Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is a links-style golf club located in an unincorporated area of the Town of Southampton on Long Island, New York, situated between the Peconic Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.[4]

Shinnecock Hills G.C.
Clubhouse at the 2018 U.S. Open
Club information
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is located in the United States
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is located in New York
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Coordinates40°53′38″N 72°26′24″W / 40.894°N 72.440°W / 40.894; -72.440
LocationSouthampton, New York, U.S.
Elevation20–90 feet (6–27 m)
Established1891; 133 years ago (1891)
TypePrivate Club
Total holes18
Events hostedU.S. Open (5), Walker Cup, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women's Amateur
Websiteshinnecockhillsgolfclub.org
Designed byWilliam Flynn (golfer) (1931)
C. B. MacDonald (1901)
Willie Dunn (1894)
Willie Davis (1891)
Par70
Length6,940 yards (6,346 m) (red)[1]
7,440 yards (6,800 m)
(2018 U.S. Open)
Course rating74.4
Slope rating140[1][2]
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Nearest citySouthampton, New York
Area259 acres (105 ha)
Built1892
ArchitectMcKim, Mead & White; et al.
Architectural styleBungalow/American Craftsman
NRHP reference No.00001211[3]
Added to NRHPSeptember 29, 2000

Shinnecock Hills is believed to be the oldest incorporated golf club in the United States (1891), to have the oldest golf clubhouse in the U.S. (1892), and to have been the first American golf club to admit women members, which it did from the start. It is also the only golf course to host the U.S. Open in three different centuries.

Shinnecock Hills is a founding member of the United States Golf Association. It has hosted several important events, notably five U.S. Opens, most recently being the 2018 event won by Brooks Koepka. It is scheduled to host a sixth in 2026. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.[5][6]

It is routinely ranked as one of the greatest golf courses in the world.[7]

History

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The club traces its roots to an 1889–1890 trip by William K. Vanderbilt, Edward Meade, and Duncan Cryder, to Biarritz in southern France where they encountered champion golfer Willie Dunn, from Scotland, who was building a golf course at the resort.[4][8]

Back in the United States, Meade and Cryder scouted for a place for a golf course near New York City. Meade, known for his cowboy-ish antics trading commodities, was convinced that upstate New York would be the ideal location, but Cryder preferred a parcel of land in Yonkers. Ultimately, they chose the sandhills adjoining the Long Island Rail Road just east of the Shinnecock Canal. The 80-acre (32 ha) original parcel was purchased from developers for $2,500 and 44 original members signed up for $100 each.[8]

Willie Davis, the club professional from the Royal Montreal Club, designed a 12-hole course that opened in late summer 1891.[8] Members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation helped build the course,[9][10] which sits on the large expanse of land the Nation claims was illegally taken from them by earlier settlers of the area in 1859. At the 2018 U.S. Open, members of the Nation protested the event, noting that several burial sites were desecrated during the courses' construction.[11] Stanford White designed the 1892 clubhouse, said to be the oldest golf clubhouse in the United States.[8] A nine-hole ladies-only course was designed and built at Shinnecock Hills in 1893, the first ladies’ golf course in American history.[12]

 
1901

In 1894, Dunn arrived and added six more holes bringing the total to 18. That same year Dunn won the tournament which was an inaugural attempt to establish a national championship at Newport, Rhode Island, but this victory was not recognized as official. Later in 1894, Shinnecock Hills was one of five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association, established in New York City. The new USGA held the first U.S. Open in 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island.[8]

In 1896 the then–5,000 yd (4,570 m) Shinnecock hosted the second U.S. Open. Many players broke 80 in the 36-hole event, which led to demands to increase the course's difficulty. Participating in the 1896 Open was black professional player John Shippen, believed by many historians to have been the first USA-born golf professional.

In 1901 the ladies' course was incorporated into a lengthened and redesigned course by Charles B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, retaining five of Dunn's original holes.[12]

William Flynn extensively redesigned the course in 1931 into a 6,740-yard (6,163 m) configuration. Flynn's design retains five of the holes by Macdonald and Raynor, and the green of a sixth hole designed by those two. Prior to the 2004 U.S. Open, the course was extended to a length of 6,996 yards (6,397 m) by the addition of extra tees.[1]

Shinnecock Hills was ranked second in Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Courses Ranking for 2007, 2008, and third in 2009.[citation needed]

Its routing was retained, and several new tees were added, in preparation for the 2018 U.S. Open; the course was extended to 7,440 yards, retaining its par of 70. Shinnecock Hills is scheduled to host the 2026 U.S. Open.[13]

The club also maintains a nine-hole secondary course for use by its members.

