Southampton, NY. The return to Shinnecock Hills marks the 6th time the famed eastern Long Island club will host the national championship of American golf. Since 1974, only Oakmont, has hosted as many Opens — five total.
The William Flynn design will play 7,440 yards to a par of 35-35—70.
Shinnecock Hills returned to the forefront of championship golf in 1986 when the United States Golf Association (USGA) through its executive director at the time — Frank Hannigan — astutely sought to resurrect the famed layout and have the iconic club return to the pinnacle of the sport.
Shinnecock Hills is one of the five founding members of the USGA and hosted the second championship in 1896.
The original layout that existed was altered when Flynn was hired and the present 18-hole configuration dates back to 1931.
When faced with a proposed highway extension that would have split the original course, the club acquired new land to the north and commissioned the firm of Toomey and Flynn to build a completely new 18-hole routing. Flynn retained only a couple of the original holes and transformed the rest, creating the iconic layout that emphasizes natural topography and wind-resistant hole angles.
Shinnecock Hills is consistently ranked among the top five courses in the world. Even with the effort to resurrect and re-establish its aura, the staging of past US Opens has been marked by issues tied to course set-up for the two most recent Opens hosted.
In 2004, the USGA was rightly chastised by players for having to water the par-3 7th during the actual championship because the green was so firm and unable to properly receive golf shots. The USGA acknowledged the error and pledged for the 2018 championship that a similar result would not take place.
However, during the 3rd round of the event the USGA was again criticized for allowing the course to become so firm that nearly all shots — even the best ones — were routinely rejected. The inherent slopes that Flynn provided were ramped up to Stimpmeter speeds higher than 12 and, as a result, golf balls could not remain on a number of the greens.
The question now is have past lessons been learned and will the course be prepared to provide a stern, yet fair, test for one of the most prized trophies in all of golf.
The success of the 2026 championship will hinge on that specific aspect.
Four architects were asked to give their critical assessment of the storied Long Island club and what they see happening.
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You hear the words “Shinnecock Hills” — what comes to mind immediately?
Jim Nagle: It is one of the most well-routed and strategically bunkered golf courses ever designed.
Stephen Kay: US Open.
Mark Fine: One of the greatest golf courses in the world as well as one of the greatest tests of golf!
Jeff Stein: History. Shinnecock is the granddaddy of all championship golf courses in the United States. Its longevity hosting championships make it the most revered and relevant venue for the US Open.
For those unable to attend in person and can only watch via the telecast – what is the singular positive aspect of Shinnecock Hills you would urge them to take note of when viewing?
Mark Fine: The “strategic” genius of the design. There are no tricks or gimmicks, everything is right in front of you.
Each shot requires careful thought and calculation and precise execution. All aspects of a golfer’s game will be tested.
Jeff Stein: For viewers at home, it will obviously be the broad and sweeping vantage of the overhead camera angles across the rolling property looking out to the Great Peconic Bay.
The contrast of the fairways, native rough, and blue sky creates the sensation that you are looking at a painting almost anywhere you stand on the property.
Jim Nagle: How a well-bunked golf course, combined with wide fairways, can challenge the best players in the world. Wide fairways do not always equate to easier scoring. The wider fairways can produce roll-out for overly aggressive play that may be slightly offline.
With Flynn, there is often a feature that must be negotiated for an offline drive and approach shot. Most times, it is a bunker, a lack of visibility of the green or landform, or a challenging angle to approach a green.
Stephen Kay: Be aware of the openness and vistas. Seeing from one hole to another and how a fairway slopes which requires the golfer to hit a fade or a draw to hold the fairway.
William Flynn was a very successful architect. What distinguishes his work?
Stephen Kay: Flynn was a wonderful golf course architect who was also involved in Merion GC and Cherry Hills CC in Colorado. His designs appear simple, yet when you played them, they were quite complex, and his greens did not look like they had a lot of movement, but they did.
He was quite an innovator who would design three sets of tees and actually called the shortest tee the “forward tee” rather than the lady’s tee.
Jeff Stein: Flynn is famously known as the “nature faker”. Meaning that he adamantly disliked artificiality or the look of created hazards like chocolate drops. If Flynn had to manipulate the ground, he would do so in a way to mimic natural topography, creating a seamless landscape where he was able to elegantly place his flowing green sites.
The excellence of his greens was aided by his ability to smartly route golf courses in many different types of terrain, particularly in the Philadelphia area.
Jim Nagle: Three things come to mind.
First, his ability to route the golf course over natural ground is unrivaled. For a site like Shinnecock, this is enhanced by the varied directions in which the holes are routed, given the impact of wind on play.
Second, bunkering concepts created great interest and challenge. He displayed a remarkable talent for proper placement, variety in appearance, and a knack for when to employ large groupings, singles, duets, or trios.
Finally, his greens designs can be very challenging to read and discern subtle breaks in slope, speed, and direction.
