Quaker Ridge: Tillinghast's Quiet Masterpiece
Tucked behind Winged Foot in the leafy heart of Westchester County, Quaker Ridge is the course that golf architects talk about when the public is not listening. A.W. Tillinghast shaped it into a par 70 of around 6,900 yards in the 1920s, and its run of rolling par 4s is held up as some of the purest design in American golf. It hosted the 1997 Walker Cup, it sits firmly in the national top 100, and it stays one of the hardest tee times in the country to come by.
Photo: Жидких Евгений via Google.
The verdict
Quaker Ridge is the connoisseur's choice in a corner of New York thick with great golf. It shares a property line with Winged Foot and is forever measured against its more famous neighbor, yet the people who study golf courses for a living tend to rate the two as near equals, and some prefer Quaker Ridge. The reason is the routing: Tillinghast strung together a sequence of par 4s that climb, fall and bend across gentle Westchester ground without a single weak link, and asked the player to flight the ball and find angles rather than simply hit it far.
Our verdict is that this is one of the most complete examples of golden age parkland design anywhere in the United States, a course that gives nothing away to length but rewards thought, nerve and a tidy short game. The Gil Hanse restoration of the 2010s pulled out decades of trees and rebuilt the bunkers to Tillinghast's scale, so the strategy reads more clearly now than it has in two generations. It is private to its core and you will need a member to get on, but for a golfer who already knows American golf, it is among the most rewarding rounds in the country.
Quaker Ridge at a glance
- Opened
- 1916, Tillinghast course 1920s
- Designer
- A.W. Tillinghast
- Type
- Private parkland
- Par
- 70
- Yardage
- Around 6,900 yards, to 7,008 championship
- Access
- Members and their guests only
Designer, opening history, par and yardage verified June 2026 from the club and recognized course databases. Quaker Ridge is a private members club with no public green fee; the only way to play is as the guest of a member, and any guest fee is set by the club and arranged through the member. Access and any costs change, so always confirm directly before booking.
The holes worth the trip
The heart of Quaker Ridge is its par 4s, and the 6th is the one architects cite first: a long two-shotter that doglegs over rising ground, asking for a drive placed to open the angle and an approach held against a green that turns away the timid shot. A few holes later the 11th answers it, another mid-length par 4 that bends the opposite way and tilts the fairway so the player must commit to a side before the ball is in the air. Played back to back across a round, these holes are the clearest argument for why Tillinghast is held in the company he keeps.
The short holes carry their weight too. The par 3 10th sits in a collar of deep bunkers that leave no room to bail out, a green that demands a flushed iron and an honest line at the flag. Length never enters into it; the defense is precision and the fear of a sandy four. It is the sort of hole that quietly decides a match without ever looking dramatic from the tee.
Then comes the signature swing of the course, the par 5 14th and its Great Hazard, Tillinghast's sprawling cluster of bunkers set across the fairway to tempt the bold line and punish the half-hearted one. Lay back and the hole is a comfortable three-shotter; take it on and the sand waits to swallow anything struck without conviction. It is the most theatrical moment on a course that otherwise wins by accumulation, and it sets up a closing stretch that asks for one last run of accurate iron play to finish in front of the Tudor clubhouse.
How to get on
| What to know | Detail |
|---|---|
| Access | Private members club; play is for members and accompanied or member-arranged guests only. There is no public green fee and no resort or stay-and-play route to a tee time |
| Guest play | Through a member, who arranges the round and the club's guest fee; rates are set by the club and not published, so confirm with your host |
| Season | Roughly April to November in the Westchester climate; firm, fast late spring and early autumn show the Hanse restoration at its best |
| On the ground | Caddies and walking are part of the culture here; the course walks comfortably across gentle parkland ground |
| Dress | Traditional and strict: collared shirts, tailored trousers or proper shorts, no denim; follow your member host's guidance |
| Getting there | 146 Griffen Avenue, Scarsdale, in Westchester County; about 40 minutes north of Manhattan by car, with White Plains and the New York airports close by |
As a private club, Quaker Ridge sets its own access and any guest fees, both subject to change, so confirm current arrangements with your member host before planning. Ask us about playing Westchester's great courses.
Where to stay nearby
Scarsdale sits in affluent central Westchester, so the natural bases are the hotels of White Plains and the leafy towns along the Metro-North line, all within a short drive of the club and an easy run into Manhattan. For a golf trip built around the area's private gems, a comfortable Westchester hotel keeps you close to the first tee and to the dining and shopping that make this one of the wealthiest counties in the country.
Because Quaker Ridge sits beside Winged Foot and within reach of the broader cluster of great metropolitan New York courses, it anchors a trip rather than standing alone. Pair it with the wider golf of the eastern United States, plan the dates around your member host's availability, and let the rest of the itinerary build out from the round you came for.
Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around Scarsdale and White Plains.
Build a New York golf trip around Quaker Ridge
Tell us when you want to play and who is traveling, and one concierge helps shape a metropolitan New York golf trip around your access to the great private clubs, costed to the head with no obligation. Or start with our plan my trip page.
Quaker Ridge questions
Who designed Quaker Ridge Golf Club?
Albert Warren Tillinghast designed the Quaker Ridge that golfers know today. A John Duncan Dunn nine opened on the Scarsdale site in 1916, and the club soon brought in Tillinghast, who reworked the existing holes and built new ones to complete an eighteen hole course in the 1920s, refining it further as the club acquired more land. A Gil Hanse restoration in the 2010s cleared trees and rebuilt the bunkering to recover Tillinghast's original lines.
Can the public play Quaker Ridge?
No. Quaker Ridge is a private members club in Scarsdale, New York, and there is no public green fee. The only way to play is as the guest of a member, accompanied or with the member's arrangement, and tee times are controlled by the club. It is one of the most exclusive rounds in the New York metropolitan area.
What is Quaker Ridge's par and yardage?
Quaker Ridge plays to a par of 70 and measures around 6,900 yards from the back markers, stretching toward 7,008 yards for championship play. It is not a long course by modern standards; its defense is angled tee shots, small contoured greens and Tillinghast's bunkering rather than raw length.
What are the famous holes at Quaker Ridge?
The run of gently rolling par 4s is the heart of the round, with the 6th and the 11th regularly named among the finest two-shotters in American golf. The par 3 10th sits ringed by deep bunkers, and the par 5 14th carries Tillinghast's Great Hazard, a sprawling cluster of bunkers set across the fairway to bait the aggressive line.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Designer, opening history, par, yardage and host history verified June 2026 from the club and recognized course databases. Access verified June 2026; as a private club, arrangements and any guest fees are set by the club. Last reviewed June 2026.