Fishers Island Club - A Photo Tour and Appreciation

[Josh Stevens]

If I don't flatter myself, no one else will.

This site does seem to be a little more excitable that it once was.  Has it been a long winter?

[Joe Hancock]

If I don't flatter myself, no one else will.

This site does seem to be a little more excitable that it once was.  Has it been a long winter?

You have no idea...Perhaps you can find Michigan on the google...

Joe

[Josh Stevens]

You have my sympathies, I really lack the spine for winters like that. Pleasant 32 Celsius today, had my morning swim at the beach, couple of hours at the office and will then toddle down to the club for Wed afternoon comp, washed down with roast lunch and bottle of red.

[Bob_Huntley]

There seems to be some animus to the presentation of Fishers Island and it its place in the golfing scene and even some sniping regarding course photography.

It was some six years ago that my good friend here, namely Dan Taylor, invited me to play Fishers Island. I have had the good fortune to have played some very decent courses in my life but I must say that the whole charm of Fishers took me back to a different era. It was that I might have been playing alongside some of the greats of the amateur heroes of a different generation, but the pro shop reminded me that it was the same now as ever. 

Fishers was my last trip out of California and I do not see it as a lesser experience than Cypress Point.

Bob   

[Josh Stevens]

FI interests me, as much as its is probably a decent track, but also that is does seem to be so un-American.

I mean that in the politest possible way as I have no first hand knowledge.  But I can imagine a simple clubhouse, no pretty boys taking your bags from the car, no shoe shines, no carts, no mobile phones, dress rules, no gambling beyond a $2 Nassau, good simple food, - in short, no pretension or outward displays of excess


Or in other words, so British.

[Tim Martin]

FI interests me, as much as its is probably a decent track, but also that is does seem to be so un-American.

I mean that in the politest possible way as I have no first hand knowledge.  But I can imagine a simple clubhouse, no pretty boys taking your bags from the car, no shoe shines, no carts, no mobile phones, dress rules, no gambling beyond a $2 Nassau, good simple food, - in short, no pretension or outward displays of excess


Or in other words, so British.

Josh-You really should quit while you are ahead. The continued shots at the US and it's culture seem to me to be little more than a cry for attention. You even have a preconceived notion of what the bets should entail. Would a $5 Nassau be less "British"? GMAB.

[Jason Thurman]

We've all been trolled.

[John Kavanaugh]

We've all been trolled.

Yes, by the guys posting the photo tours. Ben and Jon are the new darlings of this site and courses worldwide. Photos are the new words of this generation.

[Jason Thurman]

Have you seen what happens around here when people type? Photos replacing words with this generation ain't exactly the same tragedy as FREDs replacing cabooses.

[Michael Wharton-Palmer]

 all the great cutting edge stuff being built in Florida....
Josh please do elaborate on all this great stuff
Are you referring to the likes of PGA National and Doral and that type of architecture?
Please let us know what is appealing to you as cutting edge?

[Jon Cavalier]

We've all been trolled.

Yes, by the guys posting the photo tours. Ben and Jon are the new darlings of this site and courses worldwide. Photos are the new words of this generation.

John:

You've figured me out.  Posting photographic tours of golf courses is all part of my master plan to troll the readership of a golf course architecture website.  I apologize for tricking you into clicking on the link.  Next time I do a Fishers Island Club photo tour and appreciation, I will name it something less deceptive than "Fishers Island Club - A Photo Tour and Appreciation" so that you can avoid it, if you choose.

By the way, you ever figure out whether you were going to buy your father a dog?

Thanks as always for checking in,
Jon Cavalier

[Stephen Northrup]

There's no reason this site cannot have photo tours alongside in-depth discussions of the finer points of golf course architecture. For instance, I appreciated the recent thread on John Low and his influence of GCA at Woking even more for having played Woking. I might not have even known of Woking if I hadn't stumbled upon this site many moons ago and read the course review of Woking (with photos!). And I referred back to both my memory and the photos of Woking on this site while reading the two fantastic articles that were linked in the John Low thread.

Now if winter would only end so I'm not forced to resort to daydreaming through photo tours for my golf fix....

[Bill Brightly]

We've all been trolled.

Yes, by the guys posting the photo tours. Ben and Jon are the new darlings of this site and courses worldwide. Photos are the new words of this generation.

John:

You've figured me out.  Posting photographic tours of golf courses is all part of my master plan to troll the readership of a golf course architecture website.  I apologize for tricking you into clicking on the link.  Next time I do a Fishers Island Club photo tour and appreciation, I will name it something less deceptive than "Fishers Island Club - A Photo Tour and Appreciation" so that you can avoid it, if you choose.

By the way, you ever figure out whether you were going to buy your father a dog?

Thanks as always for checking in,
Jon Cavalier

Jon,

I usually do a good job of not bothering to react to JK's posts. I'm not smart enough to know where he is coming from, but I'm sure most of it is some kind of attempt to stir the pot. (His "play slow, golf is too great to be rushed" theory is actually pretty cool if you think it it through...Where else would we rather be stuck than on a golf course?) I  know he has had some tough times, so I almost never respond. Even Mucci lets his moronic posts slide, so I try to follow suit.

