Tuesday 10 September - Winged Foot (East)

The tour started at one of the most iconic 36 hole facilities in golf.  The club has two courses, East and West, which are both ranked in the world top 100.

Preparations have commenced for the hosting of the 2020 US Open, on the West course, and aerifications were taking place on the West.

This meant that we were scheduled to play on the East.  A troop of 22 USGA and golf club officials were walking the West, determining requirements for the event, such as tee extensions.

The above image, is the only one that I was permitted to take.  We played with a Winged Foot board member, and he advised that photos were not permitted.

I wont be surprised if this is not the last time on this itinerary that we face this issue.  Many of the clubs are super private, access is difficult, and many times that comes with extra restrictions, such as no photos.

The club was founded in 1921, by some members of the New York Athletic Club, and opened for play in 1923.  The Golf Club, and the Athletic Club have no affiliation, but those initial members utilised the logo of the athletic club, to not only create the name of the club, but adapting it for the golf club.

Both courses were designed by A.W. Tillinghast, with a mandate for them to both be exceptional golf courses.

The beautiful clubhouse was designed by respected clubhouse architect Clifford Wendehack, and isconstructed from stone, which was farmed from the construction of the course, on this rocky landscape.  It is as impressive as the golf courses.

The West course carries most of the focus, being the major championship course.  However, this could have been quite different.  The club, after only being open 6 years, hosted the 1929 US Open, won by Bobby Jones.

This event was scheduled to take place on the East course.

A severe storm caused some major damage on the East, and required the transfer to the West course.  It has remained the course of choice for both the US Open, and PGA Championship since.

Water hazards, and rocky outcrops are part of the differentiation between the two.

Tillinghast's green complexes are impressive, with the East possessing more undulation.

One thing that was very noticable, was how unnoticable the depth of the greens were.  When playing the hole, the all of the greens looked small, until you physically got to them.  The majority are actually very large, long, and heavily sloped.  It is a great illusion, and adds a distinctive element to playing.

We had a brilliant day, and enjoyed the course and lunch afterwards.

Michael Merrett and Jeff Faure both scored 40 points, with Michael winning on a countback.