Ferry Point - First Look

I'll cut right to the chase, it's pretty damn spectacular... I do have some caveats that we'll get to in due course, but it's a truly unique site with million-dollar views of the Whitestone and Throgs Neck Bridges and the Manhattan skyline.  It's pretty cool when you can use the Freedom Tower or Empire State Building as your line off the tee.

Here's the feel of the place:

Kind of makes you forget about the history of the site (toxic landfill), the cost (pick a number between $130-236 million) or the location (da Bronx), no?  Here's another:

The first thing you note, and many have seen it from the Whitestone Bridge, is the mounding built up between the holes.  It's currently cut quite short, part of a program designed to thin it out.  But when play opens in the Spring this grass is intended to be longer, so it will presumably be moving in the breeze.

The backgrounds are not uniformly picturesque, as in certain directions the views are of more typically Bronx industrial and residential structures, think golf's version of Camden yards.

This will provide a sense of the less attractive vistas, and I'll venture a guess that the boss hates the cross.

Our day began with use of the club's great practice facilities and a short outdoor presentation by Joe

GM Joe Roediger

Roediger, the facility's General manager.  A temporary clubhouse is under construction, and they hope to break ground on a permanent structure by the Spring.  Joe took questions, though in most cases the answer is that nothing is set in stone.  That includes the 2017 Barclays (not committed), logistics for a major event (they're only ten minutes from Orchard Beach, but nothing more specific), greens fees (somewhere between $100-200, less for City residents, but must be negotiated with the City), walking, a caddie program 

The temporary clubhouse under construction.  The Whitestone Bridge is visible from every hole on the course.

There was one issue on which Joe was quite specific though.  If you read this mini-review in my preview post, you'll recall that Nicklaus set the white tees at a paltry 6,000 yards and the blues at a meaty 6,800, leaving quite the inexplicable chasm.  Joe made it clear that there would be an additional set of tees at 6,400 yards, and a good thing that.

For this is a brawny, difficult golf course, especially in the strong winds in which we played yesterday.  We were a fourball of mostly good players, three of us sporting single-digit handicaps, and 6,800 yards was truthfully a bit much in that wind.  Our fourth said he was a fourteen, but I can tell you that he didn't have much fun out there.  

The course is visually stunning from each tee box, with each driving corridor well defined by the bunkering and mounds.  Here's an example with my friend and Golf Writers Association sponsor Yale Stogel driving:

The course is very much in the LaGurdia flight path.

We had the added challenge of not having a Srokesaver to judge distances to hazards, which will obviously be easily remedied for paying customers.  The bunkers are more American-style than the pot bunkers found on a proper links, and the player can often advance the ball, though of course that entails the assumption of some risk.  Longer grass on the mounds will increase the penalty for a bad drive, even to the extent that it's thinned out to avoid lost balls

The greens are large and have severe undulations, and position on the green is quite important.  While they were not especially fast, a done-grain, downwind putt or (especially a) chip could be surprisingly quick.  They were largely unblemished though, which you'd expect given the lack of play, and far from the worst of Nicklaus' green complexes.  They are very much the kind of greens where local knowledge is important, but most player at this daily fee facility will not have that benefit.  

In the linked review above, the writer found the fifteenth hole to be the most notable (though he calls it the sixteenth).  That hole played 570 yards into the fan from the blues, so you'll see why a shorter set of tees is necessary.  I'll introduce you to the 7th, a 280-yard Par-4 from the blues, that looks like this:

Now picture it in a 20-30 mph breeze quartering from the left but most definitely hurting.  A terrifying tee shot, exceeded perhaps only by the terror of the second shot... 

So, about those caveats...First, while it is described as a links-style course, it's one of those neither-fish-nor fowl situations I warned of yesterday.  Obviously the course is not fully grown in yet, but the turf has a softness and "grabbiness" that's a difficult fit for a site with consistent winds.  Opportunities to run the ball along the ground  are limited, and many of the greens require a carry onto the actual putting surfaces.  The firmer they can keep the turf the better, but the shaping of the greens is not what I would have recommended.

Secondly, pace-of-play will no doubt be an issue, as it's hard to see civilians getting around this track in less than five hours (and I could well be low).  Most players will be one-timers and the course is designed to visually intimidate and confuse the player, so be prepared for a long day.  In that vein, I'm also concerned that the course doesn't offer enough width for the recreational golfer.  

If Mike Keiser was in Trump's shoes, the fairways would likely be twice as wide.  Of course he also wouldn't have black tees at 7,400 yards, because he has no interest in hosting a professional event.  But Trump wants, nay needs, a U.S. Open or a Barclays at the bare minimum to sate his ego, and therefore comes at it with a mixed mandate, but fifty-one weeks of any year the players are going to be spraying the ball.  Our temporary scorecard understandably did not include handicap ratings or slopes, and I'll be interested to see the numbers next Spring.  

Those caveats aside, the golf course is visually stunning and always interesting, with a nice mix of shorter and longer holes (as long as the player is on an appropriate set of tees).  Based upon a post-round conversation with Joe, they appear to understand the project is a work-in-process, and intend to monitor early play and tweak as required.  That's certainly the needed attitude, but ferry Point is well worth a visit as it's a very unique experience.

I'll leave you with a few additional photos: