North Hills serves up a pure Robert Trent Jones Sr. test, blending championship challenge with walkable Long Island terrain. While not a national headliner, the club’s tradition and conditioning make it a core North Shore private golf experience.
Ask a member about the club’s split history—most don’t realize the course and the original club are from different eras.
North Hills Country Club’s Manhasset layout stands as a pure expression of Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s championship vision, featuring beautifully framed parkland corridors, penal yet fair bunkering, and a routing that rises and falls with Long Island’s subtle terrain. Recent renovations have sharpened but not altered the course's fundamental identity, focusing instead on preserving the tension between strategy, accuracy, and risk—especially on its stout par 4s and strategic par 5s. The blend of elevated greens, cleverly placed fairway targets, and classic RTJ green complexes ensures players face a complete test in both shotmaking and course management.
Robert Trent Jones Sr.’s design leverages the rolling North Shore terrain for a demanding yet elegant test, further refined in recent decades by his son and other top architects.
The second hole is a stout par 4 that immediately demands a confident tee shot into a narrow landing area, setting the bar for the kind of precise driving that defines North Hills. Its length and reversing wind often mean a long-iron approach to a perched green. Par here feels like stealing a stroke from the course.
Play to the wide side of the fairway for the best angle in; lay back if needed to avoid the deep fairway bunkers and approach the green from a safe line.
Miss left off the tee and you risk tree trouble; miss right and a long bunker awaits. The green sits slightly elevated and is well-defended in front.
Top-tier private-club maintenance, with true greens and firm, fast fairways.
Fast member rounds during the week, but expect four-hour pace during busy events; verification needed.
Traditional, understated, welcoming to serious golfers.
Jackets in dining rooms; standard country club golf attire on course—collared shirts, soft spikes; needs-verification.
Many greens are perched and penal, so come ready to hit lots of mid and long irons.
Deep RTJ-style bunkers guard landing zones—work on high, soft exits.
Even in summer, wind and North Shore weather can change rapidly—bring layers.
North Hills founded in Douglaston, Long Island.
Original course hosts U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.
Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed Manhasset course opens.
Stephen Kay refinement project.
Rees Jones and Steve Weisser perform a traditional freshening and bunker revision.
North Hills Country Club’s story is one of rebirth: originally established in 1927, the club made a bold move to its current Manhasset location in the early 1960s, trusting Robert Trent Jones Sr. to design a layout that’s now central to its identity. Its split history is a frequent point of confusion and a source of pride among longtime members.
When Robert Trent Jones Sr. walked the Allen-Boggs-Levitt estates, he declared the site had unbeatable location and accessibility, and the resulting course was immediately branded one of his finest works. Today, Jones’ shaping and the elegant North Shore setting remain the course’s calling cards.
Before leaving Douglaston, North Hills hosted the 1952 U.S. Women’s Amateur, giving the club its earliest moment in the national spotlight. The tournament era left a competitive spirit that still shapes member competition today.
Decades after its opening, North Hills doubled down on its RTJ Sr. DNA, with Rees Jones overseeing a 'traditional freshening' to preserve classic bunkering and green surrounds. The goal: update playability while making sure history remains at every turn.
The course occupies the former Allen-Boggs-Levitt estates, giving it a lush, suburban parkland feel.
Robert Trent Jones Sr. called the site’s accessibility 'unsurpassed in the metropolitan area.'
At its previous Douglaston site, North Hills hosted the 1952 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.
The club’s black tee stretch is a formidable 6,783 yards—long for its era.
Despite several tweaks, North Hills proudly preserves its original RTJ Sr. design heritage.
New York’s premier public test and bucket-list big-stage experience.
A legendary U.S. Open venue and architectural icon.
The quintessential Golden Age design, soaked in historic charm.
A nearby classic with a sterling RTJ-Perry Maxwell heritage.
A North Shore gem with sweeping Sound views and old-world appeal.
Manhasset, Roslyn, or Port Washington for quickest access to North Hills and elite North Shore golf; Garden City if pairing with Bethpage.
Courses with the most similar DNA profile — matched by deviation shape across all eight playing characteristics.
Why it matches: What links these two? A comparable balance of challenge, variety, and character — a familiar feeling, expressed in Mapleton Golf Club's own setting.
Why it matches: If North Hills Country Club is your kind of course, Nashawtuc Country Club is worth a look because it a comparable balance of challenge, variety, and character.
Why it matches: If North Hills Country Club is your kind of course, Bryn Mawr Country Club is worth a look because it a comparable balance of challenge, variety, and character.
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