Gulp: Liberty National Succeeded As A Venue

Words I never imagined typing! But given the visuals, the views, the atmosphere, the event buzz in New York City and what sounded like a solid fan experience, Liberty National worked as the Presidents Cup venue.

Several people at the PGA Tour deserve credit for making the golf course and incredible site build-out work so well, as noted in my assessment for Golfweek.

Mmatch play can make the edgier or more abrasive features more palatable than when players confront them in stroke play, and that happened at the Presidents Cup. Also helping is that Bob Cupp and Tom Kite's design as adjusted by the PGA Tour's Steve Wenzloff, it's severely over constructed and quite possibly the most-catch basin-littered property in golf.

And you know how I love the architectural influence of catch basins.

Liberty National next hosts the 2019 Northern Trust playoff event.

Comments

[Sal Bonpensiero]

With the rave reviews will Philly now be claiming LN as part of its plethora of "area" courses?

[Mulligan]

Amazing how so many bad shots were not punished...there always seemed to be a recovery. Of course, the players wouldn't like it.

[Colin MacGillivray]

My previous suggestion that the Internationals start each match on the first tee one up wouldn't have made a difference (neither would 2 up).

Bring on the mixed Presidents Cup.
Get the Solheim Cup played the same (even) year as the Ryder Cup and then the Mixed Presidents Cup is a great fit. It would be a fantastic boost for womens golf.

Steve Williams caddied at the Womens Open in Auckland at the weekend and in a TV interview said he had never watched women play before.

[Mike Clayton]

Colin,

That's because Steve has no interest in golf beyond his own involvement.

[Chris]

Thought Liberty National was a great venue, Kudos to the PGA Tour's setup people and NBC/Golf Channel for great visuals.

[R Rozier]

Geoff,
Venue contributed to the viewing experience despite the blowout...hopefully the positivity you express here carries over to Shackhouse. You've been Debbie Downer lately, a little too cynical for my taste. Hopefully these positive comments reflect a new trend...otherwise, I really enjoy your writing and work on the podcast.

[Tremendous Slouch]

Sal,

Don't get too excited. Despite Geoff's tepid acceptance, TPC Staten Island Ferry still sucks.

Does New York claim it?

Or is Van Cortlandt Park still the crown jewel of the world's golf Mecca?

[digsouth]

I thought the course held up very well. Here i the criteria that sold me on the layout.

1) The views speak for themselves; no need to bore you with what you already know -sheesh-- breath taking, spectacular, unforgettable!

2) There are several holes that I remember. Unlike so many courses the PGA has been playing, with Firestone being the anchor of these cookie cutter courses. The course really shows character. The greens have varying shapes, the approaches are differing, the par 3's are varying lengths- you get the idea.

[OWGR Fan]

Great views don't make a bad course better and neither does a rear end kicking of the highest degree as happened this past weekend.

[ElChapin]

I still don't get it how people fork over 500K to be members at LN. There has got to be a better place to play near NYC for less money.

[D. maculata]

A friend who played both former dumpsites, Bayonne and Liberty, commented one had the feel of and played more "natural" than the other. The obvious differences are the bunkers and elevation changes. But for the life of me, I find it hard to fathom how a contrived links can feel any other way when it could be mistaken for the Steam Shovel Banks Memorial Training Center.
http://www.bayonnegolfclub.com/

@ElChapin - At half the price ;-)
http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php?topic=30910.0;wap2

[ElChapin]

I guess the whole "arrival by private helicopter" or "arrival by private boat" has a lot to do with the pricing at both. It seems the memberships are more about the "status" than the golf. However at 250k initiation and 20k per year I would rather play the Bethpages once in a while and take an awesome yearly trip with the 19.5k left over to Scotland/Ireland or New Zealand. Much better golf.

[Keith]

I think that a lot of memberships are subsidized or reimbursed by firms on Wall St - technically this is not allowed by IRS but neither is a lot of other things that take place in that arena - they find a way in the name of client entertainment - the clubs have shuttle ferries right there next to world financial center make it very accessible and quick to get across to NJ

[Press Agent]

To call Liberty National a "bad course" is clueless. It might not be a great course, but it's hardly a bad course.

[ol Harv]

Bingo Keith. It's a world many people cannot relate to.