Mark Fine: Unlike his peers, Flynn never made the trip across the pond to study the great links courses of the British Isles. He had different opinions than most regarding trees, bunkers, blindness, and dare I say “fairness” when it came to his designs. He believed his bunkers should be visible as well as the shots played from the appropriate spots in the fairway to his greens.
Flynn felt trees were prevalent on many sites, added beauty to a course as well as shade and could be a practical value in segregating golf holes. He often
incorporated them into his designs. Flynn was also a strong advocate of multiple tees and believed they should not be gender specific.
If Flynn were alive today — what question would you ask regarding his effort at Shinnecock Hills?
Jim Nagle: What was the number one focus of your intentions for Shinnecock? Was it the varied routing and the potential impact of the wind, or was it the length of the game, equipment, and player abilities that were evolving?
Stephen Kay: What percentage of slope did you have on your putting surfaces and fairways – what was the height of cut of a green and of fairway?
Jeff Stein: How do you feel the golf course holds up to elite play and the tremendous distance players can now strike their drives? Would you change anything about the golf course today?
Mark Fine: Flynn redesigned Shinnecock Hills almost 100 years ago in 1931. I would ask him if he could have ever envisioned that his design would hold up to modern golf equipment and play from the best golfers in the world.
Part 2
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The Participants
Jeff Stein
Principal Architect
Stein Golf Design
Brooklyn, New York
Stein Golf Design
Jeffrey Stein, 40, is the owner of Stein Golf Design LLC based in Brooklyn, New York.
Design credits include the reimagination of Walter Travis’ Great Dunes on Jekyll Island, Georgia, restoration of Devereux Emett’s seaside links at Seawane Club in Hewlett Harbor, NY and historical renovations of Tillinghast’s work at Essex Fells CC in Essex Fells, NJ.
His career began in 2009 as an intern for Tom Doak’s Renaissance Golf Design. From that time, he has received world class training in field design, construction, and project management while working around the world in places like California, Nebraska, Florida, Brazil, Uruguay, England and New Zealand as an independent design associate for Gil Hanse, Mike DeVries and others.
A 2008 graduate of Brandeis University, Jeffrey earned a B.A. in Economics while representing the school as captain of the golf team. Jeffrey’s diverse experience studying golf’s great landscapes adds a unique perspective to any project and provides the foundation of his belief in a “Design, Build and Finish” philosophy toward his work.
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Stephen Kay, ASGCA
Owner
Stephen Kay Golf
Egg Harbor, New Jersey
http://kaygolfcoursedesign.com
Stephen Kay is a licensed landscape architect who has limited his practice to golf course architecture since 1983 and has been an ASGCA member since 1995. He has been an instructor in the Rutgers Turfgrass program since 1985, teaching golf construction, design and surveying.
Has provided golf design for over 250 golf courses, plus 20 new courses, several receiving national attention. The Links of North Dakota is ranked in Golfweek’s top 100 in the nation and The Architects Club was in the top 10 new courses of the year in Links Magazine and Sports Illustrated.
He has also done work in Asia (Kingdom of Bhutan and India.) Has extensive experience restoring the classic old designs of such great architects as Donald Ross, AW Tillinghast, Devereux Emmet and Charles Banks.
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Jim Nagle, ASGCA
Nagle Design Works, LLC
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
www.nagledesignworks.com
Started his golf design career with the Dye Designs organization while a Landscape Architecture student at West Virginia University. He spent over 25 years with Forse Design, where he collaborated with Ron Forse and was the lead designer on numerous nationally recognized restoration and renovation projects.
In March 2024, he formed Nagle Design Works and gained early success with notable projects at the NCR Country Club, Philadelphia Country Club, and Vesper Country Club. With upcoming projects at Warwick Hills Country Club, The Meadow Brook Club, and the NCR South course, Nagle Design Works looks to continue building upon the successes of Jim’s time with Forse Design and in the brief time since forming NDW.
Mark Fine, ASGCA
Fine Golf Design, Inc.
Allentown, PA
https://asgca.org/architect/mfine/
Following a successful business career, Mark founded Fine Golf Design, Inc. in 2003. An ASGCA member, Mark’s background in golf includes over 30 years of study in golf architecture and design while having played and analyzed over 1,600 golf courses around the globe, including hundreds recognized as the world’s best.
In 2006 he co-authored a book popular with Superintendents and Greens Committees titled, “Bunkers, Pits and Other Hazards,”.
Has an ongoing passion for restoring and renovating the works of the “Golden Age” architects. Recent projects include multiple designs from William Gordon as well as Donald Ross.
Related: The Finicky Golfer – Shinnecock Hills Golf Club
M. James Ward
A long-time member of both the GWAA and MGWA. The 68-year-old has covered all facets in golf since 1980 — including reporting on over 100 major championships and 13 Ryder Cup matches. His writings have appeared in various outlets. On a personal level, has played over 2,000 courses globally and is lead reviewer for Top 100 Golf Courses.
Previously served for 17 years as national course rating panelist for Golf Digest. Has also personally competed in USGA Championships. Resides in the metro New York City area with his wife Celeste. Favorite quote paraphrased for golf — “You are what your golf score says you are.”