Lunchball
Getting to Fishers Island is an adventure in itself—requiring a ferry ride and usually a very well-connected friend—but the payoff is perhaps the most idyllic walk in American golf. This is Seth Raynor’s geometric genius set against the backdrop of the Long Island Sound, where the Atlantic breeze is the primary defender. The vibe is aggressively understated; there are no tee times, the clubhouse is modest, and the layout feels like a discovery tour of architecture’s greatest hits, featuring massive, squared-off greens and steep, grass-faced bunkers that look like they were carved yesterday.
While the course is famous for its collection of par 3s, the routing flows effortlessly through the rolling terrain, offering panoramic water views on nearly every hole. It is a ‘Lunchball’ dream: wide fairways that encourage aggressive driving, followed by precision approaches into template greens that act as fortresses. The 4th hole, a blind ‘Punchbowl’ par 4 looking out over the water, encapsulates the pure joy of the place—it isn’t trying to punish you, it’s trying to show you a good time.
Comparison: 5th (Biarritz)
The American Eden
Fishers Island Club
The American Biarritz
Yale Golf Course
Architectural Analysis
Two titans of the Biarritz template located just across the Long Island Sound from one another. While Yale's plays downhill over water, Fishers demands a stout uphill strike where the wind is often the deciding factor.