High atop the bluff overlooking Long Island Sound in Baiting Hollow, New York, sits the magnificent stone clubhouse of Friar's Head Golf Club. On a clear day, enjoying lunch on the veranda or sharing an intimate drink by one of the fire pits approaching the cliffsedge, you can look across the water and see Connecticut far in the distance. And though you're on Long Island -- one of the most densely populated pieces of land in all of North America -- when you're at Friar's Head, it's easy to feel like there isn't anybody else around for miles and miles. The property is so peaceful, so tranquil. And though it may not always have seemed so, it's the perfect location for one of the very best courses in all of North America.

It's taken me a couple of months to write this blog. Friar's Head had an effect on me. I haven't played many courses like it in that sense. And though I make my living as a writer, I've struggled to find the words to really describe it. I've taken some solace, though, in the history of Friar's Head. As it turns out, when famed architect Bill Coore of Corre & Crenshaw visited the site and began to think about how he might route a course through land that included cliffs and sand dunes and forest and potato farm, he struggled to find his way, too.

In 1997, Coore & Crenshaw were invited to tour 350 acres of land outside of Rivershead, NY, with three-quarters of a mile of shoreline and bluffs that rose as high as 100 feet above the water, moving through dense woodland and into a flat potato farm the farther the land stretched from the beach. The design team could imagine incredible holes along the coast but were philosophically opposed to the kind of earth moving it would take. They wanted to design a course that would flow naturally across the land as they found it, and it proved a puzzle without an obvious solution. It took Coore multiple visits to the site and more than a year to figure out a routing that would work to build a course worthy of the land with which they'd been presented. And it would be another five years before the course opened in 2003. So, I guess I shouldn't feel so bad about needing a couple of months to figure out how I wanted to write about it.

Friar's Head is currently ranked the No. 16 course in the country by Golf Digest and No. 13 by Golf Magazine. It is, without a doubt, one of the most exclusive clubs in the country. It's fairly hidden, with no signage near the road to indicate its private driveway and no signage, even, on the gate -- which is not ornate in the least and looks, in fact, as thought it might simply guard someone's farm. My playing partner and I both breathed a sign of relief when the gate began to swing open for us, and we gave a little wave ot the small, practically hidden security camera that had apparently signaled our presence to an unseen guard station.

I was playing this day with my frequent companion and good friend Gregg, who I've mentioned in other posts. After dropping our clubs with the attendants at the bag drop, he and I walked up the drive and were just blown away by the clubhouse, consisting of two gorgeous stone structures perched atop the bluff looking out over the Sound. Frankly, we felt a bit like we didn't belong. Rather than being the invited guests of a member, we were unaccompanied guests whose play had been arranged through the connections of the head pro at my club, and so it felt a bit like showing up on foreign soil.

But the staff at Friar's Head could not have been more welcoming. There didn't seem to be many people at all on property, which shocked me given that it was a gorgeous mid-June day, which I assumed to be high-time for Long Island vacationers. But the two of us and two members of the staff were the only four souls in Friar's Head's entire locker room. The chief attendant gave us the lay of the land, letting us know where to go to check in with the golf shop; where to hook up with our caddie; where we'd find the best views on the course; and his most important bit of advice of the day -- to be sure not to skip a shower at the end of the round because, as he said, the showers in the Friar's Head locker room are legend.

After checking in with the golf shop, Gregg and I headed out in search of our caddie. Our bags had been loaded onto a cart to head down to the range, and the caddie master asked us before we went to warm up if we had a preference about where we started our round. Assuming he meant the front nine or the back -- and wanting to be as easy-going as we could be given our status as unaccompanied guests -- I answered that we'd start wherever made the most sense for them.

So, we headed down to the range to hit a few balls and chat with our caddie a bit. There was a group teeing off on the first hole as we passed the tee and a couple of members hitting balls on the range. And by the time we headed back up to the caddie master to get our marching orders about 20 minutes later, there wasn't a member in sight.

That's when we experienced one of the most surprising things I've ever witnessed on a golf course. When our caddie told the caddie master that we were ready to go, instead of pointing us to the first or 10th tee, he launched a drone high into the air. We watched, baffled, as he controlled it from his phone for a few minutes without a word. Then, as we saw the drone returning over the trees, he turned to our caddie and said, "I'm going to start you guys out on 14."

