Friar's Head Golf Club
A Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw masterwork from 2002, Friar's Head is one of the most admired and most private golf courses in the United States. A par 71 of about 6,800 yards on the North Fork of Long Island, it threads between towering sand hills along the bluffs of Long Island Sound and a rolling inland meadow, and the way the two worlds meet is the heart of its genius.
Photo: Friar's Head, Long Island, via Google, by Jae Yoon.
The verdict
Friar's Head is the course architecture obsessives talk about in hushed tones, and for once the hype is earned. Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw found a rare site on the North Fork of Long Island, roughly 350 acres of wild duneland tumbling toward the bluffs above Long Island Sound, with a quiet inland meadow folded into the middle of it. What they built on it, opened in 2002, is a minimalist routing that feels less designed than discovered, and it sits comfortably in any honest list of the best modern courses in America.
This is a course for the connoisseur rather than the trophy hunter. It is intensely private, played by a small and well travelled membership, so a round here is a privilege rather than a purchase. What you get for it is golf of enormous subtlety: firm, fast turf, greens that reward the player who reads the ground, and a sequence of holes that moves between two completely different landscapes without ever feeling stitched together. If you ever get the invitation, take it.
Friar's Head at a glance
- Opened
- 2002
- Designer
- Coore & Crenshaw
- Type
- Sand hills
- Par
- 71
- Yardage
- About 6,800 yds
- Access
- Private
Designer, opening year, par and yardage verified June 2026 from leading course databases and rankings. Friar's Head was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2002, a par 71 of around 6,800 yards, with cards varying by setup and the course famously carrying no posted yardage markers. It is a private members club, so there is no public tee time and no published green fee; any arrangement must be confirmed directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
The brilliance of Friar's Head is the routing. The round opens up in the sand hills, then drops down onto the old potato farm in the middle of the property for a stretch of holes through gently rolling meadow, before climbing back into the towering dunes for the run home. Coore and Crenshaw moved very little earth; instead they fitted the holes to landforms that were already there, so the meadow holes feel as natural as the duneland ones even though the two could not look more different.
The transitions are what people remember. The walk from the meadow back up into the sand hills is one of the great moments in American golf, the horizon suddenly filling with blown out dunes and a glimpse of Long Island Sound beyond. The par 3s are widely held to be among the finest collections of one shotters anywhere, asking for committed, well shaped iron play, and the greens throughout are bold, contoured and quick, rewarding the player who studies the slopes rather than the yardage.
It is firm, fast, walking golf that wants imagination off the tee and a deft touch around the greens. The wind off the Sound is a constant factor, and the lack of yardage markers nudges you to play by eye and instinct, the way Coore and Crenshaw intended. You leave it feeling you have played a course built by people who love the game, on a piece of land that was waiting for exactly this.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Private members club; no public tee times and no published green fee; play is by invitation as the guest of a member |
| Green fee | None published; this is a members and accompanied guests club, not a pay and play course (always confirm any arrangement directly before booking) |
| Booking | Arrange through a member host well in advance; build the day around a wider Long Island golf trip where a connection allows |
| On the day | Walking course; caddies are part of the experience; firm, fast conditions favor the ground game |
| Getting there | Baiting Hollow on the North Fork, about two hours east of New York City by car; Long Island MacArthur and the city airports are the gateways |
| Best months | Late May to October for the firmest turf and the warmest sea breezes off Long Island Sound |
Access arrangements verified June 2026; Friar's Head is a private club with no public access, so any visit depends on a member connection. Talk to us about a Long Island golf trip.
Where to stay nearby
The North Fork is wine country as much as golf country, so the natural play is a small inn or boutique hotel among the Riverhead and Aquebogue vineyards, an easy drive from Baiting Hollow and a world away from the bustle of the Hamptons. It makes a relaxed, grown up base for a North Fork golf and food weekend.
For a fuller Long Island trip, the South Fork and the Hamptons put you within reach of the island's other giants, so you can pair a round here with the wider region's links. It is an ideal hub for a once in a lifetime Long Island golf tour that strings together several of the great courses in a single visit.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts near the North Fork.
Build a Long Island golf trip
Friar's Head is private, but it sits at the heart of one of the great golf regions on earth. Tell us roughly when and who is travelling and one concierge builds a Long Island and New York tour around the courses you can play, and costs it to the head with no obligation.
Friar's Head questions
Who designed Friar's Head and when did it open?
Friar's Head was designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw and opened in 2002 at Baiting Hollow on the North Fork of Long Island, New York. It is regarded as one of the finest examples of the pair's minimalist design philosophy.
What is the par and length of Friar's Head?
Friar's Head plays to a par of 71 and measures around 6,800 yards from the back tees, with cards varying by setup. The course famously carries no posted yardage markers, in keeping with the architects' belief in feel over numbers.
Can visitors play Friar's Head?
No. Friar's Head is a private members club with no public tee times and no published green fee. Access is by invitation as the guest of a member, or where a trip can be arranged around it. Always confirm any arrangement directly before planning a visit.
Where is Friar's Head and what makes it special?
Friar's Head sits on roughly 350 acres at Baiting Hollow, on the bluffs above Long Island Sound. Its routing weaves between towering coastal sand hills and a rolling inland meadow on a former potato farm, and the seamless transitions between those two landscapes are its signature.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening year, par and yardage verified June 2026; private access confirmed June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.