Number 13: Friars Head

Ceiling: 95.5

Rating: 92.5

Trend over Time: 5.5

I vividly remember seeing pictures of Friars Head as a young guy who had never seen anything other than golf in Charlotte, NC and thinking “Wait what? Golf can be this cool?” It was the first golf course I had ever seen in pictures that is carved through sandy dunes land and I thought it was the coolest thing. And it kind of is. While we have one more course to get to on the list of top modern, also a Coore and Crenshaw, Friars Head is commonly considered to be the second-best modern build. Something I consider often is how a course is elevated or knocked in peoples’ eyes based on its standing relative to its competitive set. A course with nothing else good around it likely rises as it stands out in its area. Friars Head has maybe the strongest competitive set in the states within 25 miles of it, and it still shines. That’s how you know it’s a certified banger of a golf course.

Culture:

One thing I love about Friars Head is that there is no mistaking it for a course trying to be like Shinnecock or NGLA. Those are old school, traditional golf clubs developed in the Golden Age. Friars Head is new, big money, and owns its own vibe beautifully. The clubhouse is large and posh. The locker room is more of the same. And the showers are A1. While some of the other long island clubs feel to me like amazing golf courses but a more old school membership that have more to do with last name and social standing, Friars Head stands out as the golf club. Now let’s be clear, it is far from cheap to join, so its not for anyone, but when you are there you can feel how seriously they take the golf part of things. The caddies are some of the best I have ever seen, the course is kept in as good of condition as you can ask for, and the day to day playing style and overall design of the course are not for hit and giggle golf. Friars Head’s developer is a former US Mid Am Champion and set out to create an amazing but robust golf experience, and for what it’s worth, I give him at minimum a 9.8/10 if not higher.

Competition:

Friars Head has hosted multiple Met Golf Association events through the years and has to be one of the biggest treats you can get as a competitor to have the chance to compete there. Like I talked about Somerset Hills being ideal for Mid, Senior, and Women’s Ams, Friars has plenty of chops for the general Amateur division. It’s such a good blend for competitive golf as well of being plenty hard enough but also scorable and most importantly just a course where you have that pinch me feeling all day when you get to compete on it. This past summer’s Met Amateur saw plenty of players shoot between 65 and 69 but only 11 total players broke par for the 36 hole stroke play qualifying. Ideal scoring to me. Getable, but far from easy. The time I played Friars that was exactly how I felt. Good shots are rewarded and bad ones are punished. Truly what else could you ask for?

Architecture:

What Coore and Crenshaw are best known for is their minimalist style. Their ability to use the land presented to them to create the best golf rather than be the ones to dictate how a hole should look is what has made them so successful. Often times, their courses have a rather rugged and certainly natural feel to them. Which is great, but when that natural and rugged feel is paired with every I dotted and T crossed from a conditioning and finishing standpoint like at Friars Head. Woah. Good becomes great really fast. While it is all built and beautifully situated within the natural landscape, I’ve never seen the balance between human influence and a natural aesthetic struck like it is at Friars. The greens look natural but roll like pool tables. The fairways appear to have been carved through the dunes yet are firm and as pure as you’ll find. The place just rocks. When Coore and Crenshaw are at their best, it’s a special thing, and Friars Head is just about as good as it gets for them.