Every Hole at The Lido | Golf Digest

Every Hole at The Lido | Golf Digest

Leo Golf Club on the southern Shore of Long Island New York was probably the greatest golf course not to survive the Great Depression the first course fully constructed from scratch it was built to the design of Charles Blair McDonald the country’s first US Amer champion and one of its first golf Architects it was built on a site reclaimed from a coastal swamp using sand pumped up from the ocean bottom construction was slow taking over 2 years but at allowed McDonald time to Fashion every tea green and bunker to his specifications it was his dream project sadly Leo was annexed as a US Naval Base at the start of World War II and turned into home sites in the late 1940s there after it assumed Mythic qualities to subsequent generations of golfers one who idolized its memory was Mike Kaiser America’s leading purveyor of destination Resort golf he dreamed for decades of reproducing Leto and finally took the leap with the aid of his sons Michael and Chris in 2021 deciding to recreate the legend at their Sand Valley Resort site in Central Wisconsin what made it possible was modern technology a computer model of the original developed by golf historian Peter Flory translated into a topographical map by computer programmer Brian zagger then plugged into GPS units on bulldozers that could shape to exacting tolerances the result is a point-by-point recreation of the original Leo not a restoration of the original but a clone of it this is every hole at the [Music] Leo the most speculative aspect of the Leo replication was its Third Dimension which had to be extrapolated from two-dimensional photographs the washboard likee first Fairway suggests that the Kaisers and Company may have exaggerated the heights of ridges and depths of trenches just a bit shoulder deep instead of Waist Deep to justifiable dramatic effect deep cross bunkers well short of the first green establish one of the Leo’s recurring themes this may have been a Seaside course but it demands some aerial assaults to Blind targets like nearly every Green the first is perched above its surrounds and the surface lants off in three distinct directions from t- boxes on either side of the first screen the t-shot on the second repeats the theme set on the first demanding a drive over a diagonal Rampart some 12 ft High an Aiming rock at the top Edge providing a clue as to the ideal line the broad unseen Fairways intersected by Hollows ridges and sand mcdonal base the second green on his 11th green at National Golf Links it’s enormous 18,000 Square ft with a big elevated Plateau back left and a smaller one back right on nearly every design McDonald included his version of the famous Par 3 11th at the old course at St Andrews what everyone calls the Eden hole it’s the third at Theo and perhaps McDonald’s best version with a pond Behind the Green mimicking the river Eden of the original the pedestal green slopes back to front and left to right guarded by the Deep Hill bunker on the left and a pair of Strath bunkers front right as at the original putts above the hole can be treacherous perhaps the most admired hole at the original Leo was the fourth the channel hole a par five with an elbow Fairway along water down the left side and a daring shortcut down the right to what McDonald termed a handkerchief Fairway tucked within sand dunes and Hollows the left route adds 50 yard but is easier to hit off the te either way the approach to the elevated half-hidden green must clear a severe cross bunker sporting a face 10 ft High that’s positioned about 30 yd short of the [Music] green the best line off the f is over the crest of the hill on the right in order to stay on the high side of the Tilted Fairway the farther left off the te the more uncomfortable becomes the second shot over Wasteland this is the cape hole one of McDonald’s original Concepts a sharp dog leg with a peninsula green surrounded by trouble he was always a bit apologetic that the hole felt more technical than natural there was no hiding the fact that it was man-made he said the green is shaped like rolling surf with high waves on front and back left calmer on front [Music] right while McDonald saved the contest winning hole for last he did adapt other entries in his Leo design the sixth is the first of those based on one of two SIM submittal or possibly both this short par five turns steadily to the right with flat lies up the left side of the Fairway the second shot must challenge a unique cross Sand Dune that hides a view of the green which is positioned some 85 yds past it McDonald wrote that the sixth green was more or less the 17th green at St Andrews in Reverse if so he tripled the number of Road Hole bunkers guarding the green s is the second of cons par fivs and both play into the prevailing wind the Fairway landing area on seven is a hog back high in the center rolling off both left and right the second shot must contend with a curious cross bunker that snakes across the Fairway as the best angle of approach for a third shot is from the right side of the Fairway the longest carryover that snaking bunker is down the right seven is one of the more gently contoured greens at Leo another McDonald invention was the baritz parkk R 3 characterized by a 10t high rectangular Plateau fronted by a cross bunker and in the back third bisected by a deep trench the front plateau and trench are cut at Fairway height here and only the back portion is mowed as putting green that makes it the smallest green at Leo other baritz greens at other McDonald designs have both the front Plateau back plateau and Swale all cut at Green height and there’s an ongoing debate as to which version is the most difficult and which is the most fun to play McDonald was clearly willing to repeat strategic elements just as he did on the fifth and seventh holes the ninth favors played down the right side in order to have the most favorable angle into a diagonal green at 9 the gamble is off the te a 200 yard carryover vast bunkers the left side is far more inviting but leaves a second over man-made Dunes short of a pedestal green that has a wide bunker guarding its Left Flank the putting