Championship Course

Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18

Hole #1 "Adam"

Par 4

The most inviting of the opening holes at Ridgewood, a relatively straightforward par 4 playing 375 yards from the championship tees, opens the East nine. The fairway has a relatively generous landing space for tee shots, but misdirection is punished by out of bounds on the left and a pond and trees on the right. There is a cross bunker that stretches across the fairway from the left side about 60 yards from the green. The green is challenging; its big surface is well bunkered and slopes steadily and deceptively uphill from left-to-right.

Tee	Yards
Championship	375

Hole #2 "Water"

Par 3

A shot-maker’s par 3, this downhill second hole is played at 187 yards from the championship tees from the back to a green that is protected by bunkers to the left and right side. A narrow band of fairway allows a short tee ball to bounce on to the green. The green slopes back to front and features interesting contours. The two bunkers on the left side are deep and deadly and make it almost impossible to chip close to a pin on the left side of the green.

Tee	Yards
Championship	187

Hole #3 "Gorilla"

Par 5

As is often the case with Tillinghast, the most efficient route to the hole is the most dangerous. The best drive favors the left side of the fairway, but out of bounds lines the left side the entire length of the hole and the thin rough encourages the ball’s journey into the woods. Hitting to the right side, away from the out of bounds, may be prudent, but excessive prudence will leave the golfer blocked in a line of oaks.

The all-important second shot must be carried over a minefield of mounds running across the fairway. Once again left is better as the reward on the dogleg right is a shot that crosses only fairway to a long up-sloping green protected on three sides by bunkers.

The third shot challenges the golfer to negotiate a false front and find the correct tier on the narrow and deep undulating, multi-tier green. Golfers following the shorter route from the right side of the fairway must fly a series of bunkers and bring their shot to rest on a narrow green. The lightning-fast green can produce profound disappointment even in those fortunate enough to be on in three shots.

Tee	Yards
Championship	585

Hole #4 "Bog"

Par 4

A dangerous dogleg left par 4, out-of-bounds runs the length of the hole on the left side. Once again caution encourages a shot played to the right side of the fairway, but trees and deep rough punish balls played too far to the right. A well-positioned drive to the left center of the fairway is important because the green is very difficult to hold on long approach shots. A green side bunker presents an obstacle for those hitting approach shots from the right side of the fairway. A false front and soft landing area short of the green discourages balls from bouncing on.

The work is not completed until you have holed out as hard-to-read speed and breaks make for a very difficult green.

Tee	Yards
Championship	495

Hole #5 "Knuckle"

Par 4

Playing 468 yards uphill with a left-to-right slope to a “plateau” green, this par 4 requires a strong uphill tee shot to a generous landing area, with bunkers on each side of the fairway. The second shot is played to a plateau green, surrounded by deep bunkers. A well-placed oak tree front-right of the green swats away shots that fail to fly over it or pass to its left.

Missing the green to the hillside or bunker to the left can produce nasty scores as a sharply sloping left to right green makes it almost impossible to bring chip shots to a halt. The severe back to front slope of the green is in evidence as the first 25 feet of the front of the green are part of a false front. Many a ball has come to a halt for 30 seconds or more only to resume its doleful journey to twenty feet off the front of the green.

This green is very deceiving and stopping a putt near the hole is often greeted with profound relief.

Tee	Yards
Championship	468

Hole #6 "Cobra"

Par 3

At 226-plus yards downhill, this par 3 is “as tough as they get.” The shot plays downhill at 226 yards downhill from the blue tees. A well struck shot is needed to avoid the cross bunker on the right and the small pot bunker on the left, and a bit of luck is needed to influence the ball not to run “hot” to the back of the green away from a front pin placement. The result will be a fast, double breaking downhill putt.

Tee	Yards
Championship	226

Hole #7 "Stockton's Lair"

Par 4

Uphill, this dogleg left sloping, left-to-right to a “plateau” green, 7 plays like 5, only more difficult. This par 4 plays 478 yards from the back tees. Both the tee shot and the approach to the green play steadily uphill and fall left-to-right. Be sure to take an extra club for the second shot to account for the uphill slope. The plateau green is protected by deep bunkers on the left and to the right. Players playing long irons for their approach shots need to account for a severe left-to-right swing on a very fast and tricky putting surface. A false front sends promising shops cascading back down the fairway.

