Holes to Note

1^st hole, 305 yards; A different kind of starting hole that is highly effective at grabbing your attention. With OB right and a series of mounds and bunkers left, the fairway needs to be found. The approach over a man-made burn is to an interesting green that features small plateaus in both the back left and right corners of the green. Welcome to some of Raynor's finest greens!

3rd  hole, 170 yards; Along with Southhampton, this is the only punchbowl par three that the authors are aware of in the Raynor family. At one point, a view was cut through the ridge fronting the green, but Rewinski faithfully restored the hole to its original form. Only the flag itself, invariably flapping in the ocean breeze, is visible from the tee and blind bunkers on either side of the green in the punchbowl itself are an interesting touch.

7^th hole, 200 yards; While it is generally acknowledged that National Golf Links of America and Piping Rock possess the finest Redan holes, what other courses possess a Redan as good or better than the original at North Berwick? Well, this one is one of the few. Uniquely, the left hand side of the green slopes away from the front bunker and a fade can work well for certain hole locations.

the inspiring 11th with the bay in the distance

11^th hole, 180 yards; Originally a true Short hole at 125 yards, the tee has undergone two expansions to where the hole can now require a long iron. With the bay visible in the background, it is an exhilerating spot but the highlight is the imaginative double bowl green which creates all sorts of interesting hole locations. This hole never required additional length to be interesting.

13^th hole, 320 yards; The length hole that Raynor didn’t excel at. In the Raynor family, the 10th at The Creek, the 3rd at Fishers Island, the 14th at Country Club of Charleston, and the 13th at Shoreacres are of great merit but they are the exception rather than the rule. The tee ball must find a fairway that narrows in between bunkers and ridges the further one drives it but the semi-blind approach shot over a mound to another interesting green is the real test.

The clever 13th green is fronted by a Raynor built mound that Rewinski then extended along
the right hand side of the green (this picture is taken from the left of the green).

14th hole, 515 yards; A hole that calls for a clear plan of attack. If the golfer hopes to reach the green in two, he must flirt with the left edge of a fairway bunker off the tee with his driver. Then he faces a series of randomly placed bunkers that are scattered around the eighty yard mark from the green. Can he carry them? If the hole location is left, does he lay up right? If it is right, does he lay up left? The double plateau green is not the place to find out that you have made a mistake in judgement.

Bunkers short, pond right, double plateau green ahead - the golfer
needs to think what he is trying to accomplish.

15^th hole, 400 yards; Should be called the alphabet hole. A series of five bunkers form a 'v' sixty yards short of the green. The green itself has internal contours that resemble a C. Along with the original mounds that encase all but the front of the green like an upside down U, this hole highlights some of the reasons why Westhampton exudes an old fashioned charm.

These bunkers form a V sixty yards short of the 15th green.

In terms of the pacing,  the heart of the challenge is the tough stretch from the 3rd through the 12th. However, what may not be as evident is how readily the golfer can also drop a shot at each of the next four holes, where the greens are highly contoured and offer numerous tricky hole locations that make the golfer work hard to get the ball into the hole, even though he may have had only a short iron approach shot. Furthermore, Raynor cleverly preceded these boldly contoured greens with the most innocuous one on the course (the 12th green),  a clear indication that Raynor understand the subtiler aspects of the game even though he was not a keen golfer himself.

The only feature that Westhampton lacks that many of Raynor's finest courses possess is a sense of  expansiveness.  Fishers Island, Yeamans Hall, Camargo, Lookout Mountain, Yale, etc. are blessed with a rare sense of vastness. Not that Westhampton is on a small acreage, it is not, and Raynor used the 140 acres well. Nonetheless, when you consider the prevalent windy conditions, there are several spots on the back nine where you might sense being cramped on a crowded summer weekend. Perhaps this intimateness led Raynor to focus so much detail on the green contouring.

Only on Long Island could this course still be a well keep secret. Think about the variety it offers. A first rate set of one shot holes. Three very appealing short two shot holes. A pair of fine three shot holes. A stretch with numerous tough 440 yard holes. And all these holes are capped by a superb set of greens. How good is it? Even Raynor's mentor Charles Blair Macdonald would have been complimentary of his pupil's first effort!

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