Tallgrass—Long Island, NY
Tallgrass is a public course on Long Island that was designed by one of golf’s latest hotshots, Gil Hanse. Mr. Hanse
has designed and built many of golf’s latest gems, including The Boston Golf Club, a course at The Prairie Club,
and he has been picked to build the newest course in Bandon, Oregon. Given all this, I was really excited to play
Tallgrass and see Mr. Hanse’s work up close and personal.
For starters, the golf course is very well routed. The property is not all that big, but the flow of the holes in nice and
the variety inherent in each one of them is of high quality. On top of that I’d add that the greens and the bunkering
are first class.
The bunkers, specifically, are well placed and open up multiple options to play each hole AND they are maintained
as true hazards and make dipping into one of them something the golfer will strive to avoid.
The issue with Tallgrass is maintenance. Now, I am not talking about brown grass, slow greens, and burnt out tee
boxes. Frankly, those things don’t really bother me too much. I am talking about the lack of fast and firm conditions
at Tallgrass. You see, the course seems to beckon and call the golfer to attempt the ground game with running
shots. But the course was sopping wet the day I played it. And I don’t mean that the rain from the night before
made the greens too soft or the fairways a bit slow. I mean way too wet…standing water in low areas, squishy fringe
areas around the greens. And while I was on the course playing on these overly wet conditions, the sprinkler
system was turned on full bore. UGH!!
So, taking a step back; Mr. Hanse did a great job at Tallgrass. But the course is not currently being maintained like
it was designed to be maintained. Change this aspect of it and I believe this course will sky-rocket in the
rankings/ratings and become a treasured golfing gem.
Tallgrass is a public course on Long Island that was designed by one of golf’s latest hotshots, Gil Hanse. Mr. Hanse
has designed and built many of golf’s latest gems, including The Boston Golf Club, a course at The Prairie Club,
and he has been picked to build the newest course in Bandon, Oregon. Given all this, I was really excited to play
Tallgrass and see Mr. Hanse’s work up close and personal.
For starters, the golf course is very well routed. The property is not all that big, but the flow of the holes in nice and
the variety inherent in each one of them is of high quality. On top of that I’d add that the greens and the bunkering
are first class.
The bunkers, specifically, are well placed and open up multiple options to play each hole AND they are maintained
as true hazards and make dipping into one of them something the golfer will strive to avoid.
The issue with Tallgrass is maintenance. Now, I am not talking about brown grass, slow greens, and burnt out tee
boxes. Frankly, those things don’t really bother me too much. I am talking about the lack of fast and firm conditions
at Tallgrass. You see, the course seems to beckon and call the golfer to attempt the ground game with running
shots. But the course was sopping wet the day I played it. And I don’t mean that the rain from the night before
made the greens too soft or the fairways a bit slow. I mean way too wet…standing water in low areas, squishy fringe
areas around the greens. And while I was on the course playing on these overly wet conditions, the sprinkler
system was turned on full bore. UGH!!
So, taking a step back; Mr. Hanse did a great job at Tallgrass. But the course is not currently being maintained like
it was designed to be maintained. Change this aspect of it and I believe this course will sky-rocket in the
rankings/ratings and become a treasured golfing gem.
