East Hampton - New York - USA

Seth Raynor lived just down the road from East Hampton and for seven holes, I thought perhaps his ghost had been here.

The former Southampton town surveyor is well known for his use of template holes and three of the early holes (the Lion’s Mouth bunker at the 2nd, the Redan at the 4th and the modified Biarritz at the 7th) could have been Raynor’s work. But after the 7th, the course transitions immediately from flat linksy land to rolling woodland, with ten of the last eleven holes playing to an elevated green.

As a result, the back nine plays longer than the 3042 yards on the scorecard. On the first seven holes, the challenge off the tee is avoiding strategically placed bunkers—especially at #s 3 and 5. On the woodland holes, trees are more likely to present the challenge as players skirt them to get to the most advantageous location for the next shot. East Hampton offers great variety with the par 4s running anywhere from 295 yards to 451 yards and the 3s from 146 to 208.

The course’s stoutest defense lies on its nicely contoured greens. I didn’t get the full experience in the middle of May 2022 as my stimpmeter ran at 8.5, though the fairways were far firmer than that reading might suggest.

East Hampton is a fun course and challenging enough at 6400 yards.

With the two nines on either side of a main road, both looking completely different from each other in topography, surroundings and design, it is understandable to ponder that it’s really more like two 9-hole courses rather than one complete 18-hole layout.

The current opening nine is wide open on a relatively compact piece of land. I offer kudos to Coore/Crenshaw for routing the opening 4 holes along the boundary to keep a constant change of direction, but also to make the most of the remaining land on that side of the road for the rest of the front side. With the land being pretty flat for the first 8 holes, it was of no surprise to see so many pushed up greens, often with steep slopes on either side to add to the challenge.

Upon crossing the road, you are immediately in a different world of golf. The fairways are tree lined, the topography moves up and down, and the ability for Coore to design large bunker/waste areas was prevalent. Certain greens (e.g.: par 3 11th) don’t get enough sunlight and it shows in places. There is a case for cutting down a few hundred trees to open up views and give the land a chance to flourish. You quickly lose the freedom of the front nine and now navigate many holes running back and forth through heavily wooded terrain.

The course finishes with an exciting short downhill par 3 17th, and a tricky short par 4 dog-leg left finisher. It was enjoyable to play another of Coore/Crenshaw’s portfolio. The personality of the two nines tries its best to maintain some level of consistency with the situations you face around the greens. I was sincerely grateful for the opportunity to play at such a high-end modern club in one of the country’s most sought-after zip codes.

One of the most demanding aspects in being a golf course architect is fitting all 18 holes into a very small amount of acreage. Often times, there will be clear instances when the routing is compromised in order to get everything completed. East Hampton has less than 130 acres of land and the design duo of Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore have provided a fun layout with two contrasting nines.

The outward nine used to be used for the final nine holes and the switch to what is present now works very well.

The layout features the usual assortment of design elements that C&C have used at other layouts. The bunkers are well presented - from an appearance and strategic perspective.

The two nines are totally distinct from one another. The outward side is quite expansive -- the inward half is tree-lined and features a bit more terrain changes.

The aspect that elevates Crenshaw and Coore is that they understand thoroughly how a routing must be comprehensive and avoid banal holes that simply offer little to nothing in the round. East Hampton is a first rate member's course. When I say that it is by no means a pejorative. The accent is on playable golf with an array of twists and turns that keep players involved mentally and physically. After the demanding opener -- a dog-leg right of 455 yards -- you then face a possible driveable short par-4. Just be sure to avoid the pesky center-placed bunker that fiercely protects the green.

East Hampton includes a number of green where the falls-off are quite pronounced for any approaches failing to be hit properly. Recoveries are possible but they are anything but automatic.

One of my favorite holes is the par-5 8th at 509 yards and like the opener it also turns right. Strong players can reach the green in two but both shots have to be played with the utmost care as trees pinch in and the fairways does taper down the closer you get to the green.

You cross a road for the inward half and it’s quite amazing how Crenshaw and Coore were able to fit 9 quality holes in such a limited amount of available land. The separation of the holes by trees avoids the claustrophobic sense and the nature of the land is also a plus in giving various different looks throughout the side.

The par-4 13th demonstrates how a mid-length par-4 just beyond 400 yards can be a real treat to encounter. Once again you face a dog-leg right hole. Fairway bunkers hug that side and while playing away from them may be appealing at first glance -- it's really more advantageous to play as near to them as possible for the best approach angle.

There are a series of good holes that follow and the closer is a beguiling short par-4 -- max length at 281 yards. However, the hole turns left abruptly in the drive zone and unless the tee shot is played with utter precision you will quickly find that what seemed like a probably four can quickly turn into a likely bogey or more.

East Hampton will not be in the upper realm with such area courses as Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links of America, Sebonack and Maidstone. Each of the aforementioned are among the finest not only on Long Island but also in America and globally. Crenshaw and Coore showed great dexterity in taking advantage of what they were given to work with. The course is a fun layout and for those lucky to be members a grand place to call your home course.

M. James Ward