Montauk Downs State Park GC

Montauk, NY  (on the eastern tip of Long Island, 3 hours from NYC)

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks

1968, 18 holes, Public course
Designer: Robert Trent Jones
Redesigner: Charles Riedlinger, 2007
Style: Parkland

Golf Digest, 2/10

  #12, a 220-yard par-3

Much of the mystique of a place like Shinnecock is the degree of difficulty getting inside. The Downs is 40 minutes away, but it might as well be on a different planet. Shinnecock's waiting list for membership is longer than the one for Green Bay Packers season tickets. Montauk Downs charges $46 for New York residents, and $92 for out-of-staters. Rees Jones polished another New York State Parks course, Bethpage Black, before the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Opens, and in 2003 he put together a reconditioning plan for The Downs. The result is a 6,976-yard test of local knowledge and patience.

Sitting on high ground pinched on four sides by lakes, the Long Island Sound and the Atlantic, The Downs is about handling prevailing wind. I played with a friend, who growing up spent his summers in Montauk, and he warned me off the back tees. After playing the 372-yard first hole straight uphill and into a 30-mile-per-hour wind with driver, 6-iron, 7-iron, I believed. Blasting around in four hours, I finished with a downwind birdie, windblown and ready for some ChapStick.

Best Bar Nearby:  Montauk Downs' 19th hole made SI writer Damon Hack's Best 19th Holes list.  "It's the outdoor patio that seals the deal for this 19th hole. I adore the course, for starters. Then, when you are finished with your round, order some food in the clubhouse, take a seat on the outdoor patio and watch the tee shots on No. 1 in the distance, the approach shots into No. 3 at your right, and the last strokes on No. 18 to your left. I feel about Montauk the way I feel about Bethpage. It is a municipal course that belongs to the people. You see all kinds of golfers here, scratch and 30-handicaps, kids and grandparents. Tommy Gainey would love it. If you're in Montauk to begin with, there is no need to be in a rush. After your round, relax on the patio with a drink and enjoy the sea air. Oh, and bring a sweater."

Golf Digest says the relatively reasonable greens fees at Montauk Downs will leave you with enough cash left for a beer and chowder at the Clam Bar on Montauk Highway. Or, Travel Channel named Montauk's The Surf Lodge as one of the 25 Sexiest Beach Bars on the planet. "Montauk considers itself the 'un-Hampton,' a sleepy fishing village with miles of beautiful coastline. The Surf Lodge on Fort Pond in Montauk is nestled on the pond's coast, only half a mile from the beach. Don't feel like changing after riding the perfect fat wave? No worries. The Surf Lodge welcomes flip-flops and board shorts as much as a laid-back attitude. Chill out with a cold one while listening to Bob Marley and The Rolling Stones in front of a lakeside bonfire."