Trump Ferry Point Ready to Play

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point

Finally! As of tomorrow, March 11 at 10 AM, you'll be able to reserve a tee time to play Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point. The much-anticipated official first day of play is scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, weather permitting. Golfers can reserve tee times by visiting www.trumpferrypoint.com, calling (718) 414-1555 or emailing info@trumpgolflinks.com.

Donald Trump said, “I’m thrilled to bring what will be one of the country’s great courses to New York City, something residents have been looking forward for decades. Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point is truly a world-class, wonderful and exciting course and can be played by golfers of all skill levels. We expect to have many major championships at Trump Golf Links – just minutes from Manhattan. This will be a tremendous economic development engine for the City of New York. Once the Trump Organization took over the development, I am glad we were able to get it open so quickly.”

Jack Nicklaus, designer of the course and winner of a record 18 major championships, believes Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point quickly will become a New York City signature sports facility.
"Ferry Point was created to be a unique public golf experience and it is our collective hope that the golf course will add to New York City's global reputation, enhance New York's reputation for quality golf, and give its proud residents a place to play and call home,” Nicklaus said. “Donald Trump has a deep-rooted love for New York City and he deserves a great deal of credit for getting Ferry Point to the finish line and for delivering it to the golfers and golf fans of New York."

“The official opening of this new premier public golf course at Ferry Point gives us the opportunity to showcase the City’s golf facilities on a national stage," said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. "NYC Parks' 14th golf course will offer New Yorkers and visitors a unique recreational experience on the City's first tournament-quality golf course, free summer programming, and has transformed what was once a landfill into a regional destination."

The city’s newest golf facility is located in the Bronx with easy access to all five boroughs, just minutes outside of Manhattan and situated at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge.

“We are excited to be working with Donald Trump and a golf legend like Jack Nicklaus on this project,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz.   “This world-class golf course will help re-brand The Bronx as a premier golfing destination, and I am proud to support it. I look forward to welcoming new visitors to our borough as they not only play a round of golf, but shop in our stores and dine in our restaurants.”

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point will offer a public golf course comparable to the nation’s top-ranked private and public courses. Golfers will enjoy a state-of-the-art, lighted practice facility overseen by highly-acclaimed instructor Michael Breed and the Michael Breed Golf Academy. Breed is recognized as the number one golf instructor in the state of New York and 13th on Golf Digest’s list of the Top 50 Instructors in the United States.

In 2016, a $10 million clubhouse designed by the noted architectural firm of Hart-Howerton will greet golfers on their way to playing this memorable 7,400-yard course.

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point is part of a city-funded redevelopment project. The 18-hole links-style Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, designed in consultation with Sanford Design, will be operated by the Trump Golf team and will be a part of the global golf portfolio of native New Yorker and avid golfer Donald Trump. The course is designed specifically to take advantage of spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, East River and the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. Trump Links at Ferry Point will be the city’s 14th public course and first course built since 1964 when Robert Moses oversaw the opening of the Robert Trent Jones Marine Park Golf Course in Brooklyn.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Breed Moves to Trump Golf Links

Michael Breed

Michael Breed and his namesake golf academy will open at Trump’s brand new Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point this spring.  He moves to the new course from Manhattan Woods in West Nyack.  Breed is ranked thirteenth on Golf Digest’s list of Top Fifty Instructors in the United States. Throughout his twenty five year career Breed has worked with over thirty PGA Tour, LPGA Tour, Nationwide Tour and Senior Tour players.  He is also the host of Golf Channel’s hit show “The Golf Fix” and was recognized as the PGA’s National Teacher of the Year in 2012. 

Donald J. Trump, Chairman and President of the Trump Organization says, “We are thrilled to have Michael bring his immense talent and highly regarded academy to Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point, which will be one of the finest public golf courses in the country. Michael is an incredible addition to an already stellar facility and we look forward to continuing our great relationship for many years to come.”

Michael Breed added, “I’m honored to partner with the Trump Organization on this incredible opportunity to bring my academy to a world-class facility located just minutes outside of Manhattan. Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point is truly an unbelievable course and I’m confident we will experience great success.”

