18-HOLE COURSE

Looking back over the par-5 2nd green, to the undulating hills. (photo courtesy hudsonhillsgolf.com)

Pro: Craig Coombes, PGA

General Information, Pro Shop
& Reservations: 914-864-3000
You must have a “Park Pass” to access the reservation system.  This pass is only available to Westchester County residents for a fee of $50 for 3 years, senior citizens pay less.  Those with the Park Pass can reserve tee times up to 8 days in advance
Run by: Billy Casper Golf  Management for the Westchester County Department of Parks
Open: March 31 through mid-Decemeber
Restrictions: Proper dress required; non-metal spikes only
USGA Computer ‘handicap’ system available: Yes; Cost: $30  
Available for Outings: Yes
Credit Cards: Amex, Visa, MC    
Discounts: For seniors and juniors weekdays, and for twilight and super-twilight play
Carts: Pull - $5; Power - included in greens fee
Club Rentals: $40 for full set

Amenities:
Pro Shop: Yes, full service    
Lessons: Yes; Clinics: None  
Driving Range: None  
Practice Putting Greens: Yes   
Practice Chipping Area: Yes
Clubhouse: Yes
Bar & Grill: Yes
Lockers / Showers: For men and women

Website: http://www.hudsonhillsgolf.com/

GOLF COURSE
Built: 2004
Architect: Mark Mungeam

Description: This original Mark Mungeam design has gone through more than just a face lift.  The story goes that after Westchester County bought what was the site of a private, IBM-owned golf club - along with the surrounding acreage - around 2002, Mungeam was given free range of the property.  That was cut short when the deficit-ridden county had to sell off a large chunk of the land, putting a stranglehold on Mungeam’s original idea and limiting the course to the tight confines it now occupies. 

With balls flying in every direction and a fore! call about as common as a hole-in-one (unfortunately), sometimes this undulating, and often-blind layout can be physically dangerous.  Where it excels is in its natural beauty - views of the Hudson River Valley are abundant and often make some confounding hole designs seem second in importance.  That’s not to say there aren’t some good holes - there are more than a handful of them - but some non-sensical routing along with some over-complication of what was a great piece of land can be a deterrent to what is, in the end, a fun and enjoyable track.

Water to the left of the short par-3 6th makes for a good-looking approach. (photo courtesty hudsonhillgolf.com.)

Signature Hole: No. 7.  564-yard Par 5.  This average-length par-5 represents the overreaching attempt of the design.  With a blind tee shot (directly behind the previous hole’s green) that goes up over a hill then down another, the landing area is incredibly tight with OB left and thick, tall-standing trees right.  For the long hitter, driver is not an option off the tee, as the fairway gives way to a waste area that bisects the hole, very much in play coming off the downslope.  From there, it’s over 250 yards to the green with the waste area running all along the right side (recent renovations look to turn this area into normal rough), an extremely difficult shot from an uneven lie.  The greens is well-guarded with bunkers and holds just slight undulation.  A confounding design that leaves no risk nor reward, just lost balls and frustration.

Reader Comments: A very pretty and very demanding golf course.  A tricked-up course with some awful routing.  Some holes left me scratching my head, terrible!

Directions: Distance from Manhattan approximately 31 miles.
FDR (north) to Major Deegan Expressway north to Exit #5 (Central Park Ave.)  Take Central Park Ave. toward Rte 100/White Plains for approx. 1 mile to the Sprain Brook Parkway north.   Proceed for approx. 11 miles and the Sprain Brook becomes the Taconic State Parkway.  Continue on the Taconic for another 8 miles to the Rte. 134/Ossining exit.  Go left onto Rte 134 for 1 mile to golf course on left.

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