Fishers Island Club

Fishers Island is located just off the coast of Connecticut, but it is technically located in New York. The island serves as a summer getaway for the upper tier of society. It is a place of understated wealth, the “anti-Hamptons.” You do not see any overt statements of wealth on Fishers. Most of the families who spend summers on the island have been doing so for multiple generations.

Fisher Island Club Clubhouse

Fishers Island Club, or the “Big Club,” as it is colloquially known on the island, is one of the most exclusive clubs in the States. Its golf course is ranked #28 in GOLF Magazine’s Top 100 in the World list. A beach club and yacht club also serve as entertainment for those fortunate enough to be members.

Unique club logo in the shape of the island

The simplest way to access the island is via ferry from New London, Connecticut. Anyone can go to Fishers Island; however, one half of the island, the side containing Fishers Island Club and Hay Harbor Club, is private.

Glimpse of the beach club from the golf course

I was fortunate enough to spend four days on the island. In addition to golfing while on the island, I participated in a sailing race with the Fishers Island Yacht Club and my host, a world champion sailor and winner of the America’s Cup. A traditional Thursday night formal dinner at the Big Club, along with parties, meals, and many introductions, created a unique insight into an exclusive enclave that many will never see.

Now for the golf: Fishers Island Club is a Seth Raynor design and was opened in 1926. Many of the holes on the course are modeled off of famous hole designs. Of all the courses I have played in the US, Fishers played most similarly to a Scottish links course. Dry conditions allowed for low running shots. I loved using the bump and run that I have spent the last three years practicing in St Andrews. (Click on any of the photos to enlarge.)

Hole #1 - 396 yard - "Raynor's Start"

Raynor eases golfers into the course with a wide opening par 4.

Hole #2 - 172 yards - "Redan"

View from the 2nd tee

Looking back at the traditional Redan slope from behind #2 green

The second hole is Raynor's take on North Berwick's famous Redan hole. In keeping with the traditional Redan hole, the green moves left and away from the player with a large slope on the right.

Hole # 3 - 335 yards - "Plateau"

The third hole is a beautiful short par 4. The carry to the fairway is just over 200 yards, which leaves a wedge into a difficult, elevated green. It is a classic risk / reward hole. 

Hole #4 - 397 yards - "Punch Bowl" 

The 4th hole was one of my favorites on the golf course. It is a blind approach and reminded me of Prestwick Golf Club's 17th hole, the "Alps." The sheer size of the green is striking. The green truly is a bowl, and if you miss the bowl, a heavy price is to be paid. 

View from the 4th tee - the green is below the flag pole

4th green

Hole #5 - 207 yards - "Biarritz" 

 The 5th hole is an extremely strong par 3. Reaching the green can be a struggle with the hole playing over 200 yards and uphill. I had seen photos of this hole many times before visiting the course and it lived up to the photographs. The ocean and waves crash to your right as you strike the tee shot.

Looking across the 5th green

Hole #6 - 520 yards - "Olinda"

The photo above is the hilly approach to the 6th hole. The 6th hole is one of the many blind tee shots on the course. Whereas blind tee shots are a mark of weakness on modern designs, they don't detract at Fishers Island. They add to the quirk and strength of the design, harkening back to a Scottish or English links. The dry and firm condition of the course can be seen with the "burnt" look in this fairway.

Hole #7 - 363 yards - "Latimer"

This tee box is one of the most stunning on the course. The "dinging" of the lighthouse seen in the distance can be heard across the course, lulling golfers into peaceful state. An iron off the tee takes the lake on the right out of play, and an extra half club is needed to reach the raised green.

Hole #11 - 164 yards - "Eden"

This an extremely picturesque par 3. It would take an entire panorama of the scene to truly do this hole justice. The raised green is difficult to hit during the high winds typically found at the course. This is an "Eden hole," based on the famous 11th hole at the St. Andrews Old Course.

Hole #12 - 389 yards - "Winthrop"

The approach into the 12th hole is one of my favorites on the course. A severe left to right slope can be seen in the photo above and provided many options in terms of approach shot. During one of the rounds, I let my drive leak right, short siding myself to a front left pin. I was able to throw my approach into the slope, which took the ball back down towards the pin. I loved this hole and wanted to sit in the fairway all afternoon with a bucket of balls.

Hole #14 - 425 yards - "Cape"

 The 14th hole is unquestionably deserving of the number one handicap rating. Positioning in the fairway is crucial in order to have a manageable angle and length into the green. The design is a great use of the land in this area of the course. Legend has it that people have taken drives straight at this green over the water. It would take one hell of a carry. I shot my range finder across the lake. It would take a 340 yard carry to cross the water from the back tees.

Look for the green in the left side of this picture across the water

Approach into the 14th

Hole #16 - 146 yards - "Short"

This hole rounds out four very strong par 3s at Fishers Island. The large green looks easily accessible, but once the wind starts whipping, the target becomes much smaller on this short hole.