Most recently Michael was the Director of Instruction at the Michael Breed Golf Academy previously located at the Manhattan Woods Golf Club in West Nyack, NY. Formerly, Michael was the Head Golf Professional at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale for 12 years from 2001 – 2012. His experience includes five years as the Head Golf Professional at Birchwood Country Club and Assistant Professional positions at Deepdale Golf Club and Augusta National Golf Club.

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point is part of a city-funded redevelopment project. The 18-hole links style Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, designed in consultation with Sanford Design, will be operated by the Trump Golf team and will be a part of the global golf portfolio of native New Yorker and avid golfer Donald Trump. The city’s newest golf facility is located in the Bronx with easy access to all five boroughs, just minutes outside of Manhattan and situated at the foot of the Whitestone Bridge. The course is designed specifically to take advantage of spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, East River and the Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges. In addition to the 18-hole course, Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point will also feature a state of the art lighted practice facility, a magnificent clubhouse and dining amenities.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Trump Triumphs at Ferry Point

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point

The countdown to the opening of the most significant new course in New York--if not the country--is moving into single digits.  Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point will open next spring and accolades are already rolling in.  I had a private personal tour last week and I'll add my praise to the heap right now.

The single most striking aspect of Ferry Point is its location.  Everyone knows it's built on top of a landfill and that it cost the city of New York a gazillion dollars to build.  We also know that Donald Trump was apparently the only guy with the know-how and cajones to get it finished. What you don't realize until you stand on the first tee, however, is just how mind-bogglingly urban the site is.  You drive under the Whitestone Bridge to get there--something most New Yorkers don't even know you can do!  The bridge itself sets against the sky without dominating the vista, sort of like a citified version of a snow-capped mountain.  The Freedom Tower, Empire State Building, and the rest of the full expanse of the Manhattan skyline is in glorious view on almost every hole.  The Long Island Sound sparkles on the finishing holes and jets are seen but not heard departing LGA and JFK airports. Amid all this urban splendor is a splendid golf course.

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point will be a challenging but fun track for daily fee duffers while providing a spectacular test for professional championships like the Barclay's, which is strongly rumored to be coming in 2017.  The Jack Nicklaus design currently measures 7,407 yards from the tips, which will probably be longer once the final measurements are in. There are a few details still to be worked out on the course and a temporary clubhouse/grill will be completed this fall, but the golf course is in the final stages of growing in and should be in perfect shape next spring.

Nicklaus provided wide, playable fairways for the daily fee player, with many measuring easily over 50 yards across in places.  They're full of bumps and swales, though, so there will be plenty of irregular tee shot roll-outs in the tradition of links golf.  Fairway bunkering is moderate on most holes, with placement to challenge the big-hitting pros without damaging the chances of a shorter hitter, even from the forward tees.  Fairways and greens are surrounded and separated by thousands of man-shaped moguls to accommodate NY-sized crowds of spectators.

The current temporary scorecard lists 6,824 yards as the length from the blue tees.  There is a short par four on each nine (298-yard #7 and 335-yard #11) and the par threes meet my criterion for maximum variety and shot values (#3 is 226 yards, #8 170, #12 139, and #17 142).  Donald Trump made the first-ever hole-in-one on the course, believe it or not, during the first round ever played at Ferry Point. A plaque marks the spot and I love it!

The long holes are really, really long from the blue tees.  Most of the par fours approach 450 yards and will play significantly longer given the wind and green fairways.  The par fives aren't too bad, with the longest clocking in at 570 and the shortest at 466 yards, although it hasn't really been decided whether that hole will play as a par four or five.  I'll be highlighting individual holes from my tour in future posts.

Another decision in the works is creation of a set of tees between the blues and the current whites, which are only 6,071 yards.  While that would be fine for most of us, a length in the 6,200-6,400 yard range would have more appeal.  I also believe there should be a course shorter than the currently-listed 5,278-yard red tees.  The addition of some tees in the 4,000-yard neighborhood would make the course more accessible for youngsters, seniors, and very-occasional golfers.  That's a trend in the industry that's gaining a well-deserved toehold and the Trump organization would make a natural leader in bringing more players into the game.  Where are the stairs? I need to step off my soap box.

