Garden City Golf Club - Photo Tour (Holes 1-18 - All Holes Posted)

[Jon Cavalier]

Based on several requests in the 12th hole thread, I've decided to post these as a photo tour (hope you don't mind the separate thread). I can't really express how much I enjoyed this golf course, so for the most part, I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Enjoy.

The Garden City Golf Club (Garden City, NY)

1st hole, par 4 - from the tee:


1st hole, approach:


2nd hole, par 3 (truly a great short par 3):


2nd hole - from down in "the pit" (even this photo doesn't do justice to how deep this bunker is, and the little pot bunker at the top left is just as deadly):


3rd hole, par 4 - from the tee:


3rd hole - approach:


4th hole, par 5 - from the fairway (note the great contouring):


4th hole - reverse view:


5th hole, par 4 - from the tee:


5th hole - from the mounds right of fairway:


6th hole, par 4 -tee shot:


6th hole - approach:


7th hole, par 5 - from the front of the fairway, showing cross-mounding):


7th hole - approach from divided fairway:


7th hole - reverse view:


More to come tomorrow...

[Thomas Dai]

Wow! Well posted. Looking forward to the rest of the tour.

What is the yardage of the 2nd hole? It looks terrific.

Would these mounds be rocks collected together during/after construction and later covered over with earth and grass?


atb

[Ryan Coles]

Looks very reminiscent of Walton Health and Sunningdale New in places, albeit a very green version.

Despite the greenness, do the fairways ever play fast?

[Jon Cavalier]

Looks very reminiscent of Walton Health and Sunningdale New in places, albeit a very green version.

Despite the greenness, do the fairways ever play fast?

The course had just had some fairly significant rain and I thought it still played very fast, all things considered. And I could see how, under normal conditions, it would fly.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ryan,

The intent is for the course to playl F&F.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn't always co-operate.

[Ryan Coles]

Ryan,

The intent is for the course to playl F&F.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature doesn't always co-operate.

Pat

That is fair enough. Even many of the great links don't sometimes from one year to the next. We go on about nature being the dominant factor and then bleat when it doesn't play ball.

I think the pictures still look great and looking at some of the greens and surrounds, I can't help but think how great our courses such as Hankley Common or Woodhall Spa could be given more attention to the contours of the green complexes and bunkering.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Ryan,

As terrific as GCGC is, there are nuanced improvements that can be made.

"Time" is often the enemy of architecture.

Grass grows and mowing patterns shift at almost imperceptable rates, so over time you see bunkers that had fairway immediately adjacent, become isolated behind a buffer of rough.

In many cases, the terrain fed that bunker, but, the introduction of a buffer of rough has defeated the architect's intent.

I think that's a fairly common trait in golf courses.

Few see the disconnect and fewer are willing to remedy the disconnect.

It's attention to detail and budget that separates the architecturally pure courses from the others.

[Tim_Weiman]

Pat,

I greatly enjoyed the time you hosted myself, Geoff Child's and Tommy Naccarato. That was a special day at a special place.

Jon,

Wow! Great pictures. Love how you captured #2.

[Jon Cavalier]

Here's holes 7 through 18.  Enjoy.

8th hole, par 4 - tee shot:


8th hole - reverse view:


9th hole, par 4 - tee shot:


9th hole - reverse view (note the nasty little plateau at the rear of the green):


10th hole, par 4 - tee shot (with flag on left marking bunker):


10th hole - approach with fairway bunker:


10th hole - green view with crossbunker:


11th hole, par 4 - tee shot:


11th hole - reverse view (with cool little mound in the fairway):


12 hole, par 3 - tee shot (see also other thread for more pics):


12th hole - crossbunker and mounds:


12th hole - green, mounds, inverted bunker:


13th hole, par 5 - tee view:


13th hole - approach (with 15th green in background):


14th hole, par 4 - tee view:


14th hole - approach from right side (with mounds and pot bunkers):


14th hole - green view:


15th hole, par 4 - tee view:


15th hole - crossbunkering:


15th hole - green (with 13th green behind):


16th hole, par 4 - fairway:


16th hole - green view (from 17th tee):


17th hole, par 5 - tee view (blind shot):


17th hole - green view (from left):


18th hole, par 3 - tee view (this is a magnificent par 3 closing hole):


18th hole - left greenside bunker (the bunker of death - you could bury a school bus down there):


18th hole - rear "Travis" bunker:


/Garden City Golf Club

[Malcolm Mckinnon]

Jon,

Fantastic Photos!!!

