No matter what your view of Donald Trump and his presidency, if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that the guy knows great golf courses. As both an acquirer of real estate and as a developer, The Donald has put his name on some of the truly great golf properties in North America and beyond, including Trump National Doral Golf Club in Florida and Trump Turnberry in Scotland. Until recently, I hadn't played any of them, but I'd seen many of them on TV and heard about them from friends who raved. And after visiting Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point in the Bronx, New York, I can understand why.
Designed by Jack Nicklaus and John Sanford -- and built atop a former municipal waste site -- the course feels both completely out of place in the Bronx and, at the same time, perfectly situated as it sits between the Throngs Neck and Whitestone Bridges with spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline as you play many of the holes on the course.
Of course, as with so many things Trump touches, the development and operation of the course has not been without controversy.
It took more than 30 years and a unique public-private partnership between Trump and the City of New York in order for the project to clear all of the bureaucratic hurdles to break ground. And its city-funded cost of development has been estimated at more than $160 million.
Since its opening, many have balked at the green fees -- approaching $200 for city residents on weekends and nearing $250 for non-residents. And critics have railed about the 20-year contract under which the city pays for the course's water and sewage fees (which can run in excess of $1 million per year) while getting little in return.
Early this year, the city moved to terminate its contract with the Trump organization following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, citing a failure to attract a major professional golf tournament to the property. And the Trump organization responded with a lawsuit claiming wrongful termination.
But set ALL of that and your politics aside because I went there to experience the golf course ranked No. 77 (tied) on GolfWeek's Top 100 Courses You Can Play list and No. 95 on Golf Magazine's Top 100 Public Courses list. And let me tell you, it lives up to the rankings and then some!
The course is extremely well manicured with lush fairways, thick but playable rough, quick greens that roll true, and lots of fescue. Oh my God, the fescue! For as generous as the fairways are at Ferry Point, miss them and you risk losing a ball in fescue that is so unforgiving it plays as a lateral hazard according to the local rule. If you come to play, be prepared for the steep greens fee ... and bring a lot of golf balls.
The course stretches to more than 7,400 yards from the tips. But due to the uphill landing areas, elevated greens and penalizing effects of the prevailing wind, the starter recommends that nobody above a 10 handicap play anything more than the white tees at 6,038 yards. I typically play to lengths of about 6,400 yards, which should have made the blue tees a perfect fit for me, but I will say that the course did seem to play longer. In fact, my playing partners started the round from the golds (6,867 yards) and moved up to the blue tees. So, if I had one bit of advice for someone going to play there (besides bring extra balls), it would be to take the starter's advice and play the appropriate tees.
The first hole is a 376 yard (all yardages from here on out will be from the blue tees) par-4. And if it weren't for the hints of New York City you can see at the edges of the property you might swear you were in Scotland.
The second hole is a 439 yard par-4 that feels like it ought to be a par-5. The fairway is beautifully shaped and framed by the bunkers, mounding and the fescue. I think it was at about this point in the day that I realized I could just walk this course and take pictures, and I'd be pretty happy.
Miss the green even by a little at No. 2, and it's going to be a tough up and down for par.
At 210 yards, the par-3 third hole offers no respite to the struggling golfer, whose efforts to find the putting surface will be tested by the wind as much as the distance.
Par on this hole -- really, on any hole at Ferry Point -- is a good score.
Of course, tap-ins for near-ace birdies aren't bad either. (I wish that's what this was!)
No. 4 -- a par-5 playing just 490 yards -- offers players the first really good scoring opportunity.
The hole plays longer than its yardage, though, as an uphill landing area prevents the tee shot from rolling.
And the same is true of the approach to the elevated green.
The fifth hole, at 406 yards, is another reminder that any ball not hit into the fairway is likely doomed to the fescue.
I really just loved the look of the approach shots on a lot of the holes at Ferry Point.
And the greenside bunkers can be treacherous to play from!
The quality of the greens at Ferry Point is as stellar as the views.
The sixth hole is the first hole on the course that plays in the direction of the iconic Manhattan skyline.
