October 20 - Two New York Area Gems
Here is a look at two of the top golf courses in the Metropolitan area that I recently had the privilege of
playing.
Whether he arrives in his black helicopter with his last name in huge
white letters near the tail, or he leaves in that very same aircraft, Donald
Trump knows how to capture your attention. And “The Donald” who is the
star of his own TV Show “The Apprentice” has captured the golf world with
the course he bought and then smartly employed Tom Fazio to create
Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
In the words of Trump himself, this course is, “HUGE”. He wants to bring
a major to this area, which is very close to the headquarters of the USGA,
and to do that the first thing the course must have is length. It plays at
more than 7,500 from the tips and features many long carries over water
and wetlands. From the Blue tees it was a monster for many of the golf journalists who played in the
4th Annual Writer Cup sponsored by Bushnell and Taylor Made. The way we played is beside the
point because it is the way the course will play for the pros that is the real story.
This course has teeth and it will take a bite out of any pro who plays it from the tips. The bunkers are
steep and can ruin a round if your ball finds it. The water is in play on a number of holes and if you
come up short you will be paying the penalty of choosing the wrong club. This course is major
championship worthy and the big question is not if, but when will the USGA name the course host for
a US Open. It only makes sense considering it could be a home venue for golf’s governing body. Plus
having Trump test the men in the same way the he tests the women of the LPGA Tour would be fun to
watch.
Another golf course that I had the pleasure of playing was Hudson National Golf Club. It is one course
in which I can remember every hole. The course was also designed by Tom Fazio and is located in
Croton-on-Hudson, New York. It opened for play in June of 1996.
Playing with my usual partner, Dan Berger, we teed off on a glorious
morning to a par 4 that is breathtaking. The caddie asked what tees
would we want to play and we said the black which is over 6,900 yards.
The way it is set up is that they have combinations where you can play the
black tees from every hole except the par 3’s which you use the blues.
Some of the the par 3’s are extremely long. But we decided to tackle the
course from the black tees and then grab a calculator to figure out how
high we shot.
There is not a bad hole at Hudson National. Here is a thumbnail of a few of them. The 4th hole is a
par 4 387 yards that runs uphill. Behind the green is chimney stack that stands by itself. The building
to which is was connected is long gone but it makes it interesting when you line up your shot.
The 8th is a 249 yard par 3 from the black and a 229 yarder from the blue tee. It lies straight ahead
over a marsh. Do not be short on this hole.
14 is an incredible par 5 that is 534 yards and doglegs to the right. The second shot for long hitters,
or the 3rd shot for us mere mortals, to a green that borders a pond that is on the right is difficult. Do
not go right!
The 16th is a par 3 that is 249 yards from both the blue and black tees. When standing on the tee you
are looking at a stunning view of the Hudson River in the background. On a clear day you can see all
they way down the River.
The 18 is possible the hardest par 4 in the Met Section. 481 yards from the black and 465 from the
blue, the tee shot is straight downhill. The second shot is uphill to the green. That is basically a
speedway. I would have reported my score but I did not play well on the first 5 holes and then strung
together a few pars in a row. Somewhere in the high 90’s is what I finished with and I felt very lucky to
have played this course and Trump as well.