Although Ferry Point has "links" in it's name, you won't see any brown fairways a la Pinehurst No. 2.  Most golfers believe (erroneously) that green is good and brown is bad, so the turf here will be as green as hundreds of thousands of gallons of water can make it in order to appeal to the daily fee customer.  Playing conditions aside, the green fairways stand out in gorgeous contrast to the brown and yellow fescue in the rough.  It will definitely look fabulous on television (much better than Pinehurst did during the U.S. Open), but it remains to be seen if the course can play hard and fast with fairways that lush.

The design does include other links trademarks, however.  Wind will play a major role in your strategy on every hole since there are no trees or anything else to block it.  The prevailing breeze is from the southwest, but it can swirl in from the northeast off the Sound in a heartbeat.  Nicklaus did a great job on routing the course so that you will never play the same wind on two consecutive holes.

Small but nasty cross bunkers and chocolate drop fescue-covered mounds dot many fairways and make the approaches to some greens a bit more interesting. Many of the greens can be accessed with a bump-and-run or with a putter from the fairway if you take the soft turf into account.   The greens themselves are large enough to support the many pin positions needed for heavy daily fee play.  They are well-contoured but not fun house roller coasters.

Donald Trump threw out the initial permanent clubhouse designs because they didn't meet his high standards, but the facility is expected to be finished next year and promises to have magnificent views of the course, Long Island Sound, the Whitestone Bridge, and the Manhattan skyline, not to mention many of the first class amenities that are standard at Trump's private clubs.

One thing Ferry Point will also have is a practice facility to rival anything in the NY market, public or private.  There's a small warm-up green next to the first tee, but the real practice green is 15,000 square feet. It's next to a 65-yard short game area and not far from the 400-yard driving range that's 120 yards wide.

What makes Ferry Point so significant?  It will be far and away the best daily fee golf experience in the New York market when it opens.  You can count on one hand the truly fine public golf courses within an hour of Manhattan, and on one finger those within fifteen minutes.  That finger points to Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Marathon Golfer Scores For Eric Trump Foundation

Tony Balassone

What's a big golf day for you?  A leisurely 18 holes? A forced march toward 36? Maybe you've even completed a bone-crunching 54 holes in a state of golf hysteria.  Fuggedaboutit!  You're a piker compared to Tony Balassone, who cranked out a record 451 holes in one day at Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley on June 23.  Tony wasn't just feeding his golf habit, though.  He was playing to benefit the Eric Trump Foundation for St. Jude.  His real triumph? He raised $25,000 (and still counting) for the cause.

Balassone, co-owner of Calico Restaurant and Patisserie in Rhinebeck, and his wife, Leslie, raise money each year on behalf of a different charity.  Last year, Tony raised more than $20K for Multiple Sclerosis in memory of his uncle by playing over 90 holes of golf (on foot) at Trump National, walking nearly 26 miles in the process.  Tony was so grateful to the Trump family and Brian Freeswick, General Manager of the club, for donating the course last year that he and Leslie identified The Eric Trump Foundation to be their 2014 beneficiary.

Electing to use a golf cart this year, Tony set his personal goal at 400 (+) golf holes.  At 6:25 AM, Tony teed off at hole number 1 and successfully completed 451 holes in 12 hours, taking 1,909 shots and making 48 birdies.  Don't bother to take your socks off to do the math with your fingers and toes: that's just over 25 18-hole rounds at an average score of 76.

Longtime Hopewell Junction resident, Dan Scavino, an ETF Board Member and Director of the Joe Torre Foundation, was on hand to support Tony Balassone and witness his efforts on behalf of the children.  Scavino also promoted Tony’s incredible feat via social media and with local radio personality “Woodman,” on K104.

A celebratory dinner & auction in honor of Tony Balassone will be held at Trump National Golf Club, Hudson Valley, on July 15, 2014, 6:00PM. Tickets are $125/each and may be purchased via Erin Murray, emurray@trumpnational.com, no later than Friday, July 11, 2014.

