Better golf for players of all levels is the theme of the current wave of course renovations happening all over Westchester. Courses that have become too easy for low-handicappers are becoming longer and tighter while new tee boxes, chippable collection areas around greens, and less penal bunkering are making those same courses more playable for the high-handicap set.
Perhaps the biggest renovation this year will be unveiled this spring by the Golf Club of Purchase, where every tee box, bunker, and green has been rebuilt, many fairways reshaped, and several holes completely re-thought under the guidance of architect Tom Fazio and his team. “This golf course was designed to be hard,” says Director of Golf Carl Alexander. “The greens were small, averaging only 5,000 square feet. Making them larger gives us more hole locations and makes them more accessible. When people hit the green instead of a bunker, they have more fun.”
In addition, adds Alexander, “Challenging the better player in certain areas without penalizing the average player is one of our goals.” It’s a function of the passage of time, he says. “The new, younger members hit the ball a lot farther, so many of the bunkers are only capturing the older members drives, so we’re repositioning them.”
One hole undergoing a major change is the fifteenth, a par five that required everyone but the longest drivers of the ball to hit a second shot layup to wetlands with a pitching wedge that then left them with a mid-iron into the green. Alexander explains, “We’re moving the tee back and the green forward to flip that club selection. It’s going to be a better hole.”
Perhaps the biggest change is to the eighteenth hole. “You used to finish about 200 yards away from the clubhouse,” he says. “We’re bringing the green much closer. Among other things, that makes it visible from the patio for more social interaction.”
Just around the corner in Purchase, Century Country Club has made significant fixes to its front nine. Among other changes, several tee boxes have been adjusted to add interest to the drive. The tee box on the second hole, for example, is set at a new angle that now points to the hazard so the longer hitter will have to draw the ball a bit. Big bunker changes were made, too, including to the large trap at the par three seventh hole, which now extends almost all the way across the front of the green.
Head pro Nick Yaun says the most significant revision was to the par five eighth hole. “It used to play like a par four-and-a-half,” he says. “Now there’s a new tee box farther back and lower, so the hole plays much longer. The fairway was shifted to the left to bring out of bounds more into play and the fairway bunkers on the right at the top of the hill have been pulled left as well, narrowing the landing area to make the tee shot much more demanding.”
As if that weren’t enough, he says, the bulldozers worked overtime moving enough earth to change the grade of the fairway at the top of the hill making it almost impossible to carry the hill and run the ball down to shortiron distance to the green.
Armonk’s Whippoorwill Club also underwent several significant changes in the last few months. All the bunkers were rebuilt, and new ones were installed on holes three and five. New tee boxes were added to lengthen the fifteenth and sixteenth holes.
The most significant changes were to the greens. Many of them were expanded to give more hole locations. A prime example is the sixth green, which had such severe contours it was almost impossible to place the pin in more than a couple of different places. It’s now significantly larger. Expanding the greens also brought them closer to the bunkers, challenging players to rethink their approach strategies. Many of the greens are also being restored to their original square shape, given them a more classic look.
Looking ahead to the fall, two other clubs in Purchase will bring out the bulldozers for serious renovation projects. Old Oaks Country Club will begin rebuilding fifteen of their greens to USGA specifications in preparation for the 2026 US Open Sectional Qualifying Tournament, and Brae Burn Country Club will undergo a full renovation including new bunkers, some new greens, rebuilt tee boxes, and altered fairway lines.
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