Richmond County Country Club

The course layout and up keep was fantastic. The facilities highly sanitize. Personnel is courteous and respectful.

Richmond County Country Club is a private club located on Staten Island in New York. I played there twice as a guest of a member, on Sunday, July 17th and then again on Saturday, July 23. Looking at the course online before I got the opportunity to play, I thought it looked beautiful - what I didn't know is how tough it would play, and how different it would be from what I'm used to. First, I rarely have the opportunity to play private clubs, so that was a treat. Playing a course that has few members assures the course will normally be pristine, and this one is that. The course is gorgeous and the layout is stunning, with several holes perched up on a hill with sweeping vistas of the Atlantic Ocean. Past that, the course is short, playing less than 6800 from the tips, and under 6300 from the tees we played - I thought it wouldn't pose a tremendous challenge, even with my higher handicap of 17. Boy, was I wrong! After lulling you into a false sense of security on the short and not too difficult first, the second plays downhill across a stream to a wide fairway, but then goes sharply uphill, higher than the tee box was, to a green that repels golf balls and isn't where you think it is. Your approach shot will be blind mostly on this hole, and don't use the bunker as a guide to where the green is - the bunker is a good 30 yards short of the green. The par 3 third plays equally back downhill to a green fronted by a pond and backed by bunkers. The par 3 5th plays decidedly downhill but is about 220 from the tees we played. After the long and difficult 6th hole, you get something of a small reprieve on 7 and 8, a short par 4 and 5 respectively that offer scoring opportunities. 9 has a tee shot that will disappear from view, but aim to the left side of the fairway. The uphill shot to the green is tough. The back starts off with the longest hole on the course, a 600+ yard par 5. The trick on 11 is to either hit a tidy draw or lay back and hit a hybrid/long iron into the green. The 12th is the opposite, you either hit a fade or play a straight shot along the tree line right and then a mid iron in. The 14th is one the number 1 handicap hole on the course and one of the more majestic holes around. From a tee elevated some 40 feet above the fairway, you hit a partially blind tee shot to the fairway and then take and extra club to an elevated green. 15 features a completely blind approach to a green that sits in a bowl. 17 isn't tough until you reach the green, which is lightning fast - they all are - and has a false front. A 2 putt anywhere on this green is a great feat. A putt from the back of the green toward the middle can easily wind up back on the fairway.... The closer has bunkers binding the landing area and the green sits hard on a creek, but the hole could yield a number if played well.

This course is a gem, built in 1888. Short in length, but long on character and definitely tougher than you'd imagine. If you are a long hitter or a scratch golfer, this course likely won't give you much trouble. But if you are like me - a guy who plays bogey golf, particularly in the South on Bermuda strains, and on courses with little elevation changes, this course could eat you up. I also played with house clubs, and a different set each time (including graphite shafted irons on Saturday - never used them before and hope to never use them again...). That definitely didn't help the game....