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Pound Ridge Golf Club review: Part 1
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The tricky Par-3 15th at Pound Ridge showcases the courses' rocky terrain.
Located less than forty-five miles from central Manhattan, Pound Ridge Golf Club in Pound Ridge, NY, is a recent addition to the growing number of high-end courses in the New York metropolitan area. Pete Dye designed the course in 2008, backed by owner Kenneth Wang, brother of fashion designer Vera Wang.
While Dye’s trademarks are evident throughout the course, he lets the natural rock found in the valleys of Pound Ridge take center-stage. Some of the holes feature the terrain as an aesthetically pleasing feature, while on trickier holes, the natural rock plays a pivotal role, offering numerous risk-reward situations.
The small driving range has about eight slots and players hit off mats to an uphill area with unmarked flags. There is a great chipping area near the first tee box that has a few flags that call for different types of shots. The putting green is small but runs just like the greens on the course.
Pound Ridge recommends that 0-4 handicaps play the Black tees (7171 yards), 5-12 play the Oak (6787), 13-20 play Granite (6279), 21-28 play Sand (5713), and 29+ play the Pine tees (5180). If you want to be on the course for over five hours (even if the course is wide open) or you're just a glutton for golf punishment, go ahead and play the tees appropriated by Pound Ridge. But the sensible thing to do, especially if you're playing this course for the first time, is to move up a tee box and get to know the course first.
Although Pound Ridge’s fairways are generous, their undulations are such that side-hill lies are fairly common and almost inevitable. The bluegrass is well manicured and rolls out in the summer, but mud balls are common in the colder/rainier months. The first cut of rough is fair and playable, but outside the first cut, the rough is thick and about a foot in length. If you hit it too far offline, you will pay the price. During the summer the greens are some of the fastest in the area, and although they can get quite soft when wet, they roll very true and are tricky to read.
The bunkers surrounding the fairways and greens are well placed and are not overly penal. Water is in play on holes 1, 2, 3, 4, and 18, but there are plenty of unplayable areas marked by red and yellow stakes.
Pound Ridge ranks among Dye’s top designs and provides a challenging test of target golf. Dye managed to put his stamp on the layout while allowing the natural terrain to gracefully weave in and out of each hole. Golfers accustomed to a more traditional layout will find the course tricked-up and perhaps overly punishing. But Dye’s design is not meant for the recreational golfer – the course would be a great test for the world’s best, and seasoned golfers with deep pockets looking for a challenge will get their money’s worth at Pound Ridge. For rates and reservations, go to www.poundridgegolf.com
Click here for a review of Pound Ridge's Holes 1 - 6
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