When first asked by Arena Corp. c.e.o. Steve Deuerstein if a golf course could be designed and built on Governor’s Island, 800 yards by ferry from downtown Manhattan, over an old layout that had been abandoned over 10 years ago, Robert McNeil, president and principal golf architect of The Northeast Golf Company, scratched his head with doubt.
With the vision that a charity event, The Manhattan Golf Classic, to benefit the youth of New York City, would be played as a professional skins game featuring some of the world’s top professionals, the task became more daunting. Finally, when assessing the available land, it became clear that a mere 10 acres would be available for the design.
After days of pondering the options, McNeil developed a composite golf course layout that utilized 6 greens and 10 tees to play as an 18 hole golf course. The holes would be played from varying angles and yardages and the pins would be moved on the greens to provide 18 different golf holes.
East Coast Shaping, working under the watchful eye of the New York City Parks Department and the National Park Service constructed the new features within the confines of the old ones. The restrictions were tremendous including, among other challenges, spending a day on site with the bomb squad to detect any unexploded ordinance that may exist from historic revolutionary war battles on the site. Fifteen potential hazards were identified during the process requiring modifications to the design and a tip toe approach to construction. The entire facility was built with a skid steer and hand tools. The greens were sodded with bentgrass donated by Vasta Farms.
On Oct. 22, 2006, the first ever professional golf tournament in Manhattan took place pinning 8 time Majors winner Tom Watson and Donald Trump against the LPGA’s best, 10 times Majors winner Annika Sorenstam and Natalie Gulbis. The course played to 5600 yards featuring the quirky 495 yard par 5 fourth hole and the beefy 235 yard par 3 eleventh hole. The layout did not yield a round under par. The team of Watson and Trump finished eagle, par, and birdie to win the inaugural event which raised over $200,000.
Questions can be directed to The Northeast Golf Company – 401/667-4994.