Sebonack Golf Club – Golf Digest

39. Sebonack Golf Club

Jack Nicklaus & Tom Doak (2006)

Not since Augusta National had the nation’s greatest golfer teamed with one of the most highly regarded course architects on a design project. But the joint venture by Jack Nicklaus with Tom Doak at Sebonack was complicated by the fact that golfer Nicklaus was also an esteemed course architect in his own right, and the project sat right beside two American icons, Shinnecock Hills and National Golf Links. Some pundits have reduced Sebonack to “Tom’s bunkers, Jack’s greens,” but in truth it’s just the opposite. Doak convinced Nicklaus to go with small greens of sweeping contours and little imperfections the likes of which Jack would never have considered on his own. Meanwhile, Jack insisted that Tom tone down his usual ragged, jagged bunker faces to make them palatable to high-handicap club members. Sebonack hosted the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open to great success.

100 Greatest History: Ranked since 2009. Highest ranking: No. 38 (2015-16). Previous ranking: No. 41

Panelist comments:
“The holes along the water are truly majestic. I don’t think anyone can realistically compare Shinnecock and NGLA to Sebonack, but given the close proximity (you can see both from the course), it’s hard not to compare and contrast the three.”

“The greens are pretty typical Doak. Small, quirky and fast — but fair. They’ve done a great job improving a couple of greens over the past five years or so.”

“The course is on one of the greatest settings for a golf course that I’ve even been on, and the combination of natural beauty along with the perfectly manicured grounds is really something special.”

“I felt the back nine did a great job of playing off the natural landscape of the course. Doak and Nicklaus did a nice job combining a links-esque feel, but blending it with aspects of some parkland holes with trees, and also dunes-y.”

“I can go on and on about the highlights of Sebonack: the views of Peconic Bay; the routing of the holes towards the water, then away from, then back to the water; and the undulating but fair green complexes. And finally, the grand clubhouse adds to the traditional ambience.”

Hole No. 6