America's Linksland: A Century of Long Island Golf
In the world of golf, it is home to the famed Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, host to the second-ever U.S. Open and Amateur. Landmark courses like Garden City Golf Club and later the National Golf Links of America dot its landscape. The Lido Golf Club, considered at one time to be among the three greatest American courses, is also located in the same geographic region. It is Long Island, New York, home to America’s linklands.In all, more than 160 golf courses&mdash;private, public, and municipalities&mdash;dot this fascinating island detached from New York City. The island encompasses 1,198 square miles and is home to more than 2.7 million persons. All of its golf clubs draw on a singularly rich history in the sport of golf.Long Island has been home to the rich and famous during the boom times of the late 1800s, flourished through the Roaring Twenties and struggled to survive the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Vanderbilts, J.P. Morgan, and countless other business tycoons, have all played prominently in the development of golf on Long Island.Long Island is where legendary amateur Bobby Jones won his first major championship, the U.S. Open at Inwood in 1923; it is where the Walker Cup, the premier international amateur team match, drew its first breath; it is where many professional golfers plied their trade in days when they were treated as second-class citizens.After an absence of more than half a century, the U.S. Open came back to Long Island in 1986 at historic Shinnecock Hills and returned there nine years later in 1995. In June of 2002, the Open arrives for the very first time at one of America’s trusted public facilities&mdash;Bethpage State Park’s Black Course, owned by the state of New York. And, yes, it is located on Long Island. The Black, designed by renowned architect A.W. Tillinghast, will serve as a monumental test of the world’s best players.Stunning Bethpage Black photographs by acclaimed photographer Larry Lambrecht provide you with a hole-by-hole insight into this magnificent test of golf.Author William Quirin, a resident of Long Island, weaves the story of the growth and development of this unusual and mystical geographic wonder. As you turn the final pages you will discover and appreciate why many are caught up in the lore of Long Island golf.