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Red Hook Golf Club welcomes new members and public play
Located three miles east of Red Hook on Route 199 is the Red Hook Golf Club. After originally opening in 1931 as nine holes, the two hundred acre course expanded in the mid nineties to eighteen. The expansion was the result of a monumental effort on the part of members at Red Hook who cleared over 8,000 apple trees and 600 pine trees to open the areas needed for the added nine holes. The effort was believed to have saved the club an estimated $500,000. Five years elapsed from the time of cutting the first of the trees to the opening as eighteen in 1996.
Members of Red Hook are proud of what was accomplished over ten years ago. Today it continues as a semi-private club that welcomes the public who are able to make reservations to play up to two days in advance.
The course provides a challenge to all levels of golfing ability with its four sets of tees for each hole. Playing from the championship tees at 6539 yards gives a challenge for the low handicappers. From the front tees Red Hook plays to 5188 yards.
Play begins with a dogleg par four of 364 yards and is followed by the first of four special par threes. It plays to 191 yards from an elevated championship tee.
As play continues from the townhouse lined first two holes one finds the panoramic number one handicap par five that plays between individual homes on the right and woods to the left. The fourth hole plays as a dogleg right of 384 yards and is followed with the second par five of the front nine, a 476 yard risk/reward hole with a green tucked behind a row of trees.
The old signature hole at Red Hook follows. It is the second par three, a 138 yard hole from an elevated tee to an elevated green. Left to play on the front nine are three par fours, none straight, that range from 336 yards to 380. Each of these holes tests one's golfing skills, seven hitting to a small green bunkered front left and right and sloped sharply off the green to low lying areas. Eight appears docile, but don't be fooled. The green slopes away from you, and if the dogleg is not managed off the tee the second shot will be with a long iron or wood. Number nine finishes with an inclined green from the front to the middle, sloping down and right towards the back. Shot placement is vital to a good score on this hole as a three putt or more could end the front nine.
When one enters the back nine the atmosphere changes to a meandering nine holes through an isolated wooded area. After the tenth hole par four comes one of the premier par fours of the Hudson Valley, a narrow hole of 412 yards. The eleventh hole was the only hole left unchanged during the 1990's expansion. When the Pennsylvania architect, Dave Horn, saw the hole he could find no way to improve the dynamic par four.
Number twelve is a picturesque 141 yard par three from an elevated tee to a green tucked among the trees. Number thirteen, considered the new signature hole, is a par five that yields many birdies but also some of the highest scores for the course. This hole, characterized by a hidden pond two hundred yards from the tee, requires a second shot carry over water either left or right of a tall pine tree in the middle of the fairway. It is reachable in two but shot placement is paramount.
Fourteen follows with a challenging drive over an environmental area to a fairway crossed by a stream and ending with a short iron to a raised green. The last of the par threes follow, a 134 yard shot to a large undulating green that requires some skilled putting for a successful par or birdie.
The final three holes offer unique characteristics. Sixteen is a par four dogleg left with a large tree in the center of the fairway at the dogleg. Driving accuracy is a must to reach a green bordered left and right with tall trees that frame the entrance. Seventeen is the longest hole on the back nine at 544 yards. Trees are on the right and left off the tee followed by an accurate second shot away from out of bounds on the left. The green is marked with a pot bunker front right and a grass bunker to the left. Eighteen brings you back to the clubhouse. It is a 315 yard par four to an elevated green surrounded by four bunkers.
Red Hook carries a 71.9 rating from the championship tees and a 135 slope. From the club tees the course is sloped at 132 and has a rating of 70.1. Course conditions are second to none in the Hudson Valley. Fairways are lush, roughs are to be avoided, and greens are fast.
Before playing the championship course players are able to use a full practice facility for driving, putting, iron, and sand practice. Besides the course and practice facility there is a program for juniors offered by John Mahon, an eighteen year PGA Professional at Red Hook. John also offers private lessons by appointment.
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Red Hook Golf Club also hosts numerous outings during the season for various community organizations; some dates are still available.
Red Hook has in excess of 250 members and is welcoming others who would like to consider joining. Membership categories include Single. Family, Junior (both under 30 and 30-35) and newly introduced Twilight and Corporate Levels. Public play is also welcome with advance tee off times available up to 48 hours by calling the Pro Shop or utilizing the Club's web site, www.redhookgolfclub.com.
Interested? Questions? Please call the pro shop (845-758-8652) or office (845-758-3672) at Red Hook Golf Club for more information.
GOLF FOR A CAUSE
JOSEPH F. RICCIO, JR. MEMORIAL
TOURNAMENT AUGUST 10
AT TWAALFSKILL
Twaalfskill Golf Club will host the Joseph F. Riccio Jr. Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit the Joseph F. Riccio Jr. Scholarship Fund on Monday August 10. The event begins with registration and a continental breakfast at 8 a.m., a shotgun start at 9 a.m., lunch from 11:30-1:30 and an Italian dinner following the golf. The $100 per golfer entry fee includes greens fees, cart, food, prizes and beer and soda on the course. Dinner guests are welcome at $40 per person. The field is limited to the first 72 paid participants and proper golf attire is required.
Contact Vinnie Manginelli, Twaalfskill's head golf professional, at 914-456-4216 or
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for more information or to register.
ONTEORA LIONS CLUB TOURNAMENT
AUGUST 31 AT WOODSTOCK
The Onteora Lions Club will hold its 2009 Annual Bob Russell Memorial "Captain-n-Crew" Golf Tournament on Monday, August 31 at the Woodstock Golf Club.
The $80 pre-paid entry fee will provide a continental breakfast prior to the 9 o'clock shotgun tee-off, a cart and 18 holes of golf with a $10,000.00 hole-in-one challenge, an all-you-can-eat (and drink) BBQ luncheon, and a cash-bar finale buffet with prizes, awards and gift-bag giveaways.
For additional information contact Paul Wereszynski (845-339-5685) or Peter Incalcaterra (845-338-4073).
Net proceeds from the tournament are used soley to fund the club's scholarship programs and humanitarian projects for the blind and visually-handicapped, the deaf and hearing-impaired.
If your club or organization is planning a charity golf tournament, e-mail the information to
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for inclusion in an upcoming Fairways golf page. |
