Charles Blair MacDonald founded National Golf Links of America in 1908 after careful study of the golf courses of the British Isles. He then set out to build a world class golf course in the United States, and with the help of engineer Seth Raynor, was able to incorporate many of the famous design features from Scotland and England such as the Redan, Punchbowl, Cape and Eden into what is now known as National Golf Links of America. Located on the Peconic Bay in Southampton, New York, “The National” is truly the epitome of golf architecture.
The layout is one of a kind, winding through the scenic hillside bordering the Peconic Bay. The round gets started on a tough short par-4, Valley, with an elevated tee box to a fairway that is well protected by a large pot bunker in front of the green. Although short, positioning off the tee is important as the green is diabolical and requires a very accurate approach.
The second hole, Sahara, is a short par-4 with a semi-blind tee shot over the “Sahara” bunker with the iconic windmill on the left. The green is straight away, no more than 300 yards but the fairway goes out to the right and back in, providing an option to play it safe. Making eagle is a real possibility, but a missed tee shot left or right makes for a tough approach depending on the pin location.
The third hole, Alps, is one of the most unique holes I’ve ever played. The tee shot is to a fairway that runs from left to right, the more aggressive you are off of the tee, the better the approach. The second shot is blind up over the hillside to a back to front sloping green. The fourth hole is the famous Redan hole, a 180 yard par-3 with a dramatic right to left sloping green. As true as a Redan gets, the best approaches are to the front right of the green. The fifth hole, Hog’s Back, is a long straight away par-4 with a split fairway. The second shot is downhill to an elevated green with a large false front. It takes two great shots to have a look at birdie. The sixth hole, Short, is a great downhill par-3 with a massive green well protected by bunkers. Again, pin positioning is everything on this 3. The seventh hole, St. Andrews, is a straight away par-5 with a semi-blind second shot depending on positioning off of the tee. Ideally, the best angle to approach from is the right as the green has a large false front and runs diagonally from right to left. A short 80 yard shot can get very tricky to a front pin with small “devil’s asshole” bunkers guarding the center (as seen at Pine Valley). The eighth hole, Bottle, was my favorite par-4 on the course (it was tough to choose) but again there are bunkers that run through the middle of the fairway to an elevated false front green that runs from front to back. The shorter the approach the easier as it’s tough to hold the green. The ninth, Long, is a very cool wide open par-5 with a large green complex. The bunkering down the left fits with the natural sandy landscape and is more of a waste area than anything. A good tee shot allows for a chance at birdie, although reaching the green in two is a poke, but the approach area is wide and gives a good look at most hole locations.
The back nine is an amazing stretch of holes, with a lot of variety. Easily some of the best finishing holes I’ve ever played, reminiscent of Mid Ocean Club. The tenth, eleventh and twelfth holes are all great par-4’s with different features and difficult greens. Shinnecock, Plateau, and Senonac respectively, the tenth hole borders Shinnecock Hills to it’s right; eleven features the plateau green ; and the twelfth shares a massive fairway with the par-5 seventh and has a large back to front green severely pitched back to front with pot bunkers guarding the left and rear of the green. The thirteenth, Eden, inspired by the 11th hole at St. Andrews is a par-3 with a deep pot bunker framing the front of the green and another deep bunker front right of the green. These severe bunkers force players to hit it long, leaving a downhill putt at any pin in the middle or front. The fourteenth hole is the famous Cape hole, and starts one of the best stretch of finishing holes in all of golf. It’s by far the coolest Cape hole I’ve played (even better than at Mid-Ocean and Chicago Golf Club). The risk reward isn’t as big as the 5th at Mid-Ocean but a well positioned drive still makes for a tricky short approach to a green surrounded by sand on all sides. The further left (safer) you go the tougher it is to hold the green.
The last four holes are all unique and challenges the player to hit quality shots down the stretch in order to score. Fifteen, Narrows, is a straight away par-4 guarded by hazard and bunkers on the right with the hillside on the left. The major defense is another large green sloping dramatically from back to front. Any shot with too much spin can come right off the front, and anything long makes for a difficult up and down. Sixteen, Punchbowl, is by far the best punchbowl hole I’ve played. The fairway is massive with two large swails on the left and right. A drive that ends up in one of the deep swails leaves a blind approach to a small green. Two good shots can set up a birdie look but the drive is the most important shot. The seventeenth, Peconic, is a great downhill par-4 with a wide fairway well protected by waste bunkers to a small green positioned from left to right framed by the scenic Peconic Bay in the backdrop. The eithteenth, Home, is a great uphill par-5. It’s a short hole with deep fairway bunkers and a big drop off to the right and clubhouse on the left. The approach is important since the green is tough to approach from the wrong angle or from long range. We played to a front left pin right on a ledge, missing it left made for a near impossible up and down.
It’s hard to beat the experience at National Golf Links. It’s a true golf club that upholds the golf traditions that C.B. MacDonald founded with seemingly little change from when it was built in 1908. From the pristine conditions of the course to the lobster and a cold Southside in the Bird Cage, it doesn’t get much better in all of golf.
George Wolfe