That was definitely a new one for me. I'd never seen anything like it. And I wondered how backed up things must be on the rest of the course if he was sending us out to 14. As it turned out, though, he was setting us up for the experience of a lifetime. By starting us on 14 when he did, he basically ensured that we wouldn't run into another golfer all day long. There was a single who caught up to us that we let play through on 16, but after that, we not only didn't come in contact with any other players -- we did not see any other players -- on the entire course all afternoon. It was as though we had the entire place to ourselves. It was magical.

Friar's Head plays to a published distance of 6,796 yardages, but it's the only course I've ever played with no yardages on the scorecard. For the purposes of this post, I'm going to include the hole lengths listed for the blue tees in the USGA's GHIN app, but I can't attest to the accuracy of those as it seems the club moves the tee markers around quite a bit. And as the fairway cut flows throughout the course, it's often impossible to tell if the tee markers are actually on what we'd think of as a tee box or if they've just been set down on a flat area of land between the previous green and the next fairway. It sounds strange, but it's really cool the way it makes the course feel like it just continues to roll from one hole to the next even as the terrain completely changes.

Despite having begun our round on No. 14, I'm going to write here about the holes in order, beginning with No. 1, as I presume most people experience the course.

Hole 1 - Par 4 - 354 Yards

Hole No. 1 at Friar's Head is a wonderful introduction to the differences in terrain that define the course. Playing away from Long Island Sound, trees down the left side threaten to turn a poorly struck tee shot into a big number on the card. Meanwhile, the sandy dunes on which the holes near the water were built dominate the entire right side of the hole. The fairway is especially wide in the landing area, however, generously offering players the opportunity to get their rounds off to a strong start.

The approach shot on No. 1 plays uphill to a large green. With trees left and right and large waste areas short of the green to collect any ball that doesn't make the putting surface, take enough club to reach the elevated green, and keep it between the uprights for a chance to open with par or maybe even a birdie.

The view back from the green on No. 1, with the clubhouse and the Sound in the distance, is one of my favorites on the course. It's the last look at the water until the 9th hole as most of the front nine plays aross the inland terrain once occupied by a large potato farm.

Hole 2 - Par 5 - 568 Yards

From the second tee, the bulk of the front nine is spread out below and in front of you. It's really incredible to recognize how Coore & Crenshaw turned this sprawling flat land into a series of really fantastic golf holes that that flow so well from one to the next before bringing players back up the hill into the woodland and dunes as they return to the clubhouse.

The 5th hole is a mid-length par-5 that plays shorter due to the downhill tee shot. Fescue knobs threaten to snag poorly hit tee shots, as does a long fairway bunker on the left side of the hole. For those who find the fairway off the tee, it'll take a shot of about 200 yards to carry the cross bunker up ahead, leaving players a shot of about 70 yards into a three-tiered green that measures nearly 50 yards deep.

With a short-iron in-hand for the third, there isn't much to protect this green from giving up a good score. A small bunker -- literally labeled "Small Bunker" in the yardage book -- does sit just in front of the right side of the green and could present a challenge for the unlucky player who finds it. But for most folks, a sand wedge or lob wedge into the middle of this green should be a high-percentage shot that sets up an easy par and a possible birdie.

As it happened for me, I shanked my third shot and barely missed a nasty little fairway bunker off to the right of the green that really shouldn't even be in play for most players. As I stood over my ball, eyeing up a pitch into the green, my caddie, Jay, handed me my sand wedge and said, "It's about 30 yards." I stood over my ball again, about to take my shot, when Jay spoke up again and said, "Actually, it's 34 yards." He'd just shot the distance on his rangefinder.

I stepped back from the ball, took another practice swing, and said, "Well, that changes everything." Jay laughed. And then I stepped up to my ball again, made my stroke and one hopped my ball into the bottom of the cup for birdie. As Jay looked at me wide-eyed, I handed him back my wedge and said, "Told you that changed everything." And we both laughed as Gregg plucked my ball out of the hole and tossed it back to me.

Hole 3 - Par 4 - 470 Yards

Hole No. 3 is a big par-4 that might feel like a par-5 to short hitters. While the drama at Friar's Head, visually, is in the holes that climb and wind through the dunes and woodland, some of the hardest holes on the course are actually on the flattest land, where subtlety; length; and a more-than-healthy mix of sand, high grasses and dense bushes make each hole a challenge.

