Maidstone - New York - USA

When members of elite clubs in the United States, including those of Long Island, openly say that if they had one round of golf to play before they ascend up to heaven “it would be Maidstone”, that alone begins to describe the mouth-watering quality of this classic layout.

The need for Coore/Crenshaw to renovate the course in 2012 was influenced by how much the vegetation had overgrown, and a number of bunkers needed to be fixed, installed or re-shaped. The “fairway bunkers” were not in the fairway anymore; rather they were in shin-high vegetation. Coore/Crenshaw gave this place a massive hair-cut by exposing lost bunkers, revealing beautiful natural undulations which no living member has seen since childhood and expanded almost every green to their original size, giving birth to dozens of new pin positions.

The head green-keeper at Maidstone is in his 7th year, and I couldn’t think of better greens to putt on from a conditioning perspective. The course’s current state is a sight to behold, and the iconic Coore/Crenshaw bunkering is prevalent in every direction.

A new tee added 40 yards back has toughened up the opening hole and additional fairway bunkers right in the landing zone have been installed. The haircut to the course makes it feel like they’ve added over a hundred bunkers and exposed acres of gorgeous sand-scrub, but it just goes to show the quality of the skeleton that had been lost over time.

The magical touch of Coore/Crenshaw, combined with the passionate vision of the Golf Committee has produced a layout that can easily rival anything in the country. The excellence of the conditioning and the architectural brilliance of Maidstone is only second to the outstanding people that put their names to the club. Right from the second you get out of your car, you are made feel like you are part of an East Hampton family. This was a telling representation of how much they care for their underrated blockbuster golf course.

I could play Maidstone every day for the rest of my life. Having played Maidstone now in a variety of conditions, I have really come to appreciate that no two consecutive holes play in the same direction. The course plays along the Atlantic Ocean along two ridges of sand dunes. As fantastic as the golf course is at Maidstone, the overall environment of the club is even better. Jay Gatsby would be right at home if he drove up Old Beach Lane today in a Pierce Arrow Runabout. The scene around the putting green is reminiscent of a who’s who in world of power brokers. And everyone is perfectly coiffed and tailored. The locker room is enticing and because the club is set on the ocean there is the beach club extraordinaire. Maidstone pulls off what many other clubs can't: understated elegance and a sense of timelessness.

John Sabino is the author of How to Play the World’s Most Exclusive Golf Clubs

In the beginning of October this year I had the wonderful opportunity to play Maidstone for the first time with a friend who’s a member there. What a great experience it was. My friend is the ultimate Maidstone tour guide for a lover of golf course architecture due to his heavy involvement in the recent Coore & Crenshaw renovation efforts. I was thoroughly impressed with the work they have done. Unfortunately, I had not seen the course prior in person but I had seen many photos. Their main focus seems to have been in clearing out a tremendous amount of trees and shrubbery to open up playing alleys, vistas and bring the links golf feel back to the course. It was hardly recognizable from photos. That’s how amazing the changes were.

An interesting fact I learned about Maidstone is that you can see water from every single hole, even though it’s not in play on every hole. It certainly enhances the journey from an aesthetic point of view. I found the beginning of the routing a little surprising as after the first hole, which is an excellent short par 4 offering a gentle start to your round, you have to cross a quite busy road to play a tricky par 5 playing into a cross wind along this same road only to cross back over the road again for the 3rd hole a long tough par 4. The 4th hole is a par 3 playing over water directly into the wind (on our day) and it starts an excellent run of links like (possibly even classifiable as true links) holes running out into and through the dunes. There are so many highlights in this wonderful routing that it’s very difficult to pick out favorites.

On the day I played the wind was up, which it often is on the East end of Long Island. That made the challenge all the more fun. Maidstone was most certainly a course designed with matchplay in mind, though on my day I would have been better off playing against the course rather than my opponent who reeled off 5 birdies in that wind and was equally as impressive with his game as his knowledge of the course.

The par 4, 5th hole challenges you off the tee to bite off as much as you can chew in order to decrease the difficulty of the approach to a green that is tucked into water on 3 sides. Into a cross wind a nerve-racking approach from an excellent hole.

The par 3 8th is a great short par 3 that challenges you visually as only about 1/3 of the green is visible from the tee. It’s a hole that requires a lot of faith to throw up a short iron into the wind and judge the ball flight correctly when you can’t see the green.

The par 4 9th plays from an elevated tee with a wonderful view of the Atlantic. The hole requires a carefully judged tee shot and leaves a very challenging approach to a green perched on top of a dune that is very deceptive and falls hard to the right resulting in a sure run off to one of the deepest and largest bunkers you will ever want to experience.

The all world par 3 14th plays straight out to the ocean and affords you with one of the most spectacular views on the course. This is a short and aesthetically pleasing hole but with the wind howling it presents a tough test. Missing the green means trouble, everywhere, however this green if you hit it rewards you with gathering balls as opposed to repelling them.

The end stretch reconfirms what an excellent matchplay course Maidstone really is. The reachable par 5 16th confronts you with a true risk reward tee shot over water to a fairway that doglegs to the right. The green is receptive to an approach on the ground making it a perfect hole to birdie. The short par 4 17th dogleg left presents another great risk reward hole. The daring drive leaves a very tricky short chip to a green sloping severely front to back protected by a bunker in front and road which is OB surrounding the green. Miss that pitch long and the slope of the green could well knock your ball straight over the road. More than one match has been decided in the closing moments on these great holes.

The closing par 4 plays back up to the clubhouse and the green provides one last beautiful view of the Atlantic to leave you wanting more. Maidstone has always been one of the world’s best golf courses however with the recent renovation from Coore and Crenshaw it most certainly deserves a much higher position among the world’s greats!

Maidstone was created in its current form in the 1920s by Willie Park. It lies in East Hampton and, to some people’s thinking, may be the most exclusive club on Long Island. The south end of this peninsula is framed by a thousand-yard stretch of sand dunes with the Atlantic Ocean just over the other side. The soil is sandy throughout; it truly looks and plays like the links courses in Scotland: windy, windy, windy, with sun-baked, non-irrigated fairways and plenty of dunes in which to lose your ball. It’s one of the most understated clubs that I have played, giving the impression that, “no one has any money here,” but only the very elite can get in. Go figure.

Some detractors of the course point to the fact that it is only 6,400 yards, but when the wind is blowing, they are 6,400 challenging yards. Larry Berle.

Very fun golf course. After a bit of a slow start, the course really picks up steam beginning with the amazing 6th green. But the real magic in unleashed on holes 8 through 14. Playing in and around those dunes is cool, stunning, and challenging. Good stuff!

One of the most beautiful places to play on a warm summer's day. It's only 6400 yards from the tips but there is usually plenty of wind about to make it play difficult. Firm greens & a half dozen classic links holes in ocean side dunes really bring home the feeling of playing in Ireland. #9 & #14 are two of the top 100 holes in the USA. A Don't miss gem.