A drive hit to the left of the fairway bunker at about 250 yards will leave players with a mid- to long-iron into a well-protected green with bunkers front-right and back-left.
I don't know if it was intentional in the design or if it just happened because of where I hit my tee shots, but I found it interesting that more than a few of my approach shots were aligned in such a way that New York City's Freedom Tower offered a near-perfect target toward which to align myself to play into the green.
The 279-yard 7th is a fantastic risk-reward hole. Big hitters can go for the green from the tee.
But the more water you attempt to carry in an effort to aim at the pin, the greater the chances your score on this hole will sink to a watery grave.
The par-3 8th hole is a pretty little hole, tucked in among the mounds and the fescue that define the topography of this property.
The relatively flat green offers an excellent scoring opportunity for the player who can find the putting surface from the tee.
The par-4 ninth, playing back toward the clubhouse, is an excellent sub-400-yard hole. Players who choose to challenge the bunker in the middle of the fairway may be rewarded with a short approach. But the smart play may be to lay up short of the bunker off the tee and play a mid-iron into this green instead.
The 9th hole is a birdie opportunity that can quickly get away from a player. Trust me; I know from experience!
Players making the turn at Ferry Point are greeted by a member of the staff as they come off the 9th green. He's there to offer direction to the 10th tee for those who are riding and will give a lift to those who are walking as the path to No. 10 winds a long way back toward the clubhouse and then around the impeccably maintained practice facilities. The short trip by cart allows players a moment to take in the views of the city without the pressure of having to make a golf shot.
The 10th hole offers a wide open fairway with no fairway bunkers in play off the tee unless you can bomb it 300 yards (and I don't care about that one time you played that downhill hole with the wind at your back; most of you -- like me -- are not hitting 300-yard bombs).
The 10th is a great opportunity to swing away and reset for the back nine by finding a spot somewhere in the generous and forgiving fairway and then hitting one to the heart of this large, relatively flat green that offers a wide entryway to accept running shots or shots in the air. It's one of the few holes on the course that will offer you a breather.
If the 10th hole offered a breather, the 11th hole wants to knock the wind right out of you with a punch in the gut! This hole has bunkers everywhere. I mean, it's got bunkers hiding behind other bunkers. You want to layup off the tee because it's only a 300-yard hole? Fine. Here's a bunker at 200 yards. Oh, you'll just hit a fairway wood then? OK ... here are a couple of bunkers at 230 and 240? If you can carry your driver 250+ and not go left, you might be safe. But No. 11 is like a bully who wants to corner you in an alley. And damn if that doesn't make it a fun golf hole!
Assuming you survive your encounter with the 11th hole, take a moment to look back at it from the green after you putt out. It doesn't look nearly as intimidating, and the view of the city skyline is one of the best on the course.
The 12th hole is a tricky little par-3. Measuring just 139 yards, from the tee the green appears to be much smaller than it actually is, with intimidating bunkers left, front and right. In actuality, the green is much deeper than you realize from the tee, and offers opportunities to bail out right or left (to a lesser extent) so long as you're long enough to cary the traps. Par should be a relatively easy score on this hole, but pull the wrong club, and double or even triple bogey may not be entirely out of the question.
No. 13 offers a lot more fairway than it appears from the tee as the fairways angles a bit to the left, making it look more narrow than it actually is.
A player who finds the fairway off the tee on this hole shouldn't have much trouble posting a par as the green is only protected by one bunker that sits a good 30 yards or more in front of and below the putting surface. The defense of this hole is in its deceptive elevation change. It requires that you take a bit more club than you otherwise might. It's also eay to be fooled into believing you have to fly the ball farther than you really do in order to clear the bunker, which can lead to overshooting the green and make for a tough up and down.
I don't know that I've visited many courses where I liked the way the surroundings framed the green complexes and flags quite so much as I enjoyed that aesthetic at Ferry Point.
I have two favorite holes at Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. The first is No. 14, which is my sentimental favorite for the simple fact that there is no way I should have parred this hole given the way I played it from tee to green, yet I still carded a 4 on this 403-yard hole.
