Hamptons Golf Course

My thoughts on the courses, in order of difficulty, with the practice areas reviewed as well.
The Lakes — Of the three courses at The Hamptons, this one is the most difficult, especially if you play the ball left to right. On the first two holes the lake is big, bad, and lining the right side of the fairway. If you can hit them straight or draw the ball you’re fine. Three is just a long dog leg that will actually reward a slight fade with perfect position and avoiding the worst of the fairway bunkers. Then four is a par three over water that plays dangerously long. The green even slopes back. Club up or hit all of it, because if you don’t your ball is going swimming. Five and six are the easiest holes on this course. Five is the best hole to hit a power fade, and even a slice won’t ruin your day if you hit it far enough. The tee box on six is in DESPERATE need of resodding, and now that I think of it, a fresh layer of grass wouldn’t hurt three’s tee box either. Seven is another par three over water. This one even farther than the last par three over water, and all I can say is HIT IT A TON. I put a sleeve of balls into the water determined to carry the pond. If you need to there is a nice little area to lay up down the left side. Eight has one heck of a left to right slope down the first half of the fairway. If you put it on the hill to the left you will probably bounce down to the fairway. If you hit the center of the fairway, you may roll all the way into the water. Then nine is a nice easy right to left par four that’s uphill back towards the clubhouse. A great hole to end the round on, as par will keep you «comin back.»
The Woods — Trees everywhere… This one is the middle of the pack in terms of difficulty, and if you’re hitting straight it’s probably one of the easiest courses in the area. The club loses a star here SIMPLY on the state of the fairways. I don’t expect a muni to be playing like a private club, but the huge trees cause a lack of sun that have several of the fairways in need of some TLC. Holes one, two and three are just simple tee up and head out. No real surprises on any of the first three. Four is a short and simple par three with a big open green. My tee shot landed eight feet from the hole. Holes five, six, and seven all play right to left. Seven is uphill and just a complete pain if you hit a poor drive. You’re finally free of the trees on seven though, so a bad hit off the tee box has not sunk your score. You can recover with a good pair of iron shots to the green. Eight is a nice little par three, but the bunkers around the green are positioned to punish the overly ambitious. Then nine is back up to the club house. This hole will make you regret a poor drive, so if you hit the three wood better I recommend pulling it out of the bag.
The Links — A Scottish style course with rolling hills, tall wavy grass up against a high rough, and bunkers galore. I may have counted wrong, but my tally put the count at just about THIRTY of them. Holes one and two will both reward a nice relaxed drive with a simple wedge to the green. Three is a par three played downhill, that is deceptively short due to the drop. Very easy to stick it into a greenside bunker and push your score up. The day I went out to play the pin was in the back third of the green… I hit the front edge and left myself a LONG putt. I had watched the sprinklers shut off when I arrived at the course, so I know the sand in those shaded bunkers would have been akin to concrete with the ball dropping hard into them from the high tee box. Four is a big par five that double kinks to the left. Five is a short right to left hole that will reward even a slicer with a decent approach shot. Then six is a nice straight shot to let you relax. Hole seven has a neat kink right before the green that will make you play strategic. Then eight is a fantastic par three to keep your confidence high. The final hole on The Links is a nice easy right to left par four that plays well. Definitely the easiest course to play out of the three.
The Range, Chipping, and Putting Green — The driving range is spartan… It is set in the back of the course, but the starter will get you a cart and have someone show you the way if you’re unfamiliar. A grass hitting area with flags at 75, 125, and 175 yards. Space for six or seven golfers tops, but I have never seen more than four people there at once. It’s also the cheapest range that I know of in the area. The putting green is MASSIVE, and right out front. The chipping area has both an area to chip and a bunker to hit out of. My only complaint about the chipping area is the lack of a substantive green to hit. I like the ability to hit out of a bunker towards a flag, but not having a green to see where the ball will stop it’s roll out is less beneficial.

This is a good public golf course. Three very different 9 hole courses keeps it interesting.

I have played this course probably sixty times over tweenty years. It is a fun course for the money. If you want a higher class fo to the golden horse shoe.

Woods and or the Lakes courses play well. The Links course is tuff for any major slicers. Great public golf facility.