Since 2006, Eric Trump, son of Donald J. Trump, and his foundation have donated and pledged over $28 million dollars to St Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.  If you would like to donate to The Eric Trump Foundation for St. Jude on behalf of Tony Balassone or learn more about ETF’s mission, visit www.erictrumpfoundation.com.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Beautiful, Challenging Golf At Trump Palm Beach

Trump International Golf Club is one of the most visually stunning and competitively challenging courses in Florida. Members of the Palm Beach club enjoy a true championship course that has hosted nine LPGA tour events with winners like Annika Sorenstam, Karri Webb, and Lorena Ochoa, another nine holes with a daring island green, and a practice facility where many PGA, LPGA, and Champions tour regulars work on their game. Lexi Thompson was working on her short game when I was there recently.

The course was designed by Jim Fazio (with ample and expert advice from the man whose name is over the door) and opened to well-deserved acclaim in 1999. Two lakes and elevations as high as 58-feet above sea level dominate the geography, while tasteful landscaping provides colorful accents throughout.  Fazio moved over three million cubic yards of earth (dredging the lakes to 80-feet depths in the process) to sculpt the course out of what was originally flat scrub land.  The course is par 72 with six sets of tees ranging from 5,314 to 7,326 yards. Check the course rating and slope before you choose a tee box--this course punishes testosterone-fueled foolishness.

The opening hole, par four at 417 yards, is relatively benign as long as you avoid the creek that meanders along the right side of the fairway, but don't rush to the second tee box until you pause to see the entrance to President John Kennedy's former bomb shelter along the way. The third hole, a 500-yard par five, presents a birdie opportunity as long as you watch your club selection into the water-protected green. The sixth is the hardest easy hole you'll ever play. It's only 335 yards, but the fairway bends around the lake at a right angle so a bigger-than-normal fade (aka a slice) will put you in the soup. Check the pin position, too, since the green has a Biarritz-like swale cutting across it. The last two holes on the front are stand-up holes. The eighth is a 430-yard par four with a big, elevated, well-bunkered green with a false front while the ninth is simply breath-taking, a 513-yard par five with water left and bunkers right.

The back nine opens with an echo of the sixth hole, only the tenth requires a longer approach assuming you kept your drive out of the water, which is just as wet as it is on the front.  The thirteenth, a 414-yard par four, has more bunkers than mortal man (or woman) should ever face on one hole. When you reach the tee box on the 491-yard par five fifteenth hole, stop and think before your aim your drive. The fairway is split by a creek and a long line of bunkers that you'll have to cross twice to reach the green. The signature hole on the course is the par three seventeenth, where the $3.2 million waterfall and amazing tropical foliage can easily distract you from your 190-yard tee shot over the lake in front of the green. Quite frankly, the 420-yard par four eighteenth hole is just as spectacular with its elevated tee, water, huge bunkers, and magnificent clubhouse in the background.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

National Championship Golf -- Free!

If you want to watch some great golf without spending a hundred bucks for a ticket, parking a hour away from the course and elbowing your way through 50,000 spectators, check out the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur and U.S. Girls' Junior Championships next week at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, NJ. They're played concurrently over the two courses July 20-25. Admission is free, there's plenty of free parking, and the golf is guaranteed to be as good as you're going to see anywhere.

But these are kids, right? Yes they are--and fine golfers, too. Entrants must be 17 or under to play in these USGA events, but boys are required to have a handicap index no higher than 6.4 and the girls an 18.4. These may not match U.S. Open requirements, but some of the best players in the game compete in these tournaments. The Girls' Junior helped launch the careers of Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, and Hollis Stacy, who won three consecutive titles from 1969 to 1971. More recent winners include Michelle McGann (1987), Brandie Burton (1989), Aree (Wongluekiet) Song (1999), and 2008 US Women's Open Champion, Inbee Park.

Another three-time title holder is Tiger Woods, who took it in 1991-1993, then turned around and won the U.S. Amateur the next three years. Woods was 15 years, six months, and 28 days old when he won in 1991, making him the youngest champion so far. Other Junior winners include Johnny Miller (1964), Gary Koch (1970), David Duval (1989), and defending champion Kevin Tway (2005), son of professional golfer Bob Tway.

And here's a little bit of history: The first U.S. Junior Championship was played in 1948 and was won by Dean Lind of Rockford, IL, who defeated future U.S. Open champion and legendary golf commentator, Ken Venturi.