The approach to No. 3 -- a long iron or even a hybrid/wood for most players -- needs to avoid bunkers short-right and along nearly the entire left side of the green. Beyond the green, players can't help but notice the long barn that Coore and Crenshaw wanted to keep on the course as both a visually interesting feature and as a reminder of the property's history.

Hole 4 - Par 3 - 230 Yards

The 4th hole is just an absolute beast of a par-3 -- a wood or hybrid for most players to an elevated green guarded by sand left and closely-cut fairway that will send a ball that will turn a ball that just misses the green into an awkward 30 or 40 yard pitch shot to a putting surface that does not want to hold a ball. For players who can't confidently reach the green may want to hit an easier layup to the fairway area just beyond the cross bunkers, leaving a 70-yard-or-so approach straight uphill to this deep, narrow green. A par on this hole can feel like a birdie.

Hole 5 - Par 4 - 314 Yards

Hole No. 5 is one of my favorite holes on the front nine -- a driveable par-4 with a green guarded by sand and mounds that will either catch or kick away a ball that doesn't find the right line into the putting surface, creating a difficult up-and-down. The green also curls around mounds on the left side such that it's possible to find yourself on the front of the green with no direct line to the hole if the pin is placed back-left, or vice-versa. Off the tee, a ball faded off the bunker left of the green may provide the best opportunity to reach the putting surface, but over-cut it just a little or catch the wrong angle of the mounds short of the green, and your ball could easily wind up in the very difficult bunker that sits deep below and to the right of the green.

The brilliance of this Coore & Crenshaw design isn't just in the beauty of the holes along the dunes but the deceptive challenge of even the shortest inland holes. Hole No. 5 looks on paper -- and even from the tee -- as though it ought to be an easy birdie hole, but par remains a very good score.

Hole 6 - Par 4 - 411 Yards

No. 6 begins the gradual climb back uphill toward the dunes and woodland nearer the shore. With the fairway angled from right to left, the hole calls for a big draw off the tee in order to cut some of the angle and shorten the approach to the green. But bunkers, a steep hillside, dense bushes and high grass all along the left side wait to strip you of any hope for a par if you overcook it or fail to carry the 225 yards or more of distance it's going to take to get over that first bunker and into the fairway. For many players, the smar play is going to be to bail right of all the danger off the tee and simply accept that your approach will be played with either a long-iron or even a hybrid.

Miss the green on the 6th hole, and your ball is likely to either find the deep bunker left or a collection area short, right or long of the putting surface. The green itself, however, is something of a plateau and one of the flattest greens on the course. So, players who do reach this green in two may have a very legitimate chance to make birdie.

Hole 7 - Par 5 - 520 Yards

The 7th hole is another mid-length par-5, made more challenging by the elevation change as the hole rises from tee to fairway to green and by the shape of the fairway. With a large fairway bunker left off the tee, the smart drive favors the right side of teh fairway. For all but the biggest of hitters, the next shot will be left to avoid the huge native sand area on the right side of the hole that sweeps in and pushes the fairway out to the left. And then the third shot is back to the right in an effort to find one of the longest, narrowest and most contoured greens on the course.

In this picture looking back at the 7th hole, you can see some of the contouring that makes this such a tough green. The yardage book depicts six different tiers on this green that measures 55 yards deep.

Hole 8 - Par 3 - 167 Yards

No. 8 is a fantastic par-3 that plays uphill to a green surrounded by sand dunes and mounds with thick rough and high natural grasses. There is a bit of fairway short-right of the green where balls that cach the false front on this green will collect, leaving a challenging pitch into this two-tiered green. Any player who successfully puts their tee shot somewhere in the vicinity of the middle fo the putting surface will be rewarded with what ought to be a relatively easy par. Players who go flag hunting, however, may find themselves scrambling for bogie or worse.

Hole 9 - Par 4 - 391 Yards

The final hole of the front nine is also the most picturesque, playing among the dunes and the woodlands back toward Friar Head's magnificent clubhouse and Long Island Sound beyond. The tee shot requires at least 200 yards of carry to cover the native sand area that dominates the right side of the hole. Or, shorter players have plenty of room to bail out to the left, leaving themselves with a longer approach into the green. Avoid the bunker on the left, and the fairway contouring will feed the ball from left to right once it finds the fairway.

