The West course at Winged Foot Golf Club is the work of A.W. Tillinghast, one of America’s greatest golf course designers, and this is Tilly’s finest creation.
Overall rating
5.0
The West course at Winged Foot Golf Club is the work of A.W. Tillinghast, one of America’s greatest golf course designers, and this is Tilly’s finest creation.
The West and East courses at Winged Foot Golf Club are the work of A.W. Tillinghast, one of America’s greatest golf course designers, and the West is Tilly’s finest creation.
In a similar vein to many of the USA’s finest courses, you’ll need an invite to play here but persevere, because it’s worth the effort. The West is one of the nation's most demanding layouts, which is routed across fairly ordinary but heavily wooded meadowland.
A few members of the New York Athletic Club founded Winged Foot in 1923 and the name originated from the athletic club’s emblem and now Winged Foot is synonymous with a everything American and it’s a true classic. Tillinghast has certainly created a serious golf course with no weak holes.
Expect to use every club in the bag, Winged Foot's West possesses a number of severe par fours, ten of which stretch out well beyond 400 yards. The closing six holes are brutal, starting with the 13th, a 210-yard par three and followed by five par fours all measuring in excess of 400 yards. The closing hole is perhaps the finest finishing hole in the USA and the 10th hole is one of the best par threes in the world.
In The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses Tom Doak commented as follows: “There is nothing unique about the contour or the scenery; it seems like you ought to be able to build a course just like it on any good parkland site, yet no one has. It’s a clay soil counterpart to Pinehurst #2: the architecture from fifty yards in and including the greens is amazing, although the topography isn’t.”
During 2016-2017 Gil Hanse (Tom Doak's first employee) restored the West course in readiness for the club’s hosting of the 2020 US Open, which Bryson DeChambeau won comfortably, securing his maiden major title.
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