from that day in this thread.
Best,
PS I reference St. Enodoc in this profile so the timing of Sean’s superb course tour of Braid’s Cornish masterpiece (also presently a sticky topic) is serendipitous!