Whether it is simply an escape from the desert heat, or an itinerary choc-full of world-class shopping, dining and museum-hopping, New York City has long been a popular vacation destination for people from The Valley of the Sun. Arizonans with designs on heading to the Empire State this spring may want to consider packing their golf clubs.
Pound Ridge Golf Club, just outside New York City -- like Pebble Beach, Whistling Straights and Pinehurst No. 2, is a golf course every golfer must play at least once in their lifetime. Since opening in 2008, the Pete Dye design has earned a reputation (and national ranking) as a true destination golf course
Crafted by the legendary Dye, along with his son Perry and long-time Dye construction manager/lead shaper Michael Langkau, Pound Ridge Golf Club is a full bentgrass facility, hewn from 172 acres of magnificent cliffs, streams and wooded hills in Westchester County about 40 miles north of the city.
Dramatic rock formations and boulders were left onsite, creating one of the most visually stunning settings for golf in the U.S. More than 14,000-linear-feet of rock wall surrounds trees, wetlands and water hazards.
These frame contoured fairways which wind through hardwood forests and fescue mounds leading to open meadows with picturesque green complexes. The property features some of the highest points in the region, with a number of tee boxes offering expansive vistas of the surrounding country.
Pound Ridge Golf Club requires demanding tee and approach shots to navigate the myriad of rock outcroppings, boulders and the occasional wetland. Must-see-it-to-believe-it holes include: the par-5, 13th, home to “Pete’s Rock,” a giant boulder that rests in the middle of the fairway; and the par-3 15th hole, dubbed “Headstone,” which is flanked on the right by a large rock outcropping that protrudes into the elongated, 9,000-square-foot green.
Playing at 7,154 yards from the back tees with a par of 72 and a slope of 146, Pound Ridge features five sets of tee boxes that make it appealing to short and long hitters alike. Pete Dye’s wife, Alice, has a say in her husband’s work and like she has done for Dye courses across the world, Alice made sure Pound Ridge included fair, yet challenging options for people wishing to play from the front tee boxes.
While many classic courses don’t send out messages beckoning golfers to return, Pete Dye’s layouts have the opposite effect, and Pound Ridge Golf Club may be the most magnetic of the bunch. After playing it once, golfers want to go right back out and tackle its countless strategic puzzles.
Idea for golfing couples and golf widows, Pound Ridge has accommodation partnerships with several hotels in the greater New York City area including the Mandarin Oriental and Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.
Guests at the Mandarin Oriental, on the Upper West Side, are located just a block away from Central Park and the Time Warner Center’s Shops at Columbus Circle. Those opting for the Marriott Marquis will be right in the electric heart of Times Square.
For golf groups or those seeking a more suburban environment, Pound Ridge also has stay-and-play agreements with the Ritz-Carlton, Westchester; and the Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa and Hyatt Regency Greenwich, in Connecticut.
To Learn More
Pound Ridge Golf Club, 914.764.5771, www.poundridgegolf.com.
