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Sebonack is looking for a big-time tournament

Mark Herrmann

April 17, 2008

Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak designed Sebonack Golf Club in Southampton to look natural, to fit seamlessly in its surroundings. The people who run and maintain the course apparently have picked up on that trend, having recently earned the Metropolitan Golf Association's Club Environment Award.

And that might be only a preview of an even bigger honor to come. The new club in a heady golf neighborhood - alongside the National Golf Links, Shinnecock Hills and Southampton Golf Club - is in discussions about hosting some sort of national championship or professional tournament.

"We've been approached by several groups, let's put it that way. But there's nothing definite yet," said Michael Pascucci, the club developer and owner, who went to high school with Jim Brown at Manhasset and is chairman of Channel 55.

Mike Davis, the senior director of rules and competitions for United States Golf Association, said Pascucci called even before the course opened in 2006 and that the two have met at the site. "Nothing really is set," Davis said. "I'd say right now we're really in the investigative phase." He did add that the whole golf landscape in that part of Southampton "is kind of a magical place."

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The USGA certainly is familiar with the logistics there, having conducted three Opens at Shinnecock since 1986. The association conducts many national championships and usually tests out a course with an amateur event before it commits to having a U.S. Open or U.S. Women's Open.

One thing is for sure, the USGA no longer is bashful about fresh designs and new courses. It recently awarded the 2010 Amateur and 2015 U.S. Open to Chambers Bay, a nascent municipal course in Tacoma, Wash. It also announced that the 2011 U.S. Amateur will be played at another neophyte, Erin Hills, near Milwaukee.

At Sebonack's official opening in August 2006, Nicklaus, the co-architect (and a neighbor near Pascucci's Florida house), said it was ready to host "anything you'd want to have here, from a tournament standpoint."

In its brief existence, Sebonack has drawn good reviews from golfers, including Ernie Els, and people with an eye toward natural beauty. Pascucci takes pride in the fact that the course looks as if it had been there for 150 years. "Really, it has been," he said. "We didn't do much to the property."

When Sebonack was being built, the construction crew didn't even use one bulldozer. If a tree had to be removed, it was taken out by hand and the dirt was shaken off and left on the grounds. The owner added that his group went around the country, interviewing experts on golf and the environment. Sebonack's builders also met with local organizations such as the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, the Group for the South Fork and the Nature Conservancy.

The result was Sebonack creating its own compost site and putting liners under greens so that any runoff would go to a dedicated drainage area. "It was not inexpensive," Pascucci said. But it was appreciated by the MGA, which presented its award to project manager Mark Hissey, course superintendent Garrett Bodington and general manager Troy Albert.

And perhaps someday, tour golfers and the nation will see the fruits in a big tournament. Pascucci said, "We're thinking about it."

This week's tip

Fundamentals for chipping

"There are many variations to teaching chipping, but my preference is to teach a very dead-wristed shot with very few moving parts. If you spend some time practicing these shots you will learn how to control different situations. Place the ball at the back of your stance, more toward your right heel. Keep your hands slightly ahead of the ball to create an angle. Keep a slightly open stance, more of your chest facing the hole. Put most of your weight on your left foot. This will promote a descending blow as you go through the ball. Keeping your wrist locked, go through a putting motion keeping your hands ahead of the ball at all times."

- Guna Kunjan,

PGA head professional,

Harbor Links Golf Course

Aces

More holes-in-one reported since the end of LI Golfbeat's season last fall:

John McDonough, Bethpage Black, eighth hole, 176 yards, 5-iron

Rich Parisen, The Links at Shirley, seventh hole, 164 yards, 6-iron

Jack McMahon, Great Rock Golf Club, 16th hole, 161 yards, 11-wood

Sook Anderson, Bethpage Yellow, fourth hole, 130 yards, 6-iron

Joe Booker, Mill Pond Golf Course, 13th hole, 141 yards, 7-iron

Loretta Robitaille, Sunken Meadow Green Course, sixth hole, 150 yards, 7-wood

Jill Krueger, Inwood CC, sixth hole, 100 yards, 6-iron

Larry Janis, Village Club of Sands Point, 11th hole, 151 yards, 7-iron

Brian Cohen, Woodcrest Club, third hole, 170 yards, 7-iron

Michael DeLuca, West Sayville Golf Course, 12th hole, 145 yards, 3-iron

Barbara Broder, Woodcrest Club, 17th hole, 157 yards, driver