Laurel Links

Any golf course architect worth his salt should feel some pressure when constructing a course on the Peconic Bay, due to the number of World Top 100s located around the estuary. Thus was the challenge inherited by Kelly Blake Moran when he came to the property at the onset of the new millennium.

There are a number of nods to those who came before, namely in the strategic clusters of bunkers that dot the property, which seem to be a tribute to the work of C.B. Macdonald at National Golf Links of America, which sit just across the water.

One of the most eye-catching holes is the penultimate one, which seems to be a hybridization of Macdonald’s template-based approach, combined with the daredevilry of Pete Dye. At 536 yards, it is reachable for the best players, but the first shot will require biting off much as one can chew from the hard dogleg-left across the property’s pond. The next shot will require pinpoint accuracy to dodge the Road Hole-inspired green (and there’s a bunker waiting long as well).

The No. 18 hole was also chosen by the Metropolitan Golf Association as one of its "Modern Dream 18." With just a few homes in sight from the field, members at Laurel Links can appreciate playing at the next generation of Long Island classics.