But as someone who has posted photos, I just have to respond to Jaka's last pile of crap.

It takes an incredible amount of time and effort to do what Jon has done. You have to take the photos, download them to computer, label the hole numbers, load them to something like Photobucket, copy and paste the ones you want on GCA.COM, then add you comments.

I think Jon and others do this site an amazing service with their photo tours. I absolutely love these tours, especially at a place like Fishers Island that few get to play.

I say that you have to be a sad SOB to be critical of these efforts...

[Bob_Huntley]

 
 As so called purists when it comes to golf architecture, can we agree not to call a golf course a track?

Bob

[Matthew Mollica]

Here here Sir Bob.

And Jon - thanks for the effort - the photography and words were wonderful.

Matthew

[Sam Morrow]

Yall don't get it, Josh is saying he doesn't care for what he sees. That's reverse psychology to get an invite somewhere, second he's Australian. Everyone knows Aussies can play everywhere. He might be the smartest person here.

[Kevin Pallier]

I do not see it as a lesser experience than Cypress Point.

Well said Sir

John

Thanks for the photo tour - brings back some great memories

Fisher's Island holds a special place in world golf. IMO - it should be a world heritage site.

[Carl Rogers]

amazing number of out of this world green sites ... makes my mouth water to play a Raynor at Lookout Mt in this years Dixie Cup

[Donnie Beck]

Question for Donnie Beck, if he still lurks and posts here:

There are a lot of rigid shapes and lines on the course, primarily around bunkers and the slopes around greens. This must present some challenge and added cost to the maintenance of the course. If the design of the routing, bunkers, tees and greens were the same as today but(hypothetically) soften the shaping to make things more maintenance friendly, would the playing characteristics change dramatically?

Thanks,

Joe

Just stumbled on this thread viewing the NGLA tour.

Joe,
All of the banks are mowed by hand dragging a mower across the slopes with ropes. Very labor intensive.  To answer your question yes softening the slopes would change the playing characteristics drastically.

As far as angles I don't have the time to go hole by hole but angles are the genius of Fishers. Quick example try approaching either the 7th or 8th or 3rd green from the left side of the fairway. Good Luck with that. How many other 330 yd holes produce more doubles than birdies

[Tommy Williamsen]

This is a great photo thread. I got to play Fishers with two great friends on May 23. Fishers is the most fun I ever had on a golf course. You encounter shots that you don't get anywhere else. The Alps/punchbowl exists nowhere else that I know of. It is a blind shot to a great green.




The club is unpretentious and welcoming. I can't think a better place to spend a day. Just don't expect to find dinner at a local restaurant. None were open. We did find an open ice cream shop where i had a root beer float for dinner.


It begins with a nice ferry ride.



A buddy of mine.



The second shot on the Cape is as thrilling as it is dangerous.



The clubhouse is perfect and reminiscent of Shinnecock.

[John Kavanaugh]

Was at Sweetens last week and Rob Collins tagged me as the OP on his Instagram account. Obscenely tall people make me look even fatter. Hilarious pic.

[Lou_Duran]

Ever since Bob Huntley confided that Fishers Island was probably his favorite course anywhere- and the man had played nearly all the great ones when he told me about his trip to LI- it has been near the very top of my smallish bucket list.  The excellent pictures and commentary by the OP and Tommy's strong endorsement only whet my already strong appetite.  I am slowly paring down that list.  Shinny is one of my top three favorite courses.  I wonder which one FI will likely bump out, probably one inland.

[Mike Sweeney]

Ever since Bob Huntley confided that Fishers Island was probably his favorite course anywhere- and the man had played nearly all the great ones when he told me about his trip to LI- it has been near the very top of my smallish bucket list. 

I played with Bob that day at Fishers, and it was special. He was a great Mentor to me and many others here at GCA.

[Jon Cavalier]

Interesting to see this thread bumped.  Hard to believe its been more than seven years since it was created.

For those who might be interested, here are a few more recent photos of Fishers Island Club.

Hole 7 (Latimer)


Hole 4 (Punch Bowl)


Hole 11 (Eden)


Holes 3 (Plateau), 16 (Short) and 2 (Redan)


Hole 5 (Biarritz)


Hole 9 (Double Plateau)


Hole 16 (Short)


Hole 4 (Punchbowl)


Holes 7 through 14


Holes 14 (Cape) and 12 (Winthrop)


Holes 9 (Double Plateau) and 10 (Knoll)


Hole 9 (Double Plateau)


Hole 4 (Punch Bowl)


Hole 17 (Coast Guard)


Hole 5 (Biarritz)


Hole 3 (Plateau)


Westward Overview


Hole 9 (Double Plateau)


Holes 10 (Knoll), 11 (Eden), 12 (Winthrop) and 13 (Waterloo)


Hole 7 (Latimer)


Hole 4 (Punch Bowl)


Hole 10 (Knoll)


Hole 7 (Latimer)


Hole 4 (Punch Bowl)


Special place.
- Jon Cavalier

[Sean_A]

Thanks for the tour Jon. I missed this thread the first time round. I like what I see!

I wish there was some way to delete posts from threads. It's easy for cool stuff to get partially buried in a shit show.

Ciao