Boat International US Edition — February 2018

FEBRUARY 2018 WWW.BOATINTERNATIONAL.COM

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK

courseinAmerica”–andsadlyacoupleofmy
friendsdiedinracesthere.Thetrackclosed
permanentlyin1998andBobRubin,aformer
commoditiestraderandcarfanaticwhonow
ownstheproperty,hasturnedthetrackintoa
golfcoursethatpayshomagetoitsracingdays.
It is fairly isolated and very much at the
far end of Long Island but it’s sensational;
Ilovedit.Thetrackisstillthere,soyouareplaying
aroundit,andtheyhavecheckeredflagsinstead
oftraditionalones.Alltheparaphernaliahasbeen
left,includingthefueltanks,watertowersand
thespectatorbridgeemblazonedwiththewords
ChevronGasolines.Intheclubhouseyoufeellike
youareatagrandprixbecauseitispackedwith
memorabilia. It has such a nostalgic atmosphere.
It’saprivateclubbuthasawelcomingattitude,
particularlyforforeignguests,andifyouarea
motorracingguyorakeengolferit’samust.
This whole stretch of coastline may
be scattered with unbelievable courses
but getting between them by boat is just
asthrilling.Thewindwasgood,sowe
managedtospendalotoftimesailing,
andeveninthemiddleofsummerthe
weatherisnottoohot–infactyouneedto
remembertopackasweaterfortheevenings.If
youwereinacarontheroadyouwouldneversee
some of the incredible dwellings that have been
built along the coastline by well heeled families
ofyearsgoneby.It’sspectaculartocruisepast
them at sunsetwith anice ginand tonicinhand.

The National, next

to Shinnecock Hills,

held the first Walker

Cup in 1922

NATIONAL GOLF LINKS

OF AMERICA

40°54'17.5"N 72°26'43.1"W

Architect:Charles B Macdonald (1908)

Signature hole: 4

The vibe:Holding the reputation for being America’s

snootiest golf club, the rolling course includes several

holes that are stunning replicas of some of Scotland’s

finest – including the 7th, which copies features from

St Andrews’ famous Road Hole.

AlthoughMarieandIgotalongwhileon

board, that wasn’t always the case on the fairways;

shebeatmeallthetime,evenwhenshegaveme

two holes each nine. We had a great competition,

greatfun,andIrelishedanychanceIgottowin.

AswemovedclosertoNewYorkwe

headedinlandtowhatis,tomymind,one

ofAmerica’smostspectacularcourses–

BethpageBlack.Itwasoriginallydesigned

byAWTillinghast,wholostnearlyallhis

moneyintheGreatDepression.Hewas

doing odd jobs for the Professional Golfers’

Associationandwasaskedtoputdowna

numberofcoursesinapublicparkafewmiles

east of Manhattan. He created five unbelievable

coursesbuttherealdaddyofthemallisBethpage

Black.Afterfurtherinvestmentattheendofthe

lastcenturythecoursewontherightstothehost

theUSOpenin2002.Thecoursewassolongthat

This stretch of coastline may be scattered with unbelievable

courses, but getting to them by boat is just as thrilling