2024. Prices and selections may vary and are updated frequently.
The Piping Rock Club in Matinecock, New York was established in 1911, and then Charles MacDonald built the 18-hole golf course here in 1912. It was the Augusta of its day, and its membership list is a virtual copy of the Social Register of the times. These members included famous industrialists, businessmen, philanthropists, and politicians.
It’s always been a prestigious club, and it’s still a well-respected club today. Its golf course is still one of the best, and Golf Digest recently listed it as the 109th of the greatest golf courses in America. It’s so prestigious that information regarding the membership fees is virtually nonexistent. Basically, if you have to ask…
At least you can find one a lot more about the golf course yourself. It features the famous Biarritz, which is the 9th hole at Piping Rock. It’s perhaps the most imitated hole in the whole golf course design industry.
Tom Doak has also made some revisions to the course. Bruce Hepner recently upgraded the golf course, by adding tightly mown areas green surrounds to some of the holes here. He also recaptured green sizes, reinstated old cross-bunkers, and removed some trees. But the basic Macdonald design is still there.
Besides the golf course, you also have various tennis courts here to try out, if you’re ever lucky to get invited by an actual guest. The tennis facilities include both clay courts and grass courts, along with several courts indoors.
On Long Island Sound, there’s also a separate club facility with beach amenities and a pool area, along with summer dining options in all these spots.
Still, Piping Rock today retains the atmosphere of its founding days. When you drive up to the Dutch Colonial clubhouse with the stone wall nearby, you get that strange feeling, as if you’re an old school country gentleman or lady.
The whole thing feels like a relaxing retreat. You also have the gorgeously maintained grass tennis courts near the clubhouse. And you can’t help but notice the prominent old polo field behind the clubhouse, harkening back to the days of old. It’s a time-traveling feeling that very few other clubs can offer.