The right tee shot on this hole is a shot toward the fairway bunkers on the right side of the fairway that ought to leave you with a mid-to long-iron into the green. I, on the other hand, blasted my driver so far right it cleared the fescue between the 14th and 15th holes. From the rough on 15, I hit an absolute hosel-rocket that went more sideways than forward, shooting back across the fescue and across our fairway into the thick left rough, still about 170 yards out from the hole.
Somehow from there, I pured a 6-iron that came to rest maybe 10 feet from the hole, and I rolled the putt in for an anything-but-routine par.
I don't usually offer up the blow-by-blow, stroke-by-stroke retelling of any of these holes here on the blog because you really don't want to read that. But in this case, I felt an exception was warranted.
The 15th hole is a long-ish par-5 at 545 yards, playing mostly uphill, and a very generous fairway. I mean ... just look at all that green. You cannot miss this fairway. It's impossible.
Turns out, I am a master of the impossible. And the fescue was glad to gobble up yet another of my wayward golf balls. That turned what should have been a reasonable birdie opportunity into a desperate slog in the effort to just avoid an 8 or higher!
Players who do find the fairway will likely still have a long way home because the uphill landing area doesn't offer up a lot of roll for extra distance. But there isn't much trouble to be found if you can just continue to hit the ball straight. A good drive of 275 still leaves more than 200 yards before the player needs to begin worrying about the bunkering, which is practically all 100 yards and in on this hole. So, a simple layup with a mid-iron and a short iron or wedge should position players for a reasonable chance at birdie and a relatively easy par. Of course, that's all easier said than done.
So, a simple layup with a mid-iron and a short iron or wedge should position players for a reasonable chance at birdie and a relatively easy par. Of course, that's all easier said than done.
Despite how poorly I played it, my other favorite hole on the course (this time, from a design perspective) is the long par-4 16th. The hole plays 437 yards, but it is perhaps the only hole on the course that plays to a downhill landing area as the hole approaches New York's East River.
No. 16 is one of just three holes on the course on which water comes into play, and depending where you hit your tee shot, you could find yourself with a difficult carry over water, fescue and bunkers to a green that will receive good shots to the center but will reject marginal shots that only find the false edges and run off to the front and back on this hole.
The par-3 17th sets up a fantastic finishing hole, offering a prime scoring opportunity with a hole that measures just 142 yards and offers a wide green on which to land the ball. The water shouldn't come into play unless the tee shot is particularly poorly struck. Take enough club to account for the elevation change and clear the bunkers, and par should be a pretty easy score on this hole.
The 18th is a terrific risk-reward hole, offering big hitters the opportunity to go for green in two on this 499-yard par-5 ... if they're willing to flirt with disaster in pursuit of the epic hero shot and an elusive eagle attempt.
A drive down the left side of the fairway offers the shortest distance to the green for those who are going to go for it, but the more left you are off the tee, the more fescue, high wild grasses and bunkers your second shot will bring into play when you take aim at the green.
For those who opt to play to the right side and make it a three shot hole, there is ample room to bail out and find either the short grass or rough that still makes for a manageable layup with a mid-iron.
Laying up doesn't completely take bogey off the table, but it should eliminate the possibility of a really big score. Bunkering around the green allows for a couple of opportunities to those who want to play a bump-and-run approach. Or an easy wedge into this green should also offer up an opportunity at birdie.
I really cant say enough good things about Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. The course absolutely beat me up, and I lost more golf balls than I'd like to admit in the fields of fescue. But I loved the layout, the aesthetic of the course itself, and the juxtaposition of the course against its New York City backdrop. Safe to say this is my favorite Nicklaus-designed course to date. I don't know that I'd come back and play it again at $230+ ... not when there is so much other great golf that could be played in the New York/New Jersey area. But I'm really glad to have played it once. Also, I have to say I really enjoyed the guys I met up with to play this round -- three really solid players and just all-around good guys to spend a day with on the links. I hope we get to do it again some time.