Notable events hosted

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The Stanford White designed clubhouse, as viewed from the 16th hole.
Year Event Winner Total To par Margin
of victory
Runner(s)-up Winner's
share ($)
2018 U.S. Open (5)   Brooks Koepka 281 +1 1 stroke   Tommy Fleetwood 2,160,000
2004 U.S. Open (4)   Retief Goosen 276 −4 2 strokes   Phil Mickelson 1,125,000
1995 U.S. Open (3)   Corey Pavin 280 E 2 strokes   Greg Norman 350,000
1986 U.S. Open (2)   Raymond Floyd 279 −1 2 strokes   Chip Beck
  Lanny Wadkins
115,000
1977 Walker Cup   United States 24 matches 16 to 8   Great Britain &
  Ireland
1967 U.S. Senior Amateur   Ray Palmer match play 3 & 2   Walter D. Bronson
1900 U.S. Women's Amateur   Frances Griscom match play 6 & 5   Margaret Curtis
1896 U.S. Open   James Foulis 152 3 strokes   Horace Rawlins 150
 1896  U.S. Amateur   H. J. Whigham match play 8 & 7   Joseph G. Thorp

Future majors

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Scorecard

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Hole Name Yards Par Hole Name Yards Par
1 Westward Ho 399 4 10 Eastward Ho 415 4
2 Plateau 252 3 11 Hill Head 159 3
3 Peconic 500 4 12 Tuckahoe 469 4
4 Pump House 475 4 13 Road Side 374 4
5 Montauk 589 5 14 Thom's Elbow 519 4
6 Pond 491 4 15 Sebonac 409 4
7 Redan 189 3 16 Shinnecock 616 5
8 Lowlands 439 4 17 Eden 175 3
9 Ben Nevis 485 4 18 Home 485 4
Out 3,819 35 In 3,621 35
Total 7,440 70
Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
2018 U.S. Open 74.7 / 140 399 252 500 475 589 491 189 439 485 3,819 415 159 469 374 519 409 616 175 485 3,621 7,440
Red 74.4 / 140 399 220 469 409 537 453 189 394 435 3,505 415 159 469 374 463 409 540 180 426 3,435 6,940
Green 72.3 / 134 388 197 440 378 500 418 178 354 410 3,263 406 150 427 360 445 400 512 167 400 3,267 6,530
Blue M:70.3 / 129
W:76.3 / 140
387 187 410 367 488 375 166 320 379 3,079 400 144 399 350 436 355 464 142 372 3,062 6,141
White M:67.1 / 125
W:72.5 / 131
373 159 390 303 415 362 136 285 307 2,730 340 121 396 325 361 288 406 140 289 2666 5,396
Par 4 3 4 4 5 4 3 4 4 35 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 4 35 70

Sources:[1][2][16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Coure ratings". Shinnecock Hills golf Club. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Course Rating and Slope Database™ - Shinnecock Hills Golf Club". USGA. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
  4. ^ a b Grimsley, Will (12 June 1986). "U.S. Open course was once closed to the pros". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. C1.
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 13 March 2009.
  6. ^ Alison Cornish (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Shinnecock Hills Golf Club". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 20 February 2010. See also: "Accompanying seven photos". and: "Additional documentation".
  7. ^ "Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Southampton, N.Y. / 7,450 yards, Par 70 / Points: 69.2301" Golf Digest. January 4, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e World Atlas of Golf: The Greatest Courses and How They Are Played by N. Hamlyn, Herbert Warren Wind, Charles Price, Peter Thomson, Mark Rowlinson - Octopus Publishing Group – 2006 ISBN 978-0-600-61375-6
  9. ^ World Atlas of Golf, 1988 edition
  10. ^ "Shinnecock Hills Golf Club - Our History". Shinnecock Hills. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  11. ^ Peter, Josh. "Small group of protesters near U.S. Open seeks to educate public about Shinnecock Nation". USA TODAY. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Shinnecock Hills Golf Course | Course Finder Course Profile | Courses & Travel | Golf.com". www.golf.com. Archived from the original on 2 May 2007.
  13. ^ Golf Digest, U.S. Open preview, June 2018
  14. ^ "United States Open: Future Sites".
  15. ^ "Shinnecock Hills to Host U.S. Open, U.S. Women's Open in 2036". USGA. March 2, 2024. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Course Ratings".
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