Maidstone Club (West)

Founded in 1891, Maidstone Club has one of America’s first true links golf courses. The current 18-hole course is planted on a majestic, sandy, seaside plot of land along the far eastern end of Long Island. The history of the golf courses and who had a hand in each is fairly complex as the courses constantly evolved from the club’s inception up until 1924. The first golf course was just a rudimentary seven-hole course, designed by Willie Dunn, located more inland from the Parks’ current design. From here, the course was expanded to 18 by the Park brothers in 1899 and then an additional 18, The West Course, was added with the acquisition of 80 acres on Gardiner Peninsula in 1922. This new land allowed Willie and John to build a course amongst the dunes, and by this time in Willie’s career, he was one of the most popular and experienced architects in America, creating a perfect recipe. Top-tier architect plus fantastic coastal site equals the opportunity for something special. Maidstone is known to be Willie’s last design, as he passed in 1925 shortly after the course was completed by his brother, John. Today, with the help of Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw’s restoration, that is exactly what we have, a special classical golf course.

Maidstone’s out-and-back routing takes players along inland wetlands to start before jutting out to the sandy coastline. Holes eight through 10 and 13 through 15 journey across the most dramatic dunesland on the property, but interesting holes are found throughout the course thanks to the inventive greens. These masterfully crafted greens and the idyllic setting are the stars of the course. During the 2012 restoration, Bill and Ben were able to expand green surfaces by nearly 50% and reintroduce natural sandscapes along much of the holes adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean. This gentle hand by C&C, plus the absence of change over the last 100 years, makes Maidstone one of the most finely preserved examples of John and Willie Park Jr.’s work and one of the most delightful golden age designs today. 

Take Note…

Raynor Plan. Prior to the Gardiner Peninsula land purchase, Seth Raynor drew up an 18-hole redesign, but it was never fully realized. It’s rumored that he or his associate did significant enhancements to the 18-hole East Course, but no concrete evidence of this exists (that we know of). 

“Long Island Express.” This was a name given to the highly destructive 1938 hurricane that ravaged New York’s Long Island. The East Course at Maidstone took the biggest hit, reducing the 18-hole course to just the nine holes we see today. 

‍Maidstone? The name Maidstone is a town in Kent, England, where some of the original settlers to this portion of Long Island are likely from, thus the name of the club.

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