Golf on Long Island: Flyover: Eisenhower Park

Eisenhower Park is a breath of fresh air in the heart of Nassau County. For golfers, the Red Course -- the signature layout at this 54-hole facility -- is a destination within a destination. All that separates it from the congestion of commercial Old Country Road is one of the few protected strips of the original Hempstead Plains, but the strip malls and big-box chains might as well be a hundred miles away. Eisenhower Red offers as serene a setting as one can find in central Nassau.

Its serenity is matched by its history. Eisenhower Red was originally the #4 course at the Salisbury Golf Club, a five-course complex that was once dubbed the "Sports Center of America." Famed architect Devereux Emmet designed the course in 1914, and 12 years later, it hosted a PGA Championship won by the legendary Walter Hagen. It was the only original Salisbury course to survive the club's downturn after the Depression and World War II, and was later joined by the new White and Blue Courses in the 1950s. Until 2008, the Champions Tour made the lengthened and modified Red a popular stop in recent years for the Commerce Bank Championship. Newsday rated it as one of the top public courses on Long Island, and Golf Digest has given it four stars in its past Best Places to Play listings.

Eisenhower Red's setup is quite simple. You can hit strong drives that consistently give you the opportunity to attack the flag from the Red's generous fairways. Or you can struggle off the tee and play 18 holes of defensive golf, spending a day fighting poor angles on doglegs and navigating around a plethora of strategic bunkers and shot-blocking evergreens. At 7,040 yards from the blues and 6,400 from the whites, the course demands distance and accuracy off the tee.

LAYOUT:
The Red throws its length around right from the start, greeting you with two par-5s at #1 and #3. A trio of bunkers will not permit many approach shots to run onto the first green (pictured right), though there is a small landing area behind the first trap. The 515-yard third turns hard to the right and can be reached in two after a powerful fade off the tee. Fairway bunkers guard the left side of the drive zone, and tee shots short or right will be blocked by trees. Another dogleg follows at #4, a long par-4 that turns left at a near 90-degree angle. Two small traps wait at the end of the turn, and two bigger ones protect the lay-up area from players who leave themselves no angle to the green.

The sixth hole kicks off a stretch of six consecutive par-4s, all but one of which measure, from the back tees, more than 410 yards. Like #3, the 430-yard sixth fades right around an expanse of trees. The seventh and eighth are laid straight out and require great care to avoid a handful of large greenside bunkers. The front nine ends with a scoring hole. Red's shortest par-4 -- 346 from the back, 301 from the middle -- sports a downhill fairway that can leave just a short pitch to its narrow green.

Water enters the fray on the back nine, but it only plays a significant role on approach shots to the 15th green. On this 454-yard par-4 (402 from the middle), a small pond sits at the end of the fairway about 30 yards ahead of the elevated putting surface. Decent drives into the fairway should take laying up in front of the hazard out of the equation, but playing from the rough could make this a necessity. A similar pond in front of the preceding 14th tee does little to discourage big hitters, who will likely be intrigued by the hole's wide, sweeping fairway and inviting approach.

The Red's par-3s are fun tests of accuracy that, if failed, then become trying tests of sand skills. The 185-yard second features a very shallow, oval-shaped green with a ridge that can set up long and challenging putts. Circular bunkers are recessed away from the green but help cause misjudged distances. (An alternate hole is also used at #2, an adjacent L-shaped par-4 that is shoe-horned between and around tall trees.) Both the 164-yard fifth and the 173-yard 16th employ a team of greenside bunkers, but #5 is a bit more deceptive. With your attention likely focused on the large traps front and left, hidden bunkers on the right side can easily fly under your radar. The longest one-shotter, the 211-yard 13th plays to a slightly elevated green (pictured left). Aggressive shots to a right-side pin must carry a hefty bunker.

Just as it began, the Red closes with the challenge of distance. The par-5 17th is the longest hole on the course and the only one to crack 500 yards from the whites. The round concludes with a 455-yard par-4 that tees off to a rising fairway. Players that send their drives off line stand little chance of recovering well enough to make par.

CONDITIONS:
Nearly every swing at Eisenhower Red will aim at a target framed by a mix of trees large and small. From the fairway, the trees make for a pleasant backdrop. So do the regrown, protected sections of the Hempstead Plains on the north side of the course and the wispy grasses separating holes on the back nine. Of the three Eisenhower tracks, the Red is the real looker.

The Red's big greens roll at medium speed and include very subtle breaks and turns. Stay below the hole on #10 and #12, both of which feature tricky ridges that can sabotage your efforts after the turn. Fairways are mostly flat and in excellent condition, though you might encounter more unrepaired divots than you would elsewhere. Accurate yardages can be found easily on sprinkler heads across the fairways.

Slow play is typically the biggest complaint about all three Eisenhower courses. Head to East Meadow expecting a round in the vicinity of five-and-a-half hours. Any round completed in under five is miraculous.

HOLE(S) TO REMEMBER:
The ninth hole is one of the few with any dramatic slope in the fairway, and this one works in the players' favor. It's also the Red's shortest par-4, which makes it a prime location for par or better. A solid drive will leave a short iron or pitch into a green that is deep and narrow. There is plenty of sand hugging the front half of the slim green, so don't get too nonchalant thinking about birdie.

It's a straight path from tee to green on the par-5 17th, but traps in between do their best to prevent bombers from reaching in two. The green is surrounded by bunkers with raised edges. Some shots that manage to steer clear of the sand can instead settle into an awkward sidehill or downhill lie, calling for a dicey chip shot. Small mounds in the left rough near the green also work hard to complicate your short game on the Red's lengthiest hole.

AREA(S) TO AVOID:
Attempting to cut the corners too close on any of the Red's doglegs could land you in a world of hurt. Once inside the treeline, you are at nature's mercy, and advancing the ball with any authority is not often a viable option. It is tempting to go for the green in two on the par-5 12th, but if you get overzealous and wind up long, you'll have to attack the back-to-front green from rough above the hole -- a bad location. Even worse, if you breach the line of evergreens behind the putting surface, it may take more than one or two strokes to get back out.

NEARBY COURSES:
Eisenhower Park - Blue/White (on site)
Cantiague Park (3 miles)
Merrick Road Park (8 miles)
Bethpage -- Black/Blue/Green/Red/Yellow (8 miles)

CONTACT:
Merrick Ave. at Stewart Ave., East Meadow 11554
(516) 572-0327 / 0330 (wait time)
www.nassaucountyny.gov

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Comments

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What is the earliest time to call the phone reservation system for a saturday tee time for next saturday at Eisenhower. Believe it or not I cannot get this simple question answered even after calling the course.

Please unlock the secret.

Posted by: Saul bruh | June 22, 2012 at 07:32 PM