Tee	Yards
Championship	478

Hole #8 "Fingal"

Par 4

This converted par 5 often plays as the most difficult hole for championship play. A bunker beyond the back of the green punishes the overly bold while a false front frustrates the timid. Missing the approach shot to the right side of the green whether in the bunker or the rough creates a major challenge to stop the ball on the glassy, severely sloped green. The New York City skyline is often visible from this green.

Tee	Yards
Championship	471

Hole #9 "Glade"

Par 4

A long “downhill-uphill” par 4, this challenging dogleg presents a choice to relatively long hitters. A well-struck drive that hugs the left side of the fairway will go over the hill and result in a much shorter second shot that will likely be played from a severe downhill stance. Drives on the right side of the fairway may result in a level stance on the plateau but a significantly longer shot. A corridor of trees on each side of the fairway demands accuracy. The raised green sloping from left to right and back to front presents tricky reads. It appears to be flat, but there are big swings and pin locations that make two-putting this enormous surface a tough job.

Tee	Yards
Championship	503

Hole #10 "Briars"

Par 4

Known as the “Cemetery” hole, number 10 is a difficult par 4 with the only required blind approach shot. Tee shots too far to the right will be mourned in a neighboring graveyard. Out-of-bounds and the adjacent cemetery run along the entire right side of the hole. Those playing from the right side of the fairway must carry a greenside bunker and are challenged to stop their ball in time. Shots played too aggressively from the right side often find a home in the bunker on the left side of the green. Although the green appears to be flat, players are surprised by its subtle breaks and quickness.

Tee	Yards
Championship	501

Hole #11 "Brook"

Par 3

A long downhill par 3 with a green that runs away from the shot, the eleventh hole is a classic short hole, with a great view from the tee, playing downhill 255 yards from the blue tees to a green surrounded by extensive bunkering. The green slopes away from the tee, so holding this green is difficult, especially with long irons. Shots that don’t hold or reach the putting surface present challenging chip shots, and require a deft touch, especially from the thick rough that surrounds the green. Beware of too much courage when playing to a back pin; one firm bounce can propel the ball out-of bounds!

Tee	Yards
Championship	255

Hole #12 "Scoonie"

Par 4

Known as the “Nickel and Dime”, 12 is Ridgewood’s shortest par 4. The hole plays only 283 yards from the championship tees but tests the mettle of even the best golfers. The short length of the hole presents a variety of options. The longest hitters can attempt to drive the green. Most players follow a two-shot strategy. Long hitters who play a driver off the tee can over hit the fairway and come to rest in gnarly, thick rough on the upslope to the green. But a poorly struck iron or rescue tee ball can find either of two fairway bunkers or thick rough. The approach shot is very tricky. A short iron shot that must be played accurately (with a soft touch) up to a small and extremely narrow “plateau green” surrounded by six deadly bunkers with those on the left side of the green the most foreboding. Failure to hit to the upper or lower tier where the flag stick is located will result in a challenging two-putt with subtle breaks that seem almost impossible to be real. This hole claims a place on Golf Digest’s “Top 500 Best Holes in the World” and holds a place among the Sports Illustrated “Top 18 Tillinghast Holes.” The Met Golfer also rates it in their “Dream 18.” Modern legend suggests that the “Nickel and Dime” name comes from the strategy Tillinghast anticipated would be employed by the game’s best players. A Nickel (5-iron) to the fairway would be followed by a Dime (10-iron ) to the green.

