Friar'S Head

Friar's Head opened in 2003 on the North Shore of Long Island at Baiting Hollow, and it quickly became one of the most admired modern courses in the United States. Founder Ken Bakst, the 1997 USGA Mid-Amateur champion, brought in Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, who first walked the land in 1997 not long after their breakthrough at Sand Hills. The site presented an unusual challenge: towering natural sand dunes perched high above Long Island Sound on one side, and flat former potato farmland on the other. Coore and Crenshaw wove the routing back and forth between the two, artfully reshaping the farm ground so it blends into the wild dunes almost seamlessly. The result is a private, walking-focused course celebrated for its natural look, subtle greens, and the way it hides its considerable construction behind terrain that feels entirely found rather than built.