Winged Foot West Course

Winged Foot West stands as one of the most renowned designs by World Golf Hall of Fame member A.W. Tillinghast. The West Course has hosted six U.S. Opens (1929, 1959, 1974, 1984, 2006, 2020), one PGA Championship (1997), two U.S. Women’s Opens (1957, 1972), two U.S. Amateurs (1940, 2004), a U.S. Senior Open (1980) and a Walker Cup (1949). Located in Westchester County, New York, the West Course is often described as one of the "best courses on a mediocre property,” as it sits on relatively flat terrain with rocky soil, typically an unremarkable foundation for great golf. However, Tillinghast’s brilliance shines primarily through one of the most celebrated sets of greens in the world. Characterized by severe false fronts, intricate internal contours, and big wings to the back, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy described the greens at Winged Foot West as “beautiful and scary.”

The West Course underwent a massive restoration from 2016 to 2017 under Hanse Golf Design. A key focus was reclaiming the original size and shape of Tillinghast’s greens, and in the process, lost features were rediscovered. With input from the late, great club historian Neil Regan, the Hanse team expanded the greens by 26%, unlocking new dynamics and restoring a broader variety of pin positions. It’s incredible to look at photos from the 2006 U.S. Open in comparison to the 2020 U.S. Open and compare the sizes, shapes, and slopes of the greens at Winged Foot.

Golfers don’t have to wait long to experience the exemplary contouring of Winged Foot West. The first hole features a stunning green with a trough that snakes through its center and creates several core sections: the front, in the trough, right, or left. It’s a fitting introduction to the exhilarating greens that define the course.

Winged Foot’s West Course is set to continue its championship legacy by hosting the 2028 U.S. Open. However, the big question remains: how will the course challenge the modern professional golfer? In the 2020 U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau appeared to solve the Winged Foot puzzle by overpowering the course. His success was largely due to the combination of his immense driving distance and the shorter irons he was able to use,  hitting long drives and hacking approach shots from the rough onto greens using the open approaches. Historical aerials of Winged Foot reveal that Tillinghast originally designed the course to be much wider than it is today. Restoring fairways to their intended width could enhance strategic options and ensure that success at Winged Foot relies on more than just power.

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