Tee	Yards
Championship	283

Hole #13 "Muckle"

Par 5

At 622 yards from the championship tee, this par 5 opens with a tee shot downhill. You must aim away from the line of trees on the left but a bunker stands ready to catch balls hit too far to the right. Hit a solid drive and you will be in position to strike a strong second shot over a series of moguls covered with deep rough that run on an angle for 50-75 yards mid-hole, ending about 175 yards from the green. The result will be a mid to short iron approach shot downhill to an understated, deceptively fast and well protected by bunkers green tucked into a narrow corner of the course. Make any mistakes along the way, and you’ll understand how naturally clever are Tillinghast’s par 5 designs. This design holds a place among the Sports Illustrated “Top 18 Tillinghast Holes.” Many of Tillinghast’s top designs contain a par 5 resembling Pine Valley’s seventh, where the second shot must carry “Hell’s Half Acre,” a vast expanse of sand. Both 13 and 3 fit this mold.

Tee	Yards
Championship	622

Hole #14 "Nub"

Par 4

This is the toughest approach shot at Ridgewood. The big hitters can manage the distance and the difficulty associated with positioning the drive and hitting the tough second shot uphill to a steeply elevated green… but even they have trepidations. The fifth is simply one of the most challenging holes on the golf course. It provides a generous landing area for tee shots, but the longest hitters need to avoid the cross bunker on the right side of the fairway and the deep rough on the left. The elevated triple-tier green has a severe slope from back-to-front and left-to-right, and it is common for putts to roll downhill off the front of the green into the fairway.

Tee	Yards
Championship	408

Hole #15 "Beeches"

Par 3

A shot-maker’s par 3, this fifteenth hole is a paradigm of great architecture that features a small green, slightly uphill from the tee and surrounded by several bunkers. It’s a tough green to hit though only 145 yards from the championship tee, but shots that land and stay on the putting surface will usually leave a good run for a birdie putt. Players who miss this green will have a difficult time making par, particularly if they miss left and have to chip on to a downward sloping left to right green.

Tee	Yards
Championship	145

Hole #16 "Sneak"

Par 4

Rewarding an accurate drive and a confident second shot. The tee shot deceptively invites the golfer to aim at the flag stick with the usual result being a ball in heavy right rough. But a newly added fairway bunker increases the risk to longer hitters seeking to play in from the left rough. The tee box is elevated and a good, accurate tee shot will leave a player with an approach shot with a short iron. Avoid the many greenside bunkers, short and left of the green, deep right, and along the right front corner and side of the green. Too much boldness on the second shot results in a ball stymied beneath bushes behind the green, or, even worse, out of bounds.

Tee	Yards
Championship	428

Hole #17 "Tipperary"

Par 5

Dogleg left and long, it’s one of the great par 5’s in the game. Long drives from an intimidating tee box must cut the dogleg (at least a little) but too far left means into the woods, out of bounds and the dreaded “reload.” An abundance of caution is also dangerous as tee balls to the right can disappear in deep rough or be blocked by a line of trees and, of course, make reaching in three shots more difficult. A strong second shot to a narrow opening is needed to avoid the cross bunker on the left side of the fairway, and to pass the giant tulip tree that sits imposingly on the corner on the right side of the fairway. The third shot requires power and accuracy to reach a small green, carry past the false front, but not carry off the back of the green. It is wise to play to the right side of the green to negotiate the severe right-to-left swing that can channel a ball steeply downhill into dangerous bunkers. But shots going too far right can get “hung up” and the result is a difficult downhill chip from deep rough on to a severely sloping green.

Tee	Yards
Championship	591

Hole #18 "Gabriel's Horn"

Par 4

Back to the “hall” of the mighty oaks, the West nine ends with an imposing dogleg right par 4 that plays 466 yards from the Championship tee to a fairway lined with mighty oaks on the left and right. One of the few holes that gives advantage to playing a fade off the tee. Be accurate with your drive. Cut the dogleg too sharply on the right and trees will knock you straight down or worse and it will be three shots to reach the green. Hit the ball too long to the left and you could be blocked in the line of oaks or run through them into the driving range. Position “A,” left side of the fairway, provides the best angle to a green that is guarded on the left with deep bunkers and a fairway that slopes sharply right to left and feeds otherwise promising shots into the bunker. The green features a putting surface that swings right-to-left and runs quickly from back to front.

Tee	Yards
Championship	466