What camera are you using, if I may ask?

Where are the Springdale Photos you took when I had you up this summer? You should see the conditioning now. Wow! back from a month in Scotland and I am shocked at how fine it is in NJ!

All the Best,

Malcolm

[Greg Gilson]

Jon, thank you for posting. These photos brought back some awesome memories.

[Sean_A]

Jon

Thanks for the pix.  Garden City has always interested me. 

What are the flags in the rough near bunkers?

I am quite surprised at the many forced aerial shots there are.  I had no idea the course was bent so much toward the penal school.  Was this the M.O. of Emmet/Travis?

Ciao

[Patrick_Mucci]

Sean A,

The red and white checkered flags are warning flags for those on the tee.
They signify a deep and dangerous bunker not visible from the tee.
They appear on # 4, 10, 14 and 17.
I'm told that there were more of them many years ago.
They are a neat and distinctive feature, and serve their function well.

What "forced aerial shots" were you referencing ?

[Mark Fedeli]

I like how the bunker to the left of #1 green just sinks down and disappears while the ground all around it stays relatively flat. That's not something I recall encountering too often. Anyone know if there is there a name for that particular kind of feature?

[Jon Cavalier]

I like how the bunker to the left of #1 green just sinks down and disappears while the ground all around it stays relatively flat. That's not something I recall encountering too often. Anyone know if there is there a name for that particular kind of feature?

Mark:

Couldn't agree more. And there's a lot of that at GCGC.

As you can see below, that bunker isn't small either:

[Jon Cavalier]

Jon,

Fantastic Photos!!!

What camera are you using, if I may ask?

Where are the Springdale Photos you took when I had you up this summer? You should see the conditioning now. Wow! back from a month in Scotland and I am shocked at how fine it is in NJ!

All the Best,

Malcolm

Malcolm,

The Garden City photos were shot with a Leica.

Here's a Springdale photo for you (pretty sure I just had my phone that day):

[BHoover]

Decent looking track.  Looks English.

[Terry Lavin]

Envy is too small a word.

[Jeff Taylor]

"Malcolm,

The Garden City photos were shot with a Leica."

Not your everyday point and shoot camera.

Wonderful color and contrast. As for the bunker style, NGLA has it's fair share as well.

[Russ Arbuthnot]

Looks really fantastic and fun to play. Thanks for sharing these photos, Jon.

[Mark McKeever]

Excellent tour Jon, many thanks!

Mark

[Terry Lavin]

I like how the bunker to the left of #1 green just sinks down and disappears while the ground all around it stays relatively flat. That's not something I recall encountering too often. Anyone know if there is there a name for that particular kind of feature?

To invoke "Princess Bride", it looks like The Pit of Despair!!

[Greg Taylor]

The bunker on the 1st looks like a great way to get the most out of a flat piece of the property.

Course looks fun to play - thanks for sharing.

Greg

[Brian Finn]

Great photos.  Thank you for sharing. 

I spent many a morning (on the way to high school) wondering what the men's club looked like. 

One day!

[Jim Sherma]

Garden City Golf Club is one of the more compelling courses that I've seen on these photo tours. For a flattish course to photograph so beautifully is really special and a testament to the varying textures through the course. Many very good courses fall victim to the monochrome of grass and trees (especially when they are pines). GCGC just looks so interesting from a playing standpoint. The browninsh native type areas look very playable with a chance at recovery shots however reckless the decision may be. Thank you for sharing these pictures.

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