Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Favorite Hole

No. 6, par 4, 453 yards

This long par 4 is on some of Shinnecock’s most subdued land. The semi-blind tee shot offers a choice: take on the blindness over the sandy wash and be rewarded with an ideal, unobstructed approach to the green, or play safe to where you can see up the left side. The safe route is fraught with delayed challenges; the simple tee shot yields a significantly more difficult mid-iron approach into the well-protected green. The approach has to deal with the left greenside bunker as well as the falloff slope on the right side of the green. An approach from the right meanwhile yields an open front to run up a shot into the green. A wonderful hole thanks to its angles and perfectly placed features.

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Overall Thoughts

Few championship courses have aged as gracefully as Shinnecock Hills. Advances in golf technology and athleticism have rendered many of its former peers obsolete and shells of their original selves. Thanks to some of its core ingredients of greatness, Shinnecock Hills has stood up to these advances, and in some ways become more distinguished in the modern era.

What makes Shinny great are its natural features. Few, if any, golf courses in the United States possess the trifecta of sublime terrain, sandy soils that allow for firm conditions, and an ever-present wind. As the sport has shifted further from art to science, these natural challenges create unique situations that require players to execute high-level, artistic shots.

While Shinnecock is widely considered one of the greatest courses in the world, its architect somehow still flies under the radar. William Flynn was at the height of his powers when he came to Shinnecock to redesign its C.B. Macdonald layout in 1927. A member of the Philly School of Architecture, a group of individuals who together helped transform and create the practice of golf course architecture in America, Flynn’s fame pales in comparison to more illustrious members, such as A.W. Tillinghast and George Thomas. A quick glance at his robust design portfolio — The Country Club (Ohio), Cherry Hills, and Huntingdon Valley, among others — makes you wonder why. 

William Flynn’s nickname was “The Nature Faker” due to his penchant for creating lay-of-the-land golf designs on striking sites. At Shinnecock, Flynn was able to pair his beliefs of golf design with a site perfectly scaled for his particular style. His desire to use the topography as the chief design feature allowed the terrain to star, delivering both a mind-bending and physical test of golf. It was a match made in golf heaven.

The mecca of golf in America is the Eastern end of Long Island, where there are deep sand deposits and significant elevation changes. Shinnecock Hills Superintendent Jon Jennings described the geologic attributes as “glacial outwash.” Shinnecock may reside in the best pocket of golf in all of America, with neighboring properties National Golf Links of America, Sebonack, and Southampton all situated on stunning natural sites. Of the four courses, Shinnecock sits on the highest ground, with its magnificent Stanford White clubhouse perched above the course. The elevation provides important advantages as it accentuates the wind and also leads to drier playing conditions.  

Flynn’s clever layout uses the high ridge and the clubhouse as a home point, and the course tumbles down to a lower and more subtle area on two separate occasions. The front nine spends all but the tee shot on No. 1 and the ninth green on the lower land. The back nine runs along the high ridge for Nos. 10-13 before the 14th hole plunges back down for the dramatic closing climb back up to the clubhouse. The variety of landforms on the property is one of its big differentiators from other sandy sites, and Flynn’s routing does a marvelous job of changing directions. On only a few occasions do two holes at Shinnecock run in a similar direction to each other. With the exposed, windy site, the constant shifts in direction keep players from getting accustomed to the wind, its strength, and how it impacts shots. The lower section of the course, where topographical features are slightly more muted, relies on some of Shinnecock’s most menacing green complexes and bunkers. Up high on the ridge, the holes that kick off the back nine lean on the spectacular topography. These holes all fit together seamlessly and deliver a round with some of the highest highs and very few lows.

Shinnecock Hills also represents the evolution of golf architecture in America. As one of the founding clubs of the USGA, the course encompassed the early aspects of golf in the States. It started in 1891 with Willie Davis’ rudimentary 12-hole design, and then came the Victorian era of Willie Dunn’s redesign in 1894. Then Macdonald and Seth Raynor applied the early principles of Golden Age architecture to the property in 1901. Finally, after additional property was purchased, Flynn was brought in, and his 1931 design showcases arguably the best era of design in American golf history: the late Golden Age. It’s sophisticated and understated, unlike Macdonald’s style, which can be seen next door at NGLA. Flynn embraced the land and its natural surroundings to produce arguably the greatest course in the world.

3 Eggs

(How We Rate Courses)

I will listen to any argument that this is the greatest golf course in the world. For me, that list is about 10 courses long. Shinnecock Hills is exceptional and a cathedral of the sport. If you don’t feel like you will ever get a chance to play it, going to a championship like the upcoming U.S. Open or U.S. Women’s Open is worth your time.

Additional Content

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Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Southampton, NYWilliam Flynn1891

A Golden Age architect’s magnum opus thanks to a sublime setting and stellar design, Shinnecock Hills is deep-rooted in American golf history.

Hole 1 - Westward Ho

Par 4399 yds

Hole 2 - Plateau

Par 3220 yds

Hole 3 - Peconic

Par 4469 yds

Hole 4 - Pump House

Par 4409 yds

Hole 5 - Montauk

Par 5537 yds

Hole 6 - Pond

Par 4453 yds

Hole 7 - Redan

Par 3189 yds

Hole 8 - Lowlands

Par 4394 yds

Hole 9 - Ben Nevis

Par 4435 yds

Hole 10 - Eastward Ho

Par 4415 yds

Hole 11 - Hill Head

Par 3159 yds

Hole 12 - Tuckahoe

Par 4469 yds

Hole 13 - Road Slide

Par 4374 yds

Hole 14 - Thom's Elbow

Par 4463 yds

Hole 15 - Sebonac

Par 4409 yds

Hole 16 - Shinnecock

Par 5540 yds

Hole 17 - Eden

Par 3180 yds

Hole 18 - Home

Par 4426 yds

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