Golf On Long Island's "Suffolk 18" has been on the back burner since we published our "Nassau 18" back in 2011. With a lengthier list of courses and much more ground to cover, Suffolk County's fantasy collection of top public golf holes was a bit more challenging to construct, but the end result is 36 holes, a First Team and a Second Team Suffolk 18 -- or to be more Long Island-appropriate, a Suffolk Black Course and a Suffolk Red.
The goal is to highlight some of Suffolk's most challenging, scenic, fun, historic, uphill, downhill, watery and sandy holes, by selecting the best of each hole number and fitting them into a typical par-71, par-72 or par-73 layout. Unlike the Nassau 18, which would normally be dominated by Bethpage holes, there are no rules here. With that said:
- Holes were selected to conform to a typical course sequence;
- Holes were selected to offer a variety in length, orientation and style.
While there certainly can be plenty of debate about whether or not a particular hole might be among the "best" in the county, it's safe to say that the 36 holes that follow over the next couple of weeks are strong representatives of the quality and depth of Suffolk County's public golf courses.
We'll start today with the front nine of Suffolk "Black," followed next week by the back nine, and later the front and back of the second 18.
Golf On Long Island's "Suffolk 18" tees off in Wading River...
1) GREAT ROCK -- par-5, 489/430/416 yards
Great Rock's most notable feature is its set of rocket-fast greens, and the Wading River course welcomes players aboard by asking them to tackle one of its most slippery targets. The fairway bends to the right about halfway to the hole and begins a slight incline toward a diagonal green fronted by two bunkers. Trouble starts to brew around 100 yards out. Plans to lay up for the best angle can be hindered by a right-side fairway bunker, and longer, more direct attacks at the flag are prone to skip right off the fast surface. Every putt is fast and sloped -- just chipping it close is hard enough, let alone holding the green with a 5-iron.
2) PINE RIDGE -- par-4, 471/428/392 yards
Other than an oversized green that makes for a hefty target, this long, sweeping dogleg right offers nothing but an early opportunity to make bogey -- or worse. An ideal tee shot that settles near two left-side fairway bunkers still leaves a long iron into a green that's pinched in the front by two more traps. A water hazard right of the green means some wayward approach shots will be headed for a swim. Even if you're on in regulation, a green that's 50 yards deep makes the untimely three-putt a distinct possibility.
3) MILL POND -- par-5, 478/458/438 yards
This hole plays easier on paper than it does in the face of a whipping Medford headwind, which often tacks on a nice chunk of yardage to a wide-open par-5. Mounds and depressions on each side of the fairway lengthen the route to a green that waits in relative comfort behind three large front bunkers. Overzealous approaches can get lost in the deep stuff behind the green.
4) PINE RIDGE -- par-4, 312/278/251 yards
Pine Ridge beats visitors over the head with distance later in the round, but early in the front nine, it generously puts a par-4 green within a driver's reach, coaxing bold plays with a slightly raised tee box. The green's 50-yard depth means the front edge is tantalizingly close, around 250 yards for most players. The catch is that the hole's entire left side is a valley of sand, and a three-trap combo pinching the neck of the green stands guard against hope-filled tee shots designed to bounce and roll on.
5) TIMBER POINT, BLUE COURSE -- par-3, 207/188/151 yards
Timber Point's iconic "Gibraltar" par-3 is a holdover from the course's days as an ultra-exclusive private club founded in the 1920s. Today it exists as one of Long Island's standout par-3s with a picturesque setting that few courses -- public or private -- can match.
Once the 15th hole on Timber Point's original 18, this par-3 points straight out toward the water, its green perched high on a plateau with nothing behind it but Great South Bay. While the scenery is beautiful, the hole itself is nasty, given the fact that the 207-yard flight from tee to green is fully exposed to bayside gusts. Then the landing is heavily influenced by the green's right-to-left and back-to-front slope. There is sand running up both sides of the hole and not much dry ground off the back -- if anything, play it short and straight and try to get up and down for par. Then take a few seconds to snap some photos.
6) TIMBER POINT, BLUE COURSE -- par-4, 358/346/336 yards
No need to go all that far to get to the sixth tee. We'll stay put at Timber Point, where the par-4 sixth runs alongside Great South Bay instead of approaching it head-on like #5. Simply put, there aren't too many public golf holes that allow you to get so up close and personal with one of Long Island's major water bodies. You can dip your toes in the bay if you'd like -- it's not recommended, but at least you know you can.
As for the golf, depending on the wind, you might have to aim your drive out over the bay on the left or brush on the right in order to let it glide back toward the fairway. The green is slightly elevated behind two bunkers.
7) STONEBRIDGE -- par-3, 234/194/136 yards
Stonebridge, designed as a tribute to the work of renowned designers C.B. Macdonald, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks, includes replicas of their famous holes seen at places like National Golf Links. One of them is the "Biarritz" seventh, a unique par-3 that features a puttable swale across the green and apron, and long strip bunkers on both sides. It allows for some creativity off the tee, as long as the high arcing shot or the low runner meant to bound up the apron and onto the surface are straight. Anything off to the sides will face an awkward recovery out of narrow, sunken traps, or a delicate pitch up and over the sand. If you come up short, pulling off a two-putt through the swale would be a heck of a par.
For a detailed analysis of Stonebridge #7, see our Closer Look post.
8) MILL POND -- par-4, 409/400/350 yards
This mid-sized par-4 throws a little bit of everything at you and just about guarantees that, no matter how aggressively or conservatively you play the hole, at some point you're going to face a very perilous shot. The drive zone is squeezed by a pond on the left and a collection of large, circular traps on the right. Up ahead, the fairway curls around the pond, leading to a green that's wedged between the water's edge and three more closely cut bunkers. For the aggressive player, the second shot is over the water to a small, elusive target. Safer strategies that use the first two swings to set up a short, straight-on pitch are still far from par because...oh yeah, the green is double-tiered.
9) SWAN LAKE -- par-4, 373/343/319 yards
Finishing up the front nine with a 373-yarder seems like a soft prelude to a hot dog at the turn, but Swan Lake makes things difficult with one of its tougher par-4s. Water is a lurking presence on the right, though everything but a bad slice will stay dry off the tee. About 50 yards short of the green, the pond jabs a thumb across the neck of the fairway and gobbles up many shots that struggle to get off the ground. The typically massive green sits on a diagonal and is partially guarded by a lone tree near the front.
OUT: Par 36 - 3,331/3,065/2,789 yards
NEXT WEEK: The Back Nine
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