Love the one you’re with
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- August
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By almost all accounts, the pre-tournament reviews of Ridgewood Country Club have been positive, to the extent that players’ affections for Westchester Country Club sound like a distant memory. To wit, Phil Mickelson:
I like Westchester. I think it’s a great golf course. I do feel as though Ridgewood is a step up in quality. I’ve always loved going to Westchester, but this course really has a major-championship feel. It’s a Tillinghast, same designer as Winged Foot, same designer as Baltusrol. It has that Northeast, major-championship feel.
Heck, even Johnson Wagner, the closest thing this area has to a home grown product, said he preferred Ridgewood to Westchester (although, it’s worth noting that Wagner won both of his Met Open titles on A.W. Tillinghast courses—Bethpage Black and Winged Foot—like Ridgewood.
I have been a fan of Ridgewood since I covered the 2001 Senior PGA here, and I don’t doubt many players really feel that this week is an upgrade. But I also think the glowing feedback speaks to a common psychological tactic of PGA Tour players, many of whom think the best way to channel good vibes on a new layout is to accentuate the positive. Because if you start thinking about the parts you don’t like, that’s the part you’ll find yourself dealing with.
It sounds silly, I know. But it’s easy to love a golf course before you’ve hit your first official shot there. It gets tougher after you’ve missed the cut.
