Playing both courses at Winged Foot in a single day is one of those bucket-list golf experiences that lives up to every bit of the hype. From the moment you walk under the stone archway and catch your first glimpse of the iconic clubhouse, you feel the weight of history and realize you’re about to be tested in a whole new way. Everything about Winged Foot is relentless, from the fairways that pinch at just the right spot to the narrow, angled greens that demand precision and total commitment.
We teed off on the West Course in the morning, and it didn’t take long to find out just how tight and challenging this place really is. The third hole stands out not just for the test it presents, but for a piece of living history you have to navigate. My approach to a back pin clipped the massive old tree that hangs over the left side of the green, dropping straight down about five feet from the hole. That tree has been there since the course was built, and it feels like a rite of passage to have it come into play. There’s something special about golf when you realize these living features have been challenging players for nearly a century.
The theme for the entire day was tightness. The fairways are lined with mature trees and feel narrow, always asking you to pick your spot and commit to your shot. The greens always seem just a little smaller and more sloped than you expect. Every shot feels important, and the rough, which is as gnarly as advertised, is always lurking, waiting to make you pay for even a slight miss. The bunkering is classic Tillinghast, bold and beautifully placed, demanding your full attention on nearly every approach.
One of the most interesting things about Winged Foot is that you could probably mix up holes from the East and West courses, and it would still feel like the same high-quality experience. Both courses have that relentless strategic challenge and the same sense of history and atmosphere, so much so that you could blend them together and still have two world-class layouts. The differences are there, but the vibe, the conditioning, and the demand on your game are a constant.
The par threes at Winged Foot are world-class, and none more so than the famous tenth on the West Course. Standing on that tee, with the green set up in front of the clubhouse and the crowd just off to the side, you can almost hear Ben Hogan’s words about the hole. He once described it as "a 3-iron into somebody’s bedroom window," and honestly, I get it now. The shot is all carry, with bunkers tight and slopes unforgiving. Walking away with a par here feels like you stole something.
By the time we made the turn and headed out for the East Course after lunch, my legs were already feeling it, but I was excited for a different kind of challenge. The East winds around the property with a routing that feels more open and varied, bringing water and the edges of the land into play in ways that the West doesn’t. It actually reminded me a bit of playing parkland courses around Chicago, like Olympia Fields, but everything here is just a little bit tighter, a little more dialed in. Not every single hole is a showstopper, but the overall experience is as pure as it gets, and the conditioning is some of the best I’ve ever seen anywhere.
Both tenth holes stood out for different reasons. The par three tenth on the West is as tough and memorable as advertised, with every bit of drama you’d want from a feature hole. The tenth on the East, a par four, is framed perfectly by bunkers and the view back to the clubhouse. It’s the kind of hole that just feels like classic American golf, simple and elegant but still demanding.
After a full day at Winged Foot, I was tired in the best possible way, with a mix of awe and humility. The place rewards patience and strategy and punishes anything sloppy. Even after a week of seeing one great course after another, Winged Foot managed to stand alone, delivering a challenge and an atmosphere that will stick with me for a long time.