This is what the course will look like when it's in its glory next summer. The fescue will be up; the city will be in the background.
And here's one more look at the 18th hole, with the Whitestone Bridge in the background.
Here's what it looked like when we arrived in the morning.
There is a generous putting green to warm up on. There is also a great chipping area to work on short-game shots. It feels like a high-quality course.
Here's the driving range, which is also very nice.
This is a view from the back tees of the first hole. At the tips, the course can play over 7,400 yards. The average golfer should play ~6,000 yards. Professionals play 7,400 and up.
On the first hole, my playing partner Tony Manfred got into some trouble.
Here we are in the first green looking back at the first hole's tee box.
The course is treeless, which is good. Trees are overrated on golf courses.
You will see a lot of great views of the city's skyline.
Anyway, the course is fun. It's not too hard, either. I played nine holes from the front, nine holes from the middle, and eight holes from the back. My score was roughly the same from each tee group, which illustrates how fair the course is.
The downside to no trees is that you don't really feel as if you're escaping the city. You feel as if you're on this funny parcel of land surrounded by the Bronx.
It's nice and wide open, which is how golf ought to be.
There are, of course, some tough holes, like this short par 4 that has water down the right side. It's drivable, which makes it a fantastic risk/reward hole. It also also a lovely view of the city.
The Whitestone Bridge is viewable all over the course.
Right now, the fescue is cut. But in the spring and summer it will be all grown in. This looks awesome now — imagine how it will look with towering grass on all those hills.
This course took 14 years of development. It was built on a landfill that closed in 1963.
The greens are in good shape. They're nice and firm, like a links course. (It's not a true links course.)
There is talk of the course hosting the Barclays, a PGA Tour playoff event, in the future.
You can get a sense of how expansive and open the course feels, but at the same time, it is situated in the city.
Here, we stitched together the 16th hole on the left with the 17th hole on the right.
And, wrapping up, this is the 18th green.
And this is the scorecard. Ignore the actual scores, please.
Want to see more golf? Check out my tour of Bandon Dunes ...
