"Firm and fast" is a pair of adjectives not typically used to describe Long Island fairways, but with the scorching hot summer of 2010 depriving golf courses of the rainwater they desperately need, one course is playing even closer to its links-style design.
Tee shots were bouncing, bouncing, rolling and rolling (and rolling) during our last visit to the Tallgrass Country Club in Shoreham, smack in the middle of July's heat wave. It was a welcome style of play in a region where soft greens and softer fairways are the norm. This also suits a course that markets itself as a Scottish-style links design, with no trees, plenty of wind, wispy knee-length grasses and an array of pot and waste bunkers.
Holes like the 17th -- a long par-3 with a bulge short of the green that can feed balls toward the flag -- are more open to different approaches to the stick, whether it be a high-arcing iron with the wind or a runner underneath. The conditions certainly put creativity and shotmaking skills to the test.
Frequent contributor Jeff H. of Lynbrook also reports that now is an excellent time to play the Shoreham course if you are a fan of fast greens. Finding those greens, however, can be difficult for those players who lack experience on the layout. "There are a lot of blind shots on the course, usually with an uphill fairway or berms obstructing your view," Jeff says. "It's tough to navigate the first few times around."
Tallgrass is one of four Long Island courses selected by Golfweek in its 2010 Best Courses You Can Play listing for New York State. For more information on Tallgrass, visit the course flyover.
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