I was fortunate enough to be invited by Westchester’s Mr Golf, Gene W, and playing partner Jim D’A from Winged Foot to play Tamarack in October 2022. My last game before hip surgery, this was a real treat.
Tamarack is just a few miles into Connecticut, so an easy ride from Westchester. The course occupies a massive space of formerly wooded land that has been designed to create a really good golf course. This is from the Club’s website on the history of the Club:
https://www.tamarackcountryclub.com/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=13&ssid=100033&vnf=1
The history of golf course design in America cannot be told without the names CB MacDonald, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. Their golf courses are legendary and include such masterpieces as National Golf Links, Deepdale, Fisher's Island and Yale just to name a few. In 1929, Charles Banks was commissioned to create a new golf course in the rolling hills of back country Greenwich, Connecticut which would be known as Tamarack due to a species of tree that thrived on the property. Like his mentors, MacDonald and Raynor, Charles Banks also drew his inspiration from the legendary golf courses of Europe and emulated many of the most interesting holes while adding a twist on their design. Known as "Steam Shovel Charlie" because of his affection for using machinery to move and shape huge amounts of earth, Tamarack combines traditional European design with large push-up greens and enormous bunkers. Our 6,841 yard par 70 course is bold and exciting to play while challenging to golfers of every skill level. Lovingly restored to it's original grandeur, it is considered the gem of all Banks courses and the center piece of Tamarack Country Club.
I really enjoyed meeting the pro - Ryan Kalista - and aside from being a really good golfer, he has a very nice proshop. The Club also has a fantastic Clubhouse. It was completed around 2008, and is extremely well appointed. The Club truly is a Country Club with pool and tennis courts.
We played from the Blue tees, which measured around 6700 yards. Quite enough for me these days. Generous fairways, and huge greens with cavernous bunkers as defense. Here’s some shots I took:
The Biarritz green on the par 3 12th must have measured around 90 years deep. And there was a copy of the Redan at hole 7, although it seemed like it was back to front. The green sloped towards you off the tee and all the trouble was left and behind the hole.
It was a gorgeous October day, with the trees turning color. Although I started out well, my absence of 10 days showed and I missed loads of putts. Got in a few traps which were rock solid due to heavy rain overnight. From about 7 onwards things began to click and all went well until the long par 5 17. A poor drive and automatic double. Oh well. 84 is not bad given a first outing. I definitely feel I could have broken 80. For sure!
Here is a link to a tour of the Course: https://www.tamarackcountryclub.com/golf/course-tour