Governors Island Golf Course
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Governors Island Golf Course was a military course on
Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
in
New York Harbor New York Harbor is at the mouth of the Hudson River where it empties into New York Bay near the East River tidal estuary, and then into the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of the United States. It is one of the largest natural harbors in t ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, approximately from the southern tip of
Manhattan Island Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. The golf course offered one of the most unique golf experiences in New York City due to its views of the Brooklyn and Manhattan skylines, with the
Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
as a backdrop. It was considered the only golf course in Manhattan as Governors Island is technically part of the borough. The golf course closed in 1996, but was re-opened for a one-time golf tournament in 2006.


History

Golf came to Governors Island in 1903, when a six-hole course, three holes played twice, was built near
Fort Jay Fort Jay is a coastal bastion fort and the name of a former United States Army post on Governors Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. Fort Jay is the oldest existing defensive structure on the island, and was named for John Jay, a me ...
which was known as The Quadrangle. The golf course got a boost when Chief of Staff General Leonard Wood issued orders in 1910, that all officers must keep themselves fit. Golf was one of the sports noted by officers responding to the departmental order issued by Major General Frederick Dent Grant. The version of the course that was in use for over 60 years dates back to the late 1920s when it was built with assistance from
Plainfield Country Club Plainfield Country Club is a private country club and golf course located in Edison in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. It was founded in 1890 as the Hillside Tennis Club. Its golf course was designed in 1916 by golf course designer ...
greenskeeper Fred Roth on a piece of ground that was being utilized as a polo field. Polo was an important sport in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in the 1920s and a polo field was constructed on Fort Jay's
glacis A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in bastion fort, early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More genera ...
and the Parade Ground in the summer of 1925. The newly groomed open space presented an opportunity to update the golf course which was seeing increased play as Army personnel seemed to have more leisure time since troop levels had not been reduced to pre-1917 levels after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Golf course features were improved with the construction of tee boxes, putting greens, and bunkers, and the polo players and the golfers began sharing the same space. The course measured , played to a par of 30 for its nine holes, and was built on a plot of land that was just under 10-acres. Course routing was designed around Fort Jay, a star-shaped Revolutionary War vintage fortification which is on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The layout was sometimes called “the world’s crookedest” because it was shoe-horned into limited space with many twists and turns. Soon the golf course was being used for tournament play and the public was invited to see the matches. In 1927
Gene Sarazen Gene Sarazen (; born Eugenio Saraceni, February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) was an American professional golfer, one of the world's top players in the 1920s and 1930s, and the winner of seven major championships. He is one of five players (along ...
,
Francis Ouimet Francis DeSales Ouimet () (May 8, 1893 – September 2, 1967) was an American amateur golfer who is frequently referred to as the "father of amateur golf" in the United States. He won the U.S. Open in 1913 and was the first non-Briton elected ...
,
Walter Hagen Walter Charles Hagen (December 21, 1892 – October 6, 1969) was an American professional golfer and a major figure in golf in the first half of the 20th century. His tally of 11 professional majors is third behind Jack Nicklaus (18) and Tiger ...
, and Jess Sweetster played a fund raiser on the island for the Army Relief Society. After the completion of Liggett Hall in 1930, the polo field was moved to the open space south of the new barracks to address the conflict between golfers and polo players. In the 1940s, course maintenance was performed by inmates of a military prison on the island who were incarcerated during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
for being
absent without leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which a ...
. Jurisdiction of Governors Island passed from the United States Army to the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
in 1966. As part of a Fort Jay improvement project, the Coast Guard updated the golf course by planting trees to direct the line of play and protect buildings, and installed fencing to ensure golf balls stayed on the course. Governors Island Golf Course was in use until August 31, 1996 when the Coast Guard left the island. In 2006 over $1 million was spent to temporarily restore six of the green complexes abandoned in 1996 for a charity event that also promoted the island's opportunities. Architect Robert McNeil was hired to build a multi-tee layout that when completed had a configuration that allowed only one foursome on the course at a time. The course re-used tees, greens, and fairways to route a crisscrossing 18 hole layout that even included a 490-yard par 5. The Manhattan Golf Classic was conducted from October 19 through 22 and consisted of various competitions and clinics that featured golf professionals Tom Watson,
Annika Sorenstam Annika is a feminine given name. It is the Swedish pet form of Anna, similar to Anneke in the Netherlands. It is also common in Germany, Finland and Estonia, gaining popularity after 1969 from the character of that name in the ''Pippi Longstockin ...
, and
Natalie Gulbis Natalie Anne Gulbis (born January 7, 1983) is an American professional golfer who plays on the U.S.-based LPGA Tour. Golf career Gulbis was born and raised in the Sacramento, California, area. She has Latvian ancestry. Gulbis started finding ...
, as well as actors
Craig T. Nelson Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Hayden Fox in the sitcom ''Coach'' (for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series), Deputy Ward Wilson in the 19 ...
,
Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...
,
William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
and
Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the movies '' The Insider'' (1999), ''Ali'' (2001), and ''Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Day" ...
. Developer
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
and golf teaching guru
Hank Haney Hank Haney (born August 24, 1955) is an American professional golf instructor best known for coaching Tiger Woods and two-time major championship winner Mark O'Meara. Graduate of the University of Tulsa. Biography Haney says, "My philosophy a ...
also participated. The event was billed as the "first ever professional golf tournament in the history of New York City", although
Fresh Meadow Country Club Fresh Meadow Country Club is a country club with a golf course in the eastern United States, located on Long Island in its home since 1946. The club opened in the New York City borough of Queens in 1923, with a golf course designed by noted course ...
, when it was in
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
had hosted two major championships in the 1930s, and Van Cortland Park Golf Course in
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
and the Fox Hills Golf Course on
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
had conducted professional events in the early 1900s. On October 22, 2006, a skins game between a foursome of Watson, Trump, Sorenstam, and Gulbis was televised from the 'composite' 18-hole course.


Course description

Governors Island Golf Course occasionally had a set-up where one hole was played twice. In 1925, the ''New York Times'' published a story entitled “Fort Jay Golf Offers Weird Hazards: Governors Island Links a Fretful Maze of Moats, Windows, Canteens and Other Distracting Visions", that gave a description of the golf holes. The article said, the first hole played away from the Commanding General's house with a shot into the moat at Fort Jay. The second and third holes were played near Colonel's Row. The fourth hole bordered buildings marked as “canteens,” where players were advised to aim for the “A” in the word “CAFETERIA” and to hit their shots over the top of the building. The area between the sally port and the canteens was covered with wire netting to protect passersby. The fifth hole required a billiard shot: “hit the wall of the fort and let it carom over to the green.” The last holes led away from buildings. In 1925, the “Ground Rules” of the Governors Island Golf Club included “A ball lodging within the fort is out of bounds,” and “The area within the cafeteria (canteen) buildings and the tennis court will be played as a water hazard.”


References


Further reading

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External links


The Governors Island National Monument website
{{coord, 40, 41, 28.89, N, 74, 0, 57.63, W, display=title Governors Island Golf clubs and courses in New York (state) Defunct sports venues in Manhattan