For serious golfers, there’s no place like the Hamptons.
For golfers, the Hamptons occupies a near-mythical status. Part of that is the golf itself, of course, but much of the intrigue comes from what remains just beyond reach. Membership at many of the area’s most sought-after clubs is famously difficult to secure. Waiting lists stretch for years. Existing members sponsor candidates. Vetting can feel more intensive than a college-admissions process. Even then, nothing is guaranteed. If you’re fortunate enough to get the call, seven-figure initiation fees are not unheard of.
The Tom Fazio–designed course at The Hills in East Quogue.
But exclusivity has never really been the point. What people are ultimately chasing is access to history. The names alone carry weight: Shinnecock Hills, one of the game’s great championship venues and host of this summer’s U.S. Open; National Golf Links, revered among architecture obsessives; Maidstone, where old-world discretion still feels embedded in the culture; and more recent additions like Friar’s Head and Sebonack, clubs that quickly earned permanent positions on private-club vision boards and wish lists.
What better way to unwind after 18 than on the club’s private beach?
The Hamptons, however, has always offered more than tee times. Yet many of the clubs that built the region’s reputation were designed with singular focus. The sport came first; everything else was secondary. Which is why Discovery Land Company’s The Hills in East Quogue is such an interesting evolution. In a landscape historically defined by standalone golf institutions, The Hills introduces a different model: membership is tied to home ownership, creating an immediate sense of community that has long been absent from the Hamptons golf scene.
Beyond the fairways are racquet sports, wellness offerings, and access to the oceanfront Dune Deck Beach Club.
The Tom Fazio–designed course also brings its own distinction as the region’s only course by the renowned architect. Beyond the fairways are racquet sports, wellness offerings, and access to the oceanfront Dune Deck Beach Club. The Hills positions golf as part of a broader lifestyle rather than the sole focus.
The course is landscaped to reflect the Hamptons’s unrivaled natural beauty.
For newcomers especially, it may offer something just as valuable as access: an easier way into one of golf’s most traditionally insular worlds. Long Island golf has always been about tradition. The most interesting thing happening now may be watching the tradition evolve.
What to Pack
Golf has been getting a glow up lately, with dozens of luxury brands expanding into accessories and apparel designed for the links. Here’s a handful of looks to warm up with.
