National Golf Links of America

National Golf Links of America was the creation of Charles Blair Macdonald, widely regarded as the father of American golf architecture. Macdonald, who learned the game at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, set out to build his vision of an ideal American golf course. He spent years studying the great holes of the British Isles before breaking ground in Southampton, New York, with the course opening in 1911.

Macdonald enlisted the help of Seth Raynor, a local surveyor who would go on to become one of America's greatest golf architects himself. Together they created a links-style layout on the shores of Peconic Bay that featured Macdonald's famous template holes -- renditions of the best holes he had studied abroad, including the Redan from North Berwick, the Alps from Prestwick, the Eden and Road Hole from St. Andrews, the Sahara from Royal St George's, and the Cape.

Macdonald continued to refine National Golf Links well into his 70s before passing away in Southampton in 1939. The course has been consistently ranked among the top 10-15 courses in America for over a century and remains the seminal template course in American golf architecture.

National Golf Links is a strategic, links-style experience on one of the most beautiful properties in American golf. The course plays along rolling terrain with views of Peconic Bay and Shinnecock Hills across the road. At approximately 6,779 yards, the course plays far more demanding than its modest length suggests due to wind, green complexity, and strategic demands.

The template holes provide a living museum of golf architecture. Each hole tells a story rooted in the great courses of the British Isles, adapted brilliantly to the Long Island landscape.

National Golf Links rewards strategic thinking over raw power. Many holes present multiple paths from tee to green, and understanding the template origins of each hole provides insight into the best approach.

The greens are the heart of the design, featuring bold contours that demand the ball arrive from a specific angle. Position off the tee is far more important than distance. Wind off Peconic Bay is a constant factor.