Shinnecock Hill Golf Club

Shinnecock Hill Golf Club

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club

Location  :  Southampton, New York, U.S.
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city : Southampton, New York
Area  :  259 acres (105 ha)
Coordinates  :  40.894°N 72.440°WCoordinates: 40.894°N 72.440°W
Elevation  :  20–90 feet (6–27 m)
Established  :  1891, 128 years ago
Built  :  1892
Architect  :  McKim, Mead & White; et al.
Architectural style  :  Bungalow/American Craftsman
Type  :  Private Equity
Total holes  :  18
Tournaments hosted  :  U.S. Open, Walker Cup, U.S. Amateur, U.S. Women's                                       Amateur
Designed by  :  William Flynn (1931),C. B. MacDonald (1901),Willie Dunn                               (1894),Willie Davis (1891)
Par  :  70
Length  :  6,940 yards (6,346 m) (red)7,440 yards (6,800 m)
Course rating  :  74.4
Slope rating  :  140
NRHP reference  :  00001211
Added to NRHP  :  September 29, 2000

The club traces its roots to an 1889–1890 trip by William K. Vanderbilt, Edward Meade, and Duncan Cryder, to Biarritz in southern France where they encountered champion golfer Willie Dunn, from Scotland, who was building a golf course at the resort.

Back in the United States, Meade and Cryder scouted for a place for a golf course near New York City. Meade, known for his cowboy-ish antics trading commodities, was convinced that upstate New York would be the ideal location, but Cryder preferred a parcel of land in Yonkers. Ultimately, they chose the sandhills adjoining the Long Island Rail Road just east of the Shinnecock Canal. The 80-acre (32 ha) parcel was purchased for $2,500 and 44 original members signed up for $100 each.

Willie Davis, the club professional from the Royal Montreal Club, designed a 12-hole course that opened in late summer 1891. Members of Shinnecock Indian Nation helped build the course, which is on land they have laid claim to and which remains in litigation. Stanford White designed the 1892 clubhouse, said to be the oldest golf clubhouse in the United States. A nine-hole ladies-only course was designed and built at Shinnecock Hills in 1893.

In 1894, Dunn arrived and added six more holes bringing the total to 18. That same year Dunn won the tournament which was an inaugural attempt to establish a national championship at Newport, Rhode Island, but this victory was not recognized as official. Later in 1894, Shinnecock Hills was one of five founding clubs of the United States Golf Association, established in New York City. The new USGA held the first U.S. Open in 1895 in Newport, Rhode Island.

In 1896 the then–5,000 yd (4,570 m) Shinnecock hosted the second U.S. Open. Many players broke 80 in the 36-hole event, which led to demands to increase the course's difficulty. Participating in the 1896 Open was black professional player John Shippen, believed by many historians to have been the first USA-born golf professional.

The popular ladies' course was abandoned in 1901 to allow for lengthening and redesign by Charles B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, retaining five of Dunn's original holes.

William Flynn extensively redesigned the course in 1931 into a 6,740-yard (6,163 m) configuration. Flynn's design retains five of the holes by Macdonald and Raynor, and the green of a sixth hole designed by those two. Prior to the 2004 U.S. Open, the course was extended to a length of 6,996 yards (6,397 m) by the addition of extra tees.

Shinnecock Hills was ranked second in Golf Digest's 100 Greatest Courses Ranking for 2007, 2008, and third in 2009.

Its routing was retained, and several new tees were added, in preparation for the 2018 U.S. Open; the course was extended to 7,440 yards, retaining its par of 70. The design modifications were performed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. The club also maintains a nine-hole secondary course.