VOYAGEFEBRUARY 2018THE BRIDGE
40°58'48.2"N 72°20'27.5"W
Architect: Rees Jones (2002)
Signature hole: 18
The vibe: Equally expensive but
deliberately less stuffy than its
neighbors, this maverick course,
built on the former Bridgehampton
Race Track, is the perfect stop off
for any golf-mad motorheads.it absolutely killed the players. Tiger Woods took
the title; he was the only player to be under par
after four rounds.
Bethpage Black played host to the US Open
againin2009,butdespiteitscelebritystatusit
is still a public course. I was asked to provide
a written note from my golf club to state my
handicap but then I was let loose on this monster,
with its rolling terrain, brutally long holes,
gigantic bunkers and speedy greens. Bethpage
isaseriousphysicalchallenge;bythetimeyouget
tothe14thhole(unlessyouhavechickenedout
and opted for a cart) your legs are ready to fall off.
A lot of people concentrate on the difficulties of
the par-threes but it’s the par-fours, especially the
15t h hole, t h at st ick i n my m i nd. It i s r id ic u lou sly
long – 478 yards off the back tee – and the gradient
isunbelievable.Evenifyouhitamonsterofa
drive you still have got another 230 yards to go
Classic cars and golf
- no wonder Eddie
Jordan is such a
fan of The Bridge
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