The Trump courses won't be baby-fied for these events. The Old Course will play at 7,100 yards and a 75.8 rating and 146 slope for the Junior Am while the New Course will clock in at 7,159 yards with a 74.3/144. They'll play at 6,203 yards (Old) and 6,294 yards (New) for the Girls' Junior. Both courses require accurate games off the tee and masterly putting.

The first two rounds will be played as stroke play, with match play beginning Wednesday, July 22. Two rounds of match play are scheduled for each day, Thursday through the Saturday final. Players will alternate courses, with the boys ending on the New Course and the girls on the Old. If you can't make it in person, the Golf Channel will carry the semifinals on July 24 and the finals on July 25. NBC will air highlights of the tournaments on August 1, 2-3 PM.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo

Trump Waits For Economy In Scotland

I had an interesting conversation recently with real estate impresario Donald Trump, who uses "The Greatest" in a sentence more often than Muhammad Ali. "What's up with the project in Scotland?" I asked. Here's what he said:

"We have all the permits and everything is ready to go, but I'm not going to build anything until the depression is over."

That's too bad, since I was really looking forward to visiting Trump International Golf Links, which is scheduled to have two world-class golf courses and a luxury hotel sited on 1400 acres of sand dunes at Balmedie Beach in the northeast part of the country.

Martin Hawtree is to design the courses. He's known for his expertise in links courses and worked on Royal Birkdale, Portmarnock, Lahinch and Carnoustie to name but a few. Tom Fazio II, nephew of designer Tom Fazio, did some original routing work on the Aberdeen property, but Hawtree took over when Fazio turned his attention to the New Course at Trump Bedminster.

Trump went through some battles to get permission to build on the property, fighting farmers and others who want to preserve the property in its present state. The chance to bring new tourist dollars to the area--with the accompanying jobs in construction and resort operation, won the day, however, and Trump's project is now clear for takeoff as soon as the economy permits.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo

Trump Bedminster New Course - Impressive Test

The rolling hills of New Jersey's Somerset County make not only great horse country, but great golf country as well. Among the gems in the area is Trump National Bedminster, just a few minutes off I-78. Donald Trump opened the New Course last year after receiving rave reviews for the Old Course that debuted on the property in 2004. Tom Fazio did the first one and his nephew, Tom Fazio II, designed the New Course. The two will host the 2009 USGA Junior Amateur Championship and Girls' Junior Championship concurrently July 20-25.

The New Course has six sets of tees, with the tips stretching a monstrous 7,534 yards, including a par three that plays 270 from the black tees. It's slightly downhill, but still..... That hole, like most of the others on the course, has a spacious green full of not-so-subtle (would you expect anything else from Trump?) humps, bumps, curls, and contours.

Another consistent feature of the design is really well-placed fairway bunkering that turns what could be mediocre short and medium-length par fours into strong tests of driving skill. The 17th and 18th holes are particularly challenging. The 17th is only 374 yards from the blue tees, but a nasty bunker intrudes from the left and cuts the fairway in half at the landing area about 210 yards out. It takes a 250-yard carry to clear it. The second shot is a tester, too, with a two-club elevated green protected by bunkers right front and left side. It's probably one of the smallest greens on the course.

The finishing hole is 420 yards from the blue tees and plays uphill all the way. There's a particularly deep swale in front of the severely-humped green, so many players are going to end up playing it as a three-shot hole whether they intended to or not.

Say what you will about Donald Trump, but the man builds good golf courses. The New Course at Trump National Bedminster is an impressive test of golf.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo

Scavino - Cream Rises To The Top

All my friends are becoming famous, it seems. Dan Scavino, General Manager of Trump National Golf Club in Westchester Couny, New York has been promoted by Donald J. Trump, to Executive Vice President and General Manager of the club. Kudos to Dan!

Scavino joined the Trump Organization in 2004 after stints with Coca-Cola and Galderma Labs. Dan not only runs a great golf club, but devotes a significant amount of time to community service as well. He was awarded a Citation of Merit from the New York State Senate for outstanding citizenship and was recognized for helping former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani raise funds for victims of Hurricane Katrina with an AmeriCares golf outing at Trump National. Scavino has worked very closely with organizations such as The Joe Torre Safe At Home Foundation, Alonzo Mourning Charities, The Eric Trump Foundation, Easter Seals, American Cancer Society, and countless others.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo