Sebonack Golf Course occupies 300 acres in Southampton, New York, and is adjacent to the illustrious Shinnecock Hills Golf Course and National Golf Links of America. Many spots at this place overlook Great Peconic Bay and Cold Spring Pond on Long Island. Water views compete for the golfer’s attention. It was designed to look like it was sculpted out of the natural landscape over time.
History
Design titans Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak, who have very distinct aesthetic sensibilities, have made use of the land’s organic elements to great effect. As a result, Sebonack presents a striking visual contrast to its famed neighbors while posing a formidable test to golfers of all skill levels. The Sebonack Golf Club first welcomed players in May of 2006. It is fashioned out of three hundred acres of pristine land.
In 1908, Macdonald, a key figure in the formation of the United States Golf Association, purchased 300 acres close to the magnificent Great Peconic Bay and Cold Spring Pond on Long Island. There, he constructed the National Golf Links of America.
Nearly a century later, developer Michael Pascucci paid millions of dollars for Macdonald’s leftovers and commissioned four-time U.S. Open winner Jack Nicklaus and course architect Tom Doak to create Sebonack Golf Club.
Pascucci wanted the best for his money, so he joined Nicklaus’s private course, The Bear’s Club, in Jupiter, Florida. However, after playing Doak’s Pacific Dunes course at Bandon Dunes, he had a clear vision for the type of golf course he envisioned being constructed on the hilly land. He paired them together; it was like oil and water. He wanted to take Tom’s spare aesthetics while including Jack Nicklaus’s masterful tactics as the best golfer in history.
The odd partnership produced a links-style course with undulating fairways, waste areas, enormous bunkers carved out of the rough, and greens with enough subtle movement to keep players on their toes. In a nutshell, it incorporates touches that are exclusive to each designer.
Despite Nicklaus’s claim that Doak is primarily responsible for the course’s routing, he takes credit for the tee-to-green strategy. The greens were a creation by Doak. Nicklaus approved, but he mellowed them out a bit.
The style is more Tom’s, but the golf is a blend of the two parties involved. Nicklaus wanted to make a golf course that was fun to play. Tom wanted to throw bunkers in random spots for decoration. The two elements work well together.
What to Expect
With a membership to the Sebonack Golf Club, you can stay in one of the 15 cottages built as mansions. These cottages are constructed all around the course for what may be the highest price in the world. Located on the eastern tip of Long Island, the club is sandwiched between National Golf Links of America and the U.S. Open host Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
If you want to play golf at Sebonack, where you can see Great Peconic Bay and Cold Spring Pond on Long Island, you’ll need to make friends with one of the club’s wealthy members. Fairways at Sebonack sweep over massive bunkers and waste dunes in true Doak fashion, making the most of the undulating landscape.
You’ll find a clubhouse at Sebonack that rivals any you’ve seen before in terms of grandeur. Overlooking the bay, this structure stands tall above the course. Next door at the National Golf Links of America is a clubhouse that looks like Sebonack’s maintenance shed in comparison.
The view over the course as the sun sets isn’t among the best in golf. That’s just the service, which is unrivaled given that the club is one of the most costly to join in the world.
However, some people have their fair share of complaints. If it were a contest to determine who has the greatest warm-up facilities on Long Island, you would have to nod to Friar’s Head. The lack of island greens and a little smaller chipping area make some people uncomfortable.
The fairness of the course off the tee allows a group of three to complete the course with only one lost ball despite our less-than-perfect accuracy. It can be a fun and challenging course from the first tee to the last green, just like you’d expect from a Doak design. The course measured under 6,500 yards from the back tees. Very rarely does someone get out of their divot before hitting their approach shot to the green. That’s a huge help for the handicapped.
Historic Mentions of This Place
Sebonack Golf Club was the site of the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open, the first time this Major Championship had been held on the island. It hosted 2016 Top 100 Invitational presented by Legacy of the Links. Every year, golfers from all over the world compete in this invitational, only played at courses in the Top 100. Golf Magazine ranks Sebonack Golf Club at No. 94 on its list of the World’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
The Women’s Open is the first to be held in the New York metropolitan region since 1987. The course configuration for the tournament is 6,796 yards from the championship tees at Sebonack. As per predictions, the greens posed the biggest obstacle for the field of 156 female golfers. The women’s putting skills were put to the test.
Champion of the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open Cristie Kerr said that the greens would be among the most challenging she had ever played. They have to be wary of how fast they make them because of the slopes. Some competitors made their Open debuts and experienced the course for the first time.
Final Word
Sebonack is one of the most exclusive and priciest golf clubs in the world. You will enjoy it from the tee box to the green. It had several attractive holes, making it a golfer’s haven.