In the end, Wang estimates that the course
has cost about $35 million, though that doesn’t include the clubhouse, which will come
later. The green fees, which are still being
finalized, will be steep, but the plan is to offer
twilight rates and other special promotions to
help generate interest.
Pound Ridge fills an important niche in
Westchester, a county loaded with private
clubs and a handful of relatively inexpensive
municipal courses but lacking the depth of
high-end public options that have proliferated elsewhere in the Met Area.
“There is the common expression of a
public course with a country club atmosphere, but it isn’t delivered much,” Wang
says. “We have a chance to deliver that.”
As for the layout itself, it is challenging and
thought-provoking. What, you expected anything different from the Dyes? Nine holes
(much of the front nine, and the closing three
holes) have the open feel of playing in a meadow, and that’s where the irrigation ponds
come into play. It is also where the old course
was located, though there are no remnants of
that layout.
The drive on the par-four
eighth hole has to skirt a
deep bunker and avoid
the trees.
Much of the back nine winds through forest, rocks, and wetlands on the lower, western portion of the property. In fact, there is
water or wetlands on 17 of the holes, and it’s
easy to predict that Pound Ridge will one of
those courses that every golfer will want to
take a crack at.
“It’s a very special place with a lot of aesthetic beauty and it will be a total golf experience,” says Perry Dye, whose previous Met
Area experience was heading up the redesign
of Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, N.Y.
“People will lose some balls, but that’s okay.
The playability factor is just fine if you play
from the correct set of tees.”
Good advice for all visitors to Pound Ridge
Golf Club, yet another outstanding addition
to the Met Area golf scene. ■
David Barrett writes from his home in White
Plains, New York.