The clubhouse behind the night green is so impressive that it almost makes it difficult to concentrate on the approach to this hole. From the fairway, a short- or mid-iron into this green should set players up with an opportunity for a good score before the turn. This green is no push-over, however. With almost a peak in the center of the green, this heavily contoured putting surface has the potential to send a poorly played ball in virtually any direction. Finding the proper level of the green is important as the farther you land your ball from the hole, the farther the contours of the green will send your ball away from the hole. Interestingly, that seems to be true almost no matter where the hole is cut on this green -- an ingenious bit of design work. It's very easy for a green-in-regulation to turn into a bogie on this hole.

I could not have been more impressed with Friar's Head's clubhouse -- or any other bit of the property. It truly is an amazing place. And we're just making the turn!

Hole 10 - Par 3 - 196 Yards

The 10th hole is a long par-3 playing away from the shoreline. It plays slightly uphill to a green big green, the left half of which is almost completely hidden from sight by a huge sand dune and what the yardage book calls a mound. From the tee, it looks more like a mountain! We only knew where the flag was because Jay made sure to have us take a look at it while we were making our way over from the 9th green, before we reached the tee and our view was completely obstructed. The green on 10 is nearly 65 yards deep, and depending on wind conditions and the pin placement, Jay told us the right club could be anything from a 9-iron to a driver. On this particular day, he told us it was playing like a 210-yard shot, right over the giant mound/dune.

I hit a terrific 4-iron on exactly the line Jay had given us, and if you squint, you can see my ball wound up about 10 feet short of the hole. Happy to say I sank that for my second birdie of the day. But from this angle, you can really get a sense of just how massive that mound/dune in front of the green really is. I also just love the look back across the dunes to the clubhouse and the Sound.

One thing worth noting as you look at this picture is the double flag on the pins at Friar's Head. It's just one of the unique features of the club. I asked Jay about it, and he explained that the two flags represent the letters F and H in the nautical alphabet. As the story goes, Friar's Head takes its name from descriptions of 19th-century merchant sailors, who looked out from their ships at the spot and saw a crowned dune of sand with vegetation below the peak, looking like the head of a monk ... or, a Friar's Head. So, the flags on the pins at each green, representing the nautical alphabet symbols for the letters F and H, not only represent the name of the club but are also a nod to the history of the very special land on which it was built. By the way, did I mention I made that putt for birdie? ;)

Hole 11 - Par 5 - 560 Yards

Much like the second hole, No. 11 is a mid-length par-5 that plays a bit shorter due to the elevation change from the tee to the fairway. A huge waste bunker stretches along the left side of the fairway for the entire first half of the hole, and the fairway is split into a V by sandy mounds beginning about 185 yards from the tee (depending on where the tees happen to be when you play the course). Before you take your opening shot on this hole, the fairway looks large and inviting. Once your ball is in the air, there's a tendency to feel like the fairway is suddenly growing narrower and narrower.

Provided you find the fairway (or, at least, that you find your ball off the tee), there isn't a lot of trouble on the hole that ought to prevent you from posting a good score. On the second shot -- assuming you are laying up short of the green -- there are some mounds and a couple of small bunkers in the middle of the fairway (one about 150 yards out from the green and another at about 90 yards) that could introduce a bit of uncertainty into your approach. Jay suggested I play to leave myself a full pitching wedge into this green, which meant laying back to about 125 yards for me, and there was no trouble to be had within 30 yards of me.

The challenge on the approach is that the green is guarded by deep bunkers to the left and a small pot bunker on the right. What's more, the two-tiered putting surface features a false front that requires you carry your ball a bit deeper onto the green than you otherwise might, but a ball hit too deep onto the green may find the downslope to the lower back tier and could shoot all the way through the green, off the back and into the collection area behind the green.

