Sporting Views: Salem Golf Club is a Hidden Treasure Of A Golf Course

Serious golfers are nuts. There is no doubt about it. If you love this game you will do about anything to get to the chance to play it. The great American author and wordsmith Mark Twain called the games of golf “A good walk spoiled.”

Twain was an amazing writer but he was dead wrong about the game developed by Scottish shepherds several hundreds of years of ago.

I have had the wonderful opportunity this summer to walk some of the best courses in the area covering many of the talented local golfers in big championship events. This past week I put away my notebook and traded it for my own golf clubs as I decided to try to play a golf course I have been hearing about for years but never played.

Salem Golf Club is about a little over a 30-minute drive from White Plains. The course is privately owned and relatively new compared to the other beautiful golf courses in Westchester County like Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge, Westchester Hills, Knollwood and Metropolis.

Edward Ryder designed the golf course.  He only designed three golf courses in his career. Ryder took the land, which was a colonial estate, and crafted it into a superb test of golf.

One of the things that struck my eye is the way the course was laid out to go with terrain. In modern golf course design there have been way too many courses that have used machinery to make the design. Ryder let the land dictate where the course would go. His most famous golf course design is Richter Park in Danbury, Conn., which is annually ranked as one the top public course in the nation.

When you first arrive at the club you really can’t tell much other than its set on a hill and you can see the par three 10^th hole when you drive in. After getting into the parking lot you notice the club has a driving range and a good sized area to work on your short game.

At the top of the hill is a mansion that has been converted into a clubhouse. Members can dine in the grillroom, main dining room or the terrace that looks onto the 18^th green. The dining room is big enough to hold weddings and other special parties.

My favorite thing about the game of golf is the social aspect. I have met so many interesting people through the game, most of them being people who I was randomly paired up with.

The starter at the club paired me up with three members who would serve as my guide for my 18-hole adventure over the rolling hills of Salem Golf Course. For those who have not ventured much to the North Salem area there is a lot of farmland. In fact in less than two months time Outland Orchards in North Salem is one of the best places to pick apples as a family day activity.

After a quick introduction to my playing partners for the day, who were gracious and patient  with this writer who was once a talented player now turned glorified hacker, it was time to get down to business and play the course.

The first hole was a par-four dogleg to the left.  This hole is a place where if one isn’t careful in planning the placement of his shots he could make a big number very quickly. The second hole at Salem Golf Course could make a beautiful post card. It is a downhill par-three that was great to look at but harder than first imagined. The greens at this course were in amazing shape and were almost as fast as putting your kitchen floor.

My favorite hole on the front nine was the par-four sixth. From the tee you can’t see the green, which is tucked behind trees to the left. There is a water hazard all the way down the left side and trees on the right so you needed to thread the needle with your tee shot to keep the ball in play. Also, as if things weren’t hard enough, if you don’t hit your tee shot far enough down the fairway you won’t be able to see the green on your second shot.

One of the biggest misconceptions by many in golf is that you have to make a golf hole long  to make it hard. The sixth hole proved that. My favorite thing about the hole is how it made you think about your shot beforehand and come up with a game plan.

Too many golf courses are so straightforward that you just quickly pick up a club and try to hit the ball a mile. When a golf hole makes you think and slow your game down I believe you learn something about the game.

The eighth hole on the front nine is a favorite for a lot of the members, I was told, because of the vista view from the tee. The view is spectacular but number six is a better golf hole in my mind. Number eight was beautiful but other than the big fast greens that caused me to three-putt there was nothing that made it stand out to me.

After finishing the front nine I thought to myself: That’s a solid front nine with several memorable holes. Then when I got to the back nine, the golf course just blew me away. My opinion of the golf course on the back nine went from good to one of my favorite tracks I have played in my life.

The view from the eleventh tee is breathtaking and it might be the most fun tee shot to hit because of the challenge of avoiding the water on the right. The 13^th hole at Salem Golf Club can hold its own against any golf hole in the county for toughest hole. The hole plays up hills and if you can’t blast the ball over 250 yards it’s a bear to play.

I loved the long par five dogleg to the left 14^th because like the sixth hole you needed to carefully plan your strategy beforehand. The 15^th and 17^th holes provide a chance for a player to score and make up for big numbers probably made at earlier holes.

Not every course has a signature final hole that really challenges you. The 18^th at Salem Golf Club will catch your eye because what one of the members I was playing with called “the Sahara desert of bunkers” guards the green. If you get it into one of these bunkers on 18 your hopes for a good score on the hole are over.

Overall the course is fun, brilliant and entertaining if you love this game like I do. My score for the day was terrible but it didn’t bother me because I was thinking all of the great golf holes I played and, to be honest, I love it when a golf course really challenges me to hit solid golf shots.

After playing a new course for the first time with friends a usual debate was “what was your favorite hole?” I can honestly say with this golf course I had several that all could satisfy as an answer to that question. It’s a testament to the brilliance of the architect of the golf course and the golf maintenance crew.

If you want to be a great player in this game, then try teeing it up at the back tees of this course. If you can produce a score in the low’s 70’s here you’re going to have a nice competitive life in this game. This course tests every skill a talented golfer needs in their arsenal.

The beauty of the course will make the round enjoyable for the beginners and average players as well as the single digit handicap.

According to the general manager of the club, Todd Zorn, the club has made great efforts to improve their junior golf program.

“Junior golf is something we feel that is important to attract families and help advance the game,” he said. “Our pro shop staff does active junior clinics throughout the summer.”

Salem Golf Club will hold its first junior championship this summer with about 12 children participating .

Also, according to Zorn, the club has recently renovated about 90 percent of the sand bunkers on the course and added some new bunkers to the course as well. To make the course more enjoyable to play for beginners, they have added a fourth set of tees and special tees for junior golfers.

The club recently hosted the 83^rd annual Father and Son Golf Championship sponsored by the Westchester Golf Association.