Long Island - Members Launch

The day began early, with coffee and breakfast served ahead of a shotgun start on The Original routing. Captains, former captains, presidents, long-time members, and ballot winners took to the course together for the very first competitive round on the redesigned layout. For many in the field, the walk itself told the story. This is a course transformed.

A long lunch and a longer story

Following the morning’s golf, members gathered for lunch and the preview screening of A Long Island Journey, a documentary capturing the full arc of the renovation. Shot across three years, the film follows the project from bare earth to finished fairways through the eyes of the people closest to the work.

The response in the room was immediate, and there were moments where members were visibly moved. It is a piece that reinforces just how much Long Island means to the people who have played it, in some cases for decades, and that is an integral part of The National Golf Club.

A conversation between father and son

One of the highlights of the afternoon was a Q&A session with golf course architect Ashley Mead and his father Chris Mead. The conversation brought a personal dimension to the project that even the documentary could only hint at.

Ashley, who leads the Long Island project for Ogilvy Clayton Cocking Mead (OCM), grew up on this course. While his father finished up in the clubhouse, young Ashley was out on the putting green, battling mates over eight-foot putts to win imaginary British Opens as the sun set. Decades later, he returned with his craft to reshape the place that shaped him. Hearing father and son reflect on that arc together was a genuine highlight of the day.

Three routings, one remarkable property

For those still getting their heads around the concept: each of the three routing names carries a piece of Long Island’s history. The Original honours the 1938 founding of the club. The Track recalls the 1860s Frankston Racecourse that once occupied the land. The Farm pays tribute to its wartime agricultural past, when the property was given over to crops and, rather memorably, ostrich breeding.

These aren’t just names on a scorecard. They represent a design philosophy that draws variety and character from the land’s own story, offering members three genuinely different experiences across the same landscape.