New York

Pound Ridge Golf Club, Pound Ridge (public). Opening: late June or early July

The transformation by Pete and Perry Dye of this rugged property in northern Westchester County is a feat of engineering as well as a study of form. During construction, a tremendous amount of raw granite was unearthed, and the architects used it as the distinguishing element of their design. The hilly layout features fourteen thousand feet of rock walls—not including outcroppings, such as at the par-three fifteenth, where the green sits beneath a shoulder of pure rock.

Architects: Pete Dye and Perry Dye. Yardage: 7,105. Par: 72. Green Fee: $235. Tee Times: 914-764-5771, poundridgegolf.com.

Oregon

Tetherow Golf Club, Bend (semiprivate). Opening: July

A wildfire nearly fifteen years ago turned most of this seven-hundred-acre site into a treeless open space. David McLay Kidd used local fescue and the naturally broken high-desert terrain to create linkslike pockets of holes bordered by blowout bunkers and native brush. What was once a scruffy pumice pit is now an amphitheater setting for the par-three seventeenth. A hotel is slated to open here in 2010, at which time overnight guests will be able to play the course.

Architect: David McLay Kidd. Yardage: 7,450. Par: 72. Membership Inquiries: 541-318-1234, tetherow.com.

Texas

Newport Dunes Golf Club, Port Aransas (public). Opening: July

This Arnold Palmer signature course on Mustang Island has a linksy feel. Low, rambling fairways are pocked by sod-wall bunkers, and an ever-present sea breeze blows across the course. A scenic three-hole stretch—thirteen through fifteen—plays directly along ocean dunes.

Architect: Arnold Palmer Design. Yardage: 6,985. Par: 71. Green Fees: $65–$85. Tee Times: 800-749-4653, newportbeachandgolf.com.