To play a Long Island golf course that predates World War I, you typically need a level of access that only a fortunate few consider attainable. For the rest of us, all you need are a couple of bucks for a ferry ticket. Shelter Island Country Club, more commonly and affectionately known as Goat Hill, has roots that dig all the way back to 1901, making it Long Island’s oldest public golf course by decades.
The name Goat Hill stems from the course’s founding, a simpler time when teams of goats and horses were used to tow the newly constructed clubhouse up Shelter Island’s steep hills to where it stands today — on a high point overlooking a funky nine-hole design. Goat Hill features a bevy of blind shots, dramatic slopes and hidden greens. Fairway flags point players in the right direction, and bells alert trailing groups when a fairway or green is clear. It is a genuine throwback, without the bells (not counting the fairway ones) and whistles of modern courses and no interest in adding them. The course is largely unchanged since it was built.
Adding to the quirk, due to local water restrictions, only the course’s greens are irrigated. So dry conditions add a serious amount of bounce and roll over the coaster-like contours, making Goat Hill, at times, the fastest and firmest of all Long Island publics.
The course maxes out at 2,508 yards, a number that is largely meaningless since very few of those yards are flat. From 75 yards in, most holes play dead downhill to small greens that run toward the back. A blend of course knowledge and creativity near the greens is key to scoring success. It’s not until the course’s signature hole at #9 where players are presented with a full shot and a clear view.
LAYOUT:
From the clubhouse, the course fans out in a counter-clockwise loop, with most of the holes playing alongside quiet local streets. In the middle is a small driving range that only reveals itself once you’ve teed off on the fifth hole. Shelter Island’s opener features a design that you should get yourself acquainted with. The 345-yard par-4 rises toward a peak about two-thirds of the way to the hole, then quickly drops downhill to a small green. A fairway flag provides the inexperienced player with some much-needed guidance.
The same general design appears at #4, #7 and #8. Perhaps the trickiest of the group, #4 is a long par-3 where you have to balance the strength to get the ball over another high peak and the touch to keep it from bounding down the far slope and into the brush. You won’t know the result until you crest the hill. At #8, what can only be described as a wall of uphill turf dominates the view — pick a line, hit the shot and find your ball. Once you do, try to find the green hidden at the end of the rumpled fairway. Holes #7 and #8 share the vast, rolling fairway, and another bell sits in the middle to alert players that the area is clear.
The par-3 fifth (above) breaks from the mold, playing straight downhill with the green in full view. It’s the shortest hole on the course at 159 yards, but the green breaks hard from left to right. Standing on the sixth tee, players might wonder if they’ve mistakenly wandered onto a neighboring field. There’s no green in sight. Look a bit harder though and you’ll see the top of a flag barely visible behind another plunging slope. Here, play short of the 179-yard distance and trust the hillside to kick the ball toward the pin.
Most of the photography associated with Goat Hill focuses on its clubhouse and the ninth green sitting just below, and with good reason — it’s a beautiful finish and a classically challenging hole, often in front of a patio full of golfers and diners. The hole plays 203 yards into the prevailing wind, making a par to close the round worthy of a fist pump and a local beer on the terrace.
CONDITIONS:
As noted above, Shelter Island does not irrigate the tees and fairways. Add in the massive hills and the frequency of blind tee shots and approaches, and … let’s face it, the course is simply not for everyone. If you have an appreciation for history and room in your heart for simple golf stripped down to its early-1900s core, Goat Hill is up your alley. If you head to Shelter Island expecting manicured conditions, you’ll need an invite to Gardiner’s Bay Country Club nearby. Goat Hill can be parched and bouncy, green and weedy, and anything in between depending on weather.
The greens, meanwhile, are kept soft and smooth, and they are surprisingly lush given the turf conditions leading to them. Putts are slow and often run toward the backs, with the exception of some pretty hard breaks to the sides on #4 and #5.
Nine-hole courses at 2,500 yards are typically simple walks, but not Goat Hill. There is some serious up and down on most holes. Savor the view on #9 tee, because you’ll need to catch your breath after hauling up #7 and #8.
There is one small bunker on the course, about 10 yards to the right of #5 green. On the way there, you’ll pass the small driving range tucked in the woods in the middle of the property.
About those fairway flags — don’t aim for them. Especially on #1, where first-timers might make the mistake of pitching up to them and expecting a simple two-putt par. (Yes, that’s exactly what I did.) Imagine the surprise when you find the real flag is 60 yards farther down the hill.
HOLES TO REMEMBER:
For a course that’s notable for all the elements that you can’t see, a panoramic view of an amphitheater green under a historic clubhouse becomes all the more memorable. The ninth hole is scenic and deserves the attention. More importantly, it’s a legitimate test. The green sits on a small shelf cut into the hillside, and a steep, rough-covered backstop separates the surface from the clubhouse. Anything from a long iron to a fairway wood will be called upon to launch a 203-yard tee shot through the island wind and onto the raised green. Misses are left to the whims of Shelter Island’s raw, rolling terrain. Putts for birdie, par, bogey and beyond come under the watchful eye of visitors on the dining terrace, putting green and first tee up on the hill.
AREAS TO AVOID:
There is a feeling at Goat Hill that the course is constantly running away from you. Nearly all approaches are sledding downhill to greens tilted toward the back. As choppy as the turf short of the green might be, lies are typically worse on the far side. So avoid going long at Shelter Island as a general precaution, and do so by clubbing down and letting the contours work for you.
NEARBY COURSES:
Island’s End (5 miles – requires ferry ride)
Sag Harbor (10 miles – requires ferry ride)
CONTACT:
26 Sunnyside Ave., Shelter Island Heights, 11965
(631) 749-0416
www.shelterislandcc.org