Fishers Island had some great holes, especially the stretch of 3-7 on the front nine. One aspect of the course that immediate struck me as weak however, is the par 5 18th hole, measuring 452 yards from the back tees. The hole would make a good par 4, but is instead a weak par 5. Why not drop it to par 71 and make the last hole a par 4? Apparently, during tournaments, the hole plays as a par 4 from the championship tees - thank goodness. 

The entire experience of Fishers Island was something that I will not forget. It is a special place. I am very grateful to my friends for hosting me at Fishers Island Club. I hope to go back to play more golf on the island, perhaps at Hay Harbor’s 9-hole course. My rounds at the Big Club also confirmed my interest in playing more Seth Raynor designed courses – the quest continues!

***A bit of information on the history of Fishers Island and Fishers Island Club can be found on The Itinerant Golfer's blog post on Fishers Island - Have a look here.

Bethpage Black

I played two rounds on back-to-back days on the Black course at Bethpage State Park. The course was built in 1936 by A.W. Tillinghast and, since its inception, it has hosted two U.S. Open Championships (2002, 2009) among a slew of other tournaments. Tillinghast built the course to compete with its fellow northeast neighbors (read Pine Valley and Winged Foot), and he certainly succeeded.

I played both windy rounds from the tips, measuring a long 7,400 yards. I can comfortably say that Bethpage Black is the hardest course I have ever played. Although the course was extremely difficult, it was enjoyable, and the design was fair. This quote from Golf Club Atlas sums it up well:

“Some modern courses lose a sense of continuity in their quest for difficulty. Such modern courses feel fragmented, as you go from one impossible hole to the next. One of the lasting appeals of Bethpage is that the holes seem to be effortlessly cut from the same fabric, with one sound hole following another.“

Two themes seen from A.W. Tillinghast throughout the round are a premium on driving and superb course bunkering. Keep an eye out for these two things in the pictures of the course.

The course really begins to take off on the second hole. The tee shot, seen in the picture above, requires a right to left ball flight followed by an uphill approach to an elevated green. A 3 wood or hybrid off the tee is the play. At 389 yards, it is the shortest par 4 on the course. Anything in the rough, anywhere on the course, was dead.

The third hole is the first real taste of Tillinghast's amazing bunkering. The 230 yard par 3 has a large green that moves away and left from the player. A back left pin placement creates an unbelievably tough approach over the bunkers. 

View from 4th tee

Approach to heavily bunkered 4th green

The par 5 4th hole is the course's signature hole. The bunkering is extremely intimidating from the tee. Tillinghast is quoted as saying that the 4th hole is the best three shot par 5 in golf. The heavily bunkered green slopes away from the players, shrugging off any poorly struck approach shots. 

The 5th hole is one of multiple on the course with a large diagonal bunker running across the fairway. The golfer can cut off as much as he wants to shorten the hole. Approaching from the right side of the fairway is optimal. The hole requires a cut off the tee and a draw into the elevated green. 

The downhill approach to the 6th is one of the most picturesque on the course.

The par 5 7th is another hole with a diagonal bunker guarding one side of the fairway. Cutting off a large portion of the bunker results in a shorter second shot into the hole, but land in the bunker, and you're looking at bogey or worse. Classic risk and reward. 

The downhill par 3 8th measured 210 yards and is yet another stunning hole. The slope in front of the green is alarmingly steep. Any shot short will run back into the water. 

The collection of gorgeous par 3s continues with the 14th hole. Distance control is key with the approach to this green. The bunker short right is over ten feet deep. The tee shot can vary by nearly 40 yards depending on the pin position on this green.

 The 15th hole is the number one handicap hole on the course. It is paramount to hit the fairway on this hole! A huge drive still leaves an uphill 145-165 yard approach to a heavily bunkered and sloping green. The 15th was one of my favorite holes on the course.

The 16th is yet another extremely strong par 3. It requires a 205 yard shot into a very shallow green. The pin was far left during our first round and far right during our second round... I hit it into the front bunker both rounds...

The 18th caps off a round that required nothing but pinpoint accuracy off the tee. The fairway narrows in the landing area and leaves a manageable 100-130 yard approach to a heavily bunkered, but large, elevated green. You let out of sigh of exhaustion and relief walking off the 18th green at Bethpage. 

The course was in extremely good condition. The greens, fairways, and rough were all very lush and carpet smooth; however, most of the bunkers were unraked and I ended up fixing 4-5 pitch marks on each green. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast with public golf courses receiving hundreds of rounds per day. The greens crew does a spectacular job with the course.

I greatly enjoyed my rounds at Bethpage Black. In addition to Pine Valley, this was one of the only rounds where I couldn't think of a weak hole on the course. I walked off the course exhausted each day. It gave me a huge appreciation for what the pros experience during a US Open at Bethpage. I was playing a less penal course setup, but each mistake during the round was deadly to a score and any weak aspect of a golfer's game is immediately exposed. Simply having the stamina to play four competitive rounds from the tips at a monster of a course like Bethpage is a feat in itself.