The traditional celebrations of the old red, white and blue went by this weekend with barbecues and the beach, pool parties and pyrotechnics. For Long Island golfers, the party continues all summer in honor of the Red, White and Blue – golf courses, that is – at Nassau County’s Eisenhower Park, most appropriately with launched drives rather than fireworks. It’s a special season for the Red Course, which turns 100 this year and has undergone relatively few changes since it was built in 1914.
Eisenhower Red has been one of the few constants in the heart of the Hub, a parcel of land frozen in time as Nassau’s hustle and bustle developed all around its borders. Neighboring landmarks have come and gone – Roosevelt Raceway is now a shopping center; Mitchel Field is a sports complex – but the Red Course still leads golfers around long, lush fairways.
Even its original golf siblings departed long ago for the history books. The Red was built by Devereux Emmet as part of the Salisbury Golf Club, a five-course facility once referred to as the “Sports Center of America,” according to local historian William Quirin in America’s Linksland: A Century of Long Island Golf. Salisbury’s #4 course hosted the 1926 PGA Championship, won by the legendary Walter Hagen when the tournament was still played as a match-play competition. After the Depression, only #4 remained standing. When Nassau County eventually took control of the parkland, the course became the Red. Today’s golfers pass under a “Home of the 1926 PGA Championship” sign each time they check in for a round.
New neighbors have moved in since the original Salisbury days. Robert Trent Jones built parallel courses in the 1950s – the White Course is arrow-straight and known for elevated greens and gaping front bunkers; the Blue Course is nearly 900 yards shorter and throws in a few dogleg holes. In a unique twist, both courses feature side-by-side twin par-3s designed to alleviate slow play.
Celebrating the Red Course with food and drink is easy enough thanks to one modern feature absent during its days as #4. Thanks to the build-up of business around the course’s edges, players can get a look at a couple of nearby restaurants without ever leaving the fairways.
[A version of this Golf On Long Island post was originally published in the June/July issue of Networking Magaazine.]
Comments