surface itself features a depression front and [Music] center one of McDonald’s favorite holes was the 17th presswick in Scotland the Alps hole where everyone had to play over or around a massive mountain of sand his version at the tenth hole at Leo has the most distinctive feature on the course the hill blocks a view of the green unless you play Under the first Fairway off to the right it’s probably only two stories tall but seems gigantic in this level landscape there is Fairway from the crest of the Hill down towards the green for those playing up and over but you can’t roll onto the green because of two pesky strip bunkers the two-l putting surface features a punch bow rim girdling the back [Music] half running parallel to the second hole on its right the 11th also features a blind uphill t-shot over a Target Rock here the direct route is peppered with huge pot bunkers so the wise move is down the left even the far left the long second is played over what McDonald called lateral undulations then two more random bunkers and a dip before the elevated and complicated green which has a big knob at front right and a spine stretching clear across the back half playing across the long Lagoon first encountered on the fourth hole the goal on the t-shot on the long par 41 12th is to bite off what you dare the lengthy approach is over an earth and Fortress landform very similar to that of number four but this time the green is recessed into the ground past the flared wall of sand and grass and features an extra tall flag stick the good news is that the surrounds funnel shots down toward the green after the sprawling in difficult 12th the drivein pitch par 4 13th playing into the wind seems uncomfortably narrow particularly with the 14th green just Paces off the left Edge and the fifth green fairly close on the right 13 Fairway is a succession of bumps and knobs posing lots of awkward stances and hanging lies the green is a top a null 8T high and only the flag stick is visible from anywhere in the Fairway bunkers are recessed into three of four sides of the green called the short hole the 14th plays even shorter as it’s usually down wind it calls for a finesse shot over a Sandy Wasteland to a green perched 5 ft above its surrounds it’s essential element being a giant thumb print with a distinct Rim what some call a horseshoe and others call a circus ring putting over around or through it is not [Music] easy the 15th Fairway is extremely wide with two sets of carry bunkers the farther left you drive the more open is the approach shot the green cans from back left to front right the better to hold approach shots from the right this was another contest hole sort of legendary golf architect Tom Simpson entered the country life contest then withdrew his entry when he learned his partner Herbert Fowler would be serving as a judge but McDonald saw the entry and liked it so much that he used its mere image as his template for this [Music] hole Leo 16th is based on the Redan hole at North baric in Scotland which McDonald considered the finest One-Shot hole in the world Leo’s version pumps up the volume the frontal bunker is longer and more Sinister than the original the kick slope off the right collar is smaller and steeper the green set at a 45° angle and listing like a sinking ship has a subtle back Ridge that keeps shots from Rolling off the back edge of the green instead shots Ride The Ridge and then curl down to the front left the only par five on the back nine the 17th plays into the wind with the t-shot carrying a necklace of squarish bunkers that provide more visual intimidation than actual threat Beyond them is a modeled Fairway that resembles a bombing range as at the other par fivs at Leo the second shot must clear a cros hazard on the 17th it’s a match set of rectangular spectacle bunkers it’s then P the Alps and onto an undulating green that slopes mostly front to back except for a sunken Leading Edge that brings to mind the valley of sin at St [Music] Andrews Dr Alistar McKenzie who was a practicing golf architect at the time took home the country life top prize with his triple Fairway ideal two-shot hole having pledged to build it McDonald reduced its girth by one Fairway to make it fit but the 18th is still nearly 100 yard wide what was never readily apparent in McKenzie’s whole diagram is just how pronounced were the Mounds at the start of the hole and how deep was the valley between the landing area and green the island Fairway on the left is more novelty than strategy these days but the massive green 62 yard deep biggest at Leto is a reminder of just how boldly McKenzie contoured his greens it stair steps down from back right to front left with a full six feet of [Music] drop when you think about it it’s remarkable that the Kaisers and their team were able to revive the Leo a course that had gone extinct over 80 years ago using technology that CB McDonald could not have comprehended what remains to be seen is whether a course replicated upon a design that was built in the era of Hickory shaft clubs can stand up to today technology with the recent announcement that the US Golf Association will conduct its 2026 Us Mid ameter and 2029 us Junior Amer at the Leto we will soon have an answer this much is certain we’re no longer viewing the Leo in black and white from old two-dimensional often faded photographs we’re now able to experience the Leo in full Technicolor in varying shades of green offset by Deep Blue lagoons and off-white sand edged by Golden Hues of native vegetation the Leo is alive [Music] again

Lido Golf Club on the southern shore of Long Island, New York, was probably the greatest golf course not to survive the Great Depression. For decades golf course architect Mike Keiser dreamed of reproducing Lido and finally took the leap in 2021 deciding to recreate the legend on the Sand Valley resort site in central Wisconsin. Ron Whitten narrates this spectacular hole-by-hole flyover of the new Lido in Nekoosa, Wisconsin.

Script and Narration: Ron Whitten
Cinematography: Carlos Amoedo
Editor: Nicholas Grieves
Production Manager: Kimberly Davis
Executive Producer: Christian Iooss

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