My dear friend Peter M arranged for us to play here in September 2021 in an MGA Seniors event: we came third low net at 15 under, just pipped for first slot by 1.
Whippoorwill is a Donald Ross designed course set in rolling hills around an hour from Manhattan. It’s a really beautiful piece of property. The name derives from a bird, which makes a noice that sounds like “whip - poor -will”. You be the judge… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2T_CoHnZyc
Here’s a link to the Club’s website: https://www.whippoorwillclub.org
The Club can trace its roots back to the 1920’s and today is considered in the top 100 of courses in the US. This is from the Club’s website:
The golf course has been called a “hidden gem” by the Metropolitan Golf Association and Whippoorwill is also recognized nationally. Since 2003, when it ranked the course 78th, Golfweek magazine has perennially ranked Whippoorwill in the top 100 of “classic” golf courses (built before 1960) in the country. Most recently the Whippoorwill course was ranked 75 by Top 100 Golf Courses of the USA 2018. Whippoorwill truly is one of the nation’s great courses and clubs.
The course had some pretty storied designers involved. Again, from the website:
The group (who acquired the property) employed Olmstead Brothers, famous landscape architects of Boston, to lay out the property and Donald Ross, a leading golf course architect, to design the course. All 18 holes were to lie on the east side of Whippoorwill Road. The rest of the land was divided up into home sites.
In 1928 the group members brought in a professional country club developer, Frederick Ruth, for advice and counsel. He had previously been responsible for the Mid-Ocean Club in Bermuda and the Fishers Island Club off the Connecticut shore. Ruth then hired another golf course architect, Charles Banks, to redesign the Whippoorwill course. Banks had worked with Charles Blair Macdonald on the Yale and Mid-Ocean courses and with Seth Raynor on the Fishers Island course.
I really enjoyed the course: it plays a lot longer than the 6350 yards due to the ups and downs on the course, and the fairways seem generous enough but landing areas are much smaller given the sloping terrain. The greens are quite large and when we played them they were quick. They have a good practice facility, very modern upgraded Clubhouse that would perhaps not be out of place on Long Island. The staff who looked after us did a great job: there was ample water and other supplies laid out for us, and dinner after was quite nice. They even served macaroni pies as hors d’oeuvres which made the day complete for me anyway.
I think I shot a 77, which was pretty good for me as the slope is 139. Here’s some of the views:
Pretty nice! I hope i get a chance to play again sometime.