Trump Golf Links Ferry Point
The 18th hole with the Whitestone Bridge in the background.
And, anyone is going to be able to play it.
Donald Trump is opening Trump Golf Links in Ferry Point, New York, next April. The course is already done, and I got a chance to play a round with our sports writer Tony Manfred.
It's a great course. It blows away all the other public courses in New York City, which isn't saying much because most of the city's courses are pretty beat up and uninspired. (There are a surprising number of courses in New York City. Of all the courses I've played in New York, here are my city rankings: 1. Pelham Bay; 2. La Tourette; 3. Split Rock; 4. Marine Park; 5. Dyker Beach; 6. South Shore; 7. Silver Lake; 8. Douglaston; 9. Moshulu; 10. Van Cortlandt.)
More impressively, Trump Golf Links is in contention to be a top five public course in the New York metro area. My list of the best courses in the New York Metro area (which means ~1 hour drive out of the city) before Trump Links goes like this: 1. Bethpage Black; 2. Pound Ridge; 3. Neshanic Valley; 4. Ballyowen; 5. Bethpage Red.
The new Trump course could compete with those last three on the list, though as a friend of mine said of the course, it's best to wait until the spring when it is in full bloom.
There are only two downsides to the course:
1. It's going to be expensive when it opens. Trump's group hasn't announced a price, but in 2013, Golf Magazine speculated that it could cost $125 per round. An average round at a public city course is ~$40.
2. It's in the Bronx, but not near any train lines, so it's not the most convenient place to get to.
Still! It's a fun time, and it will be on every New York golfer's list next year.
When I played I took some photos of the course so you can get a sense of the course. This is not a perfect representation because the course will have tall fescue grown in when it's warmer, but this is an idea of what it will be like.