Hole 12 - Par 3 - 195 Yards

The 12th hole can be visually deceptive. From the tee, the large bunker on the left side of the hole looks massive. In truth, however, if you can fly the ball to the green, that bunker is entirely out of play because it sits farther short of the putting surface than you can tell from the tee. Meanwhile, there is a deep, treacherous bunker on the right that stretches nearly the entire 40+ yards of the green. From the tee, however, the right greenside bunker barely registers as the sand sits below the surface of what can be seen with the contours of the ground over there. Players who opt to bail right in order to avoid the sand they can see to the left are likely to find themselves in much more trouble than those who aim for the left half of the green and fly the ball all the way to the putting surface.

Hole 13 - Par 4 - 476 Yards

No. 13 was our finishing hole for the day because we'd been assigned to start on 14 by the drone pilot caddie master/starter, and what a hole on which to close! Slightly uphill, playing well over 450 yards, the 13th gives you nothing you don't step up and take. From the tee, there ar ea couple of pot bunkers about 250 yards out that must be avoided at all costs. Ideally, a drive just right of those bunkers will set up a long-iron into this green, but be careful. There's a series of fairway bunkers and mounds down the right side that have to be avoided in order to have a chance at par on this hole. (If you're thinking birdie, you're either delusional or you're a much better golfer than I am!)

If you're lucky enough to fin dthe fairway, you've likely got a long-iron or hybrid into this green. Any ball that lands on the first 10 yards or so of the green is likely coming back down the false front into the fairway. Balls right of the green will kick into a 40-yard-long bunker. And balls left or long risk finding mounds than could send the ball in almost any direction. A green-in-regulation here is an accomplishment any day, and a par is something to celebrate.

Hole 14 - Par 5 - 515 Yards

The 14th hole at Friar's Head begins the most dramatic stretch of golf on the course and what may be the five of the best consecutive holes on the east coast. The par-5 plays uphill beginning with a risk-reward tee shot. Aim left to avoid the sand dune that dominates your view off the tee, and the hole becomes longer. You also risk running through the fairway and finding yourself in sand dunes to the left that appear farther out than they really are. The landing area is fairly generous, but fail to carry the sand or hit a ball that leaks in either direction, and you're likely to find trouble.

Find the fairway off the tee, and the second shot is really just a straightforward layup, looking for an approach distance that you favor. The only thing you need to do here is avoid the sand dunes and keep the ball in the short grass.

The approach on 14 plays to a green that sits within a natural amphitheater created by the dunes. The putting surface is shaped almost like a shark's tooth with a false front and rising to a second tier on the back-third. It's a relatively small green, but most players are likely hitting just a wedge in for your approach shot. Play to the middle of the green, and there's no reason this shouldn't be an easy par or possibly even a birdie hole.

Note that beyond the green you can see a set of stairs that rise up and over the dune. Members and guests frequently refer to those steps as the "Stairway to Heaven" because of the magnificent four closing holes to which they ascend.

Hole 15 - Par 4 - 458 Yards

I really like this picture, but I don't really think it does the 15th hole justice. From the elevated tee, it is just a gorgeous site, looking out at the hole below, which plays in a valley between the wooded dunes on both sides of the fairway. When Coore and Crenshaw were designing the course, it was really important to them that they disturb as little of the natural terrain, especially among the dunes, as possible. And so the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th wind around a massive amount of land that was left untouched by their routing.

Off the tee, players need to avoid the sand dunes down the right side of the hole at all costs. Depending on the wind and the teeing ground from which you play, you may need to take something less than a driver to avoid running through to the sand dunes that pinch in from the left, but for most players on most days, that sand is likely out of reach. Find the fairway, and this green offers an excellent socoring opportunity as one of the flatter putting surfaces on the course. But don't start thinking about birdie before you've safely found the green. The bunkers left and long on this hole will burst that bubble in a hurry if you play your approach shot poorly.

This is the reason you walk at Friar's Head, if for no other. From the 15th green, Coore and Crenshaw needed to figure out a way to get players to the 16th tee. They didn't want to clear trees and disturb the natural beauty of the dunes with another stairway and path up and through the trees right of the green. So, instead they came up with the idea for a bridge that goes around the dunes, hanging high above the shoreline. It is one of the most beautiful walks in golf.

You simply cannot play Friar's Head and not get a picture as you make your way along the bridge from 15 to 16. And it was pretty obvious as Jay positioned us on the bridge that he's done this once or twice (or a thousand times) before.

Hole 16 - Par 4 - 391 Yards

The 16th hole is an awesome par-4. It should be so much easier than it is. From the tee, the hole dares you to play out to the right; it deceives you into believing there isn't much room down the left side of the fairway as the ridge rises and is overcome by the dune in the distance. But the huge dune to the right rises high above the fairway, and any ball on the short side of the dune makes the green nearly unreachable. A ball that finds the fairway, however, will likely reward the player with a short- to mid-iron approach.

The 16th green is one of the smallest on the course, and the smart play may be to try to run something in that you can control and keep straight up the middle. The bunker right of the green is particularly penal, and the dunes that nearly surround the green complex offer no safety. Even with the eagle eyes of our caddie, we lost a ball in the scrub of the dunes that should have been easy to find. But even if we'd found it, I'm not sure it would have been playable given how tenuous the stance would have been. This is one tough, beautiful hole ... among 18 tough, beautiful holes.

Hole 17 - Par 3 - 147 Yards

No. 17 is such a cool little hole. The shortest hole on the course, it measures less than 150 yards from the back of the teeing ground, and it's just a gorgeous setting with the wooded dunes rising high above to provide a backdrop behind the hole and the blue waters of Long Island Sound -- and even the dark mass of the Connecticut shoreline -- in the distance right of the hole. From the tee, it feels like you're playing to an island green, but instead of water, it's just a sea of sand surrounding the putting surface. And it is not easy to recover from any of it. Accuracy is at a real premium playing to this small, two-tiered green. Miss the green, and this little par-3 can become a difficult par-5 in a hurry!

Hole 18 - Par 4 - 434 Yards

The 18th hole is a long, challenging par-4 that will reward good shots and punish poor ones. What more can you ask for in a finishing hole? A slight dogleg left, the hole beckons players to try to cut the corner, which can be disaster for all but the longest, straightest hitters. Trees, sand and dense vegetation await the errant ball that doesn't carry far enough or that drifts just a little too far to the left. The ideal drive stays right of the sand on the left side of the fairway and is long enough to reach the crest of the hill. With a bit of luck, the fairway will take it from there, turning down and to the left in the direction of the green.

The approach shot to the green is likely to be a mid- to long-iron. Avoid left at all costs. You can recover fromt he right side of this hole, but left is likely dead. If you pull or hook it left and you're lucky enough to find your ball -- either in the bunker that sits 20 feet or more below the putting surface or in even worse shape down the hill to the left somewhere, the chances of even finding the green, let alone hitting it close enough to save par, are not in your favor.

For those who are able to hit their approach shots online, distance control is also important. The 18th green is triple-tiered and easy to three-putt. But that may not be all bad. Considering the view of the Sound and putting out in the shadow of Friar's Head's incredible clubhouse, you just might want to spend a little extra time on this green, soaking it all in.

After our round, it was time to check out the famous Friar's Head showers. No, there are no pictures, but what an experience. I was told by the locker room attendant that the showers pump out water at 90 gallons per minute. I honestly didn't know if that was a lot until I got into the shower myself. For the first 45 seconds or so, it felt like I was being assaulted! And then, I wasn't sure I ever wanted to leave. I'm not sure I'll ever experience a shower like it again. When I told my wife about it later that night, she was unimpressed. I told her about what an incredible club Friar's Head is and how we heard someone at the club mention that Mark Wahlberg is a member (which may or may not be true). Suddenly, I had my wife's attention.

"Wait a minute," she said. "You mean to tell me you might have showered in the same shower that Mark Wahlberg has used?" So now we know where her priorities lie!

After cleaning up, Gregg and I decided to spend a little time sitting out by one of the clifftop firepits, sharing a drink and reminiscing about our round.

Friar's Head is really one of the most incredible places I've ever played. The course. The setting. The vistas. The clubhouse. The showers. It was all perfect. And the fact that I got to share the experience with one of my best friends in the world -- and that it was as if we had the entire place to ourselves -- made it simply unforgettable. And just to be sure we understood what a special day it had been, God gave us this gorgeous sunset over Long Island Sound.

I don't know if I'll ever get back to Friar's Head for another round. And I don't know if a second bite at the apple could really even compare to this first experience, but wow. This was a day of golf I will carry with me for a long, long time.

Have you played at Friar's Head? Have something to say about my blog? Drop a comment below or send me an email at shawn@iputtaround.com, and let me know what you think!