On Long Island, it’s easy for a golf course to get overshadowed. The region is packed with the best designs of many celebrated architects. Among these are C.B. Macdonald’s National Golf Links of America, William Flynn’s Shinnecock Hills, Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s Friar’s Head, and Willie Park’s Maidstone. However, often overlooked amidst these illustrious names is Devereux Emmet and his home design, St. George’s Golf and Country Club. This course, especially after years of restoration work by Hanse Golf Course Design, deserves a place in the conversation about Long Island’s best golf courses.

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Take Note…

Original finish. In the original routing of St. George’s, today’s 12th hole was the opener and the par-3 11th was the finisher. Interestingly, this final hole was initially designed to play from the opposite side of the road to its current green—a blind 246-yard finishing par 3!

Arrive by boat. For those in Connecticut and some parts of the New York Metropolitan Area, the easiest way to get to St. George’s is via a ferry which drops you off at Port Jefferson.

Golf architecture as a hobby. Like many of his contemporaries, Devereux Emmet came from wealth, and his career in golf architecture started as a hobby before becoming his full-time gig in the 1920s. Almost all of his courses can be found in his home region of New York State and Connecticut.

Slow burn. Gil Hanse’s restoration consultancy started all the way back in 1995. Since then, the club has slowly brought back the features of Emmet’s original design. This methodical process has mitigated the costs of the restoration effort over a number of years and also retained the old charm of the original turf.