Best golf courses: Long Island (East)

Golf on Long Island (East): East Hampton and Riverhead mostly have private golf clubs. Among the public offerings that have made it to our list are Long Island National Golf Club featuring a beautiful open links-style layout, Montauk Downs State Park Golf Course, an open downland course with challenging holes, and the open, well-curated layout of Swan Lake Golf Club, which is popular among golfers trying to improve various facets of their game.

5-star: Fabulous – courses don’t get much better than this.
Visitors welcome
East Hampton
Jones, RT Sr & Rees Jones

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

East Hampton

Designer

Original design by English amateur golfer and course architect Capt H. Charles Tippet (1927); redesign by Robert Trent Jones Sr (1968); renovations by Robert's son Rees Jones (2002).

4-PLUS: Must play course - excellent standard; worthy of 4½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Riverhead
Jones II, Robert Trent

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Robert Trent Jones Jr.

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Riverhead
Duane, Frank

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Francis J. "Frank" Duane

3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Riverhead
Strong, Herbert

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Herbert Strong
3-PLUS: Good course - several memorable features; worthy of 3½ stars.
Visitors welcome
Riverhead
Martin, Charles K.

Visitors?

Visitors welcome

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Charles K. Martin
Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Riverhead
Nicklaus & Doak

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Jack Nicklaus & Tom Doak

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Riverhead
Macdonald, Charles Blair

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Charles Blair Macdonald

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
East Hampton
Jones, Rees

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

East Hampton

Designer

Rees Jones

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Providence
Raynor, Seth

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Providence

Designer

Seth Raynor & Charles Banks

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Riverhead
Coore & Crenshaw

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
East Hampton
Park Jr, Willie

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

East Hampton

Designer

Original layout by Willie Dunn; redesign by Willie Park Jr and his younger brother John "Jack" Park (1922); renovation by Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw (2013).

Private: A course for members and their invited guests only.
Private club
Riverhead
Flynn, William S.

Visitors?

Private club

Nearest city

Riverhead

Designer

Original 12-hole course design by Willie Davis (1891), extended to 18-holes by Willie Dunn Jr (1894). This layout substantially redesigned by Charles B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor (1901).

A second substantial redesign was required when the course moved to the north side of the clubhouse (1931). Retaining only five holes from the Macdonald/Raynor layout, the new course was designed by William S. Flynn, with construction supervised by Howard C. Toomey. Apart from the two nine-hole loops being swapped around and some lengthening, the layout has remained largely unchanged since 1931.

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Tournaments

Ryder Cup: Rome plays host to the first ever Ryder Cup to be staged in Italy, with the USA defending golf’s greatest team trophy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (Sept 29-Oct 1).

Solheim Cup: also in September, also in southern Europe, the 18th Solheim Cup will be contested at Finca Cortesin on the Costa del Sol, with Europe defending after their surprise win in Toledo, Inverness Club (Ohio) in 2021 (Sept 22-24). 

Who's Who

Céline Boutier: with many successes as both an amateur and professional golfer, Boutier added a major championship title to her impressive résumé at this year’s Evian Championship.

Alex Cejka: buffeted by rain and high winds, especially on the high-scoring final day, Čejka prevailed over Pádraig Harrington in a playoff at Royal Porthcawl, to scoop the Senior Open Championship title.

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club

Marco Simone Golf & Country Club: With a clubhouse that might befit a Roman Emperor, and a golf course to match, you can be sure of a memorable outing at Rome's most talked about golf facility.

Jim Fazio's original layout was much changed to create a modern Ryder Cup course ... now one of the Eternal City's (and Italy's) most revered.

Prince's Golf Club, Kent (UK)

Here at Prince’s Golf Club you'll find 27 excellent holes of links golf. Just over the fence and sharing similar terrain is Royal St George’s; but Prince’s is far from overshadowed by its venerable neighbour. The three nine-hole loops at Prince's, laid out over gently undulating terrain, are sure to bring a smile of satisfaction to all lovers of links golf.

Stay&Play at Prince's: excellent onsite Lodge accommodation available

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