3000 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, NY 11901
Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw (2002)
Cost: Private
Friar’s Head Overall Empty Nester’s Guide (ENG) Rating 4.7/5.0
Leave your laser distance finder at home because this club strictly enforces the use of their caddy for everything. This beautiful course is a must for anyone who’s serious about golf.
The challenge for architects Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw at Friar’s Head was to design some holes in breathtaking sand dunes perched 200 feet above Long Island Sound, and other holes on an ordinary potato field to the south. Said Crenshaw, “Our job was to marry the two distinct elements. We didn’t want one nine up in the dunes and the other down on the flat.” The solution was to move the routing back and forth and to artfully reshape the farm fields into gentle linkslike land. They pulled it off so impressively that Friar’s Head has moved steadily up the rankings each survey period, from No. 34 in its 2011 debut to No. 15 at present. This is a strong contender for Top 10 in the future.
“Though less than 15 years old, Ken Bakst has created a club with a true sense of history — no yardage markings on the course, walking-only so no cart paths, no distances on the score card, and no rakes for the bunker, ala Pine Valley, feels decidedly like a haven for true golfers and old-school.”
“The walk to the 16th tee along the new bridge is sensational. Such an amazing spot to soak in the views of the Long Island Sound on a beautiful summer day.”
“All sorts of varied shots, looks, directional changes, a drivable hole, short 3s, long 3s, tremendous par 5s that offer tremendous risk/reward, centerline bunker features that promote decision making, and the setting, ambiance, and memorability are all outstanding.”
