National Golf Links of America

The verdict

National Golf Links of America, known simply as The National or NGLA, is the most important course in the history of American golf design. Charles Blair Macdonald, who learned the game at St Andrews, set out to build a course that gathered the finest strategic holes of Britain on one piece of American ground. With the young engineer Seth Raynor at his side, he founded the club in 1908, broke ground on the rolling land between Shinnecock Hills and Peconic Bay, and opened the course in 1911. It launched the template movement, the idea that the great holes, the Redan, the Alps, the Eden, the Cape, the Road, could be interpreted again and again, and it has influenced architecture ever since.

It plays as a par 72 of about 6,873 yards, modest on the card and enormous in interest. The land tumbles and heaves, the wind comes off the bay, and almost every hole presents a clear strategic question that rewards the player who thinks. The club hosted the inaugural Walker Cup in 1922 and has remained quietly, fiercely private ever since, so for the traveling golfer it is among the hardest tickets in the game. It sits across the road from Shinnecock Hills, two of the world's best courses within a long iron of each other, and together they make the South Fork of Long Island a pilgrimage.

The holes worth the trip

The National is a museum of strategy you play rather than walk through. The 3rd, the Alps, asks for a blind approach over a tall dune to a hidden green, exactly as the original at Prestwick does. The 4th, the Redan, runs away from the player and to the left, the most copied par 3 in golf and still one of the best. The 7th, the Cape, dares you to bite off as much of the bay carry as you can stomach, and the 17th, the Peconic, plays along the water with the wind for company.

What lifts NGLA above mere homage is how natural the holes feel on this particular land. Macdonald and Raynor found a property of such movement that the templates sit as if they grew there, and the routing weaves out to the bay and back without a weak link. The greens are bold and heaving, the bunkering deep and unapologetic, and the wind decides which clubs you take long before you reach the tee.

It is a joyful course as much as a serious one. The shared lunch, the windmill on the hill, the views over the water, the sense of standing where American golf architecture began. Visitors leave understanding why every designer of consequence has made the same pilgrimage.

Where to stay nearby

Southampton village sits minutes from the gates, with inns, boutique hotels and the dining and beaches of the Hamptons within easy reach. It is a summer destination, so book early and expect peak rates from June through September; East Hampton and Montauk widen the choice farther east.

The National anchors one of the great golf corners on earth, alongside Shinnecock Hills directly across the road, plus Sebonack and Maidstone close by, so it builds a Long Island trip with ease. We can help with the introductions where possible and arrange the lodging and transfers around your rounds.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around the Hamptons.