Seven things you should know about Liberty National

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – This season’s first FedExCup Playoffs event, THE NORTHERN TRUST, will be held at Liberty National. Or as many people may know it, The Course near the Statue of Liberty. Here are seven things you should know about this week’s venue.

1. The land was once home to an internment camp, landfill and oil refineries.

Despite being prime waterfront square footage, the area on which Liberty National stands today was once a putrid mix of garbage, storage tanks and left-over oil mess. It was an industrial wasteland. The site has also been home to a major Standard Oil refinery, a WWII munitions storage facility, and was once an Italian internment camp. The land was reportedly owned by the Rockefeller family at one point and the Gambino family at another.

When Paul Fireman first saw the property, he didn’t see an eyesore. He saw potential.

“When I purchased the nearly one-mile long stretch of a neglected and decayed New Jersey coastline, that would one day become Liberty National Golf Club, most people said I was crazy,” Fireman said. “But I dreamt of a championship golf course, surrounded by the New York skyline, and the Statue of Liberty and just couldn't say no.”

So Fireman decided to embark on a golfing project with his son Dan. To cover the entire site’s toxicity and cap the land from the contamination underneath to begin building the golf course was a five-year process alone. The course is 50 feet above the previous land.

2. The course was designed by Bob Cupp and World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite.

The two first began working on the golf course in 1992. They immediately knew it would be a challenge.

“The first time we showed up here, it was a nightmare,” Cupp, who passed away in 2016, said 10 years ago. “We were pretty sure any travesty known to man was on this property. There was consternation amongst the members with us; how do you make something out of this?”

But they rolled up their sleeves and went to work. And while the course itself played to some mixed reviews in 2009 (some changes were made after that), the transformation of what it had been to what it is now is part of its legacy.

“When you take a contaminated piece of property like this and turn it into a very real asset that brings a lot of exposure and credibility to the city and to the state, we think that's a good thing,” Kite said. “Hopefully that will be a good example, because unfortunately, there are many pieces of property like that all across the United States. And I think as the golf course architects and superintendents continue to work with the environmental institute to reclaim some of these properties, it will be hopefully a shining example of what can be done.”

Cupp always felt the project would be career-defining and transcendent. “We had an amazing time. It was a career event, quite honestly,” Cupp said years ago. “It turned something that was previously horrendous into something useful … It’s more than just tees and greens. It’s about an accomplishment and it helps the planet.”

3. It was one of the most expensive 18-hole golf projects in history.

Considering that nothing on the site was natural, Liberty National stands as a monument on what you can manufacture should the funds allow it. Over 14 years, the club’s construction required moving six million cubic feet of soil, bringing in 70,000 truckloads of sand, adding 5,000 trees and spending $300 million dollars to make it happen. (By contrast, Bob Lang told the Wall Street Journal he spent $26 million to create Erin Hills, site of the 2017 U.S. Open.)

Thankfully the Firemans are the type of family who can make it happen. Paul is the former boss of Reebok who, according to Forbes, netted nearly $700 million when he sold it in 2006. The same year, the course opened on July 4.

“I absolutely loved the site,” Paul Fireman said. “The historical connections with the Statue of Liberty, being so close to the city, in full sightline of the Hudson River and New York Harbor. We plunged right into it. There were risks, and many people questioned the decision to take it on, but to me it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create something iconic.”

4. It has the best skyline in sports.

The views are hard to beat. You can see the Statue of Liberty from many of the holes and the New York skyline is constantly visible around the course. The course is nestled along the banks of the Hudson River just 2,000 yards from the Statue of Liberty and as such is the closest course to New York City.

Former PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem calls it “one of the most stunning settings for professional golf there is on the planet.”

It’s a 15-minute ferry ride from Downtown Manhattan. It also might be the only course on the planet where you can arrive by boat, train, bus, car, bicycle or helicopter.

In 2009 when Liberty National hosted THE NORTHERN TRUST for the first time, Phil Mickelson was one of the players who stayed in Manhattan and took a ferry to the course. “I love going by the Statue of Liberty every night,” Mickelson explained that week. “That's cool. Every morning we cruise right by it on the ferry and same thing going back. It makes me appreciate where we live. We live in the greatest place.

Mickelson, who became a member at Liberty National, says it’s “unlike any course in the world … to be able to be right by Manhattan is amazing.”

Jordan Spieth was a rookie on the PGA TOUR when he played Liberty National for the first time during the FedExCup Playoffs that season. His first impression? “One of the most amazing golf courses I've ever been to.“

5. It hosted the 2017 Presidents Cup and THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2009 and 2013.

This is the first time PGA TOUR players have returned to Liberty National since the complete smackdown the U.S. Team handed the Internationals in the most recent Presidents Cup. The 19-11 hammering was almost over before the singles session and is a result that has the Internationals burning for revenge later this year in December when the teams meet again at Royal Melbourne in Australia.

Only Kevin Chappell (back surgery) and Daniel Berger have failed to qualify for the Playoffs this season from the star-studded American team while Anirban Lahiri and Charl Schwartzel (wrist injury) are missing from the Internationals.

In 2009 Heath Slocum made history by winning the event from 124th spot on the FedExCup points list while Adam Scott blitzed home in the final round of 2013 to steal the win.

6. Tiger Woods has not won at the venue (or in THE NORTHERN TRUST at all).

Woods has played 41 different PGA TOUR events over his career and has wins in all but 16 of them. THE NORTHERN TRUST is one event he is yet to conquer. This will be his 10th start in the event and the two previous times it was held at Liberty National were his best chances.

In 2009, Woods started the final round five back but surged into contention. Despite his putter being somewhat uncooperative on a few holes, he had a short birdie putt on the last to take the outright lead. When it missed, Woods -- and everyone else -- was stunned. Hope remained for a playoff until Slocum rolled in a 20-foot par save on the last to win the tournament.

As for the course in 2009? “It’s interesting,” Tiger said diplomatically.

In 2013, Woods was right in the mix on the back nine until a tee shot sent a spasm through his back, sending him to the deck in serious pain. He tried to fight on and miraculously, especially given what we know now with his four back surgeries, had a putt from the back fringe to tie Scott, the clubhouse leader. It stopped about a ball width short from going in.

As for the course in 2013? “They made some really nice improvements,” Tiger said.

7. Small membership, big names

Liberty National, by all accounts, doesn’t have a huge membership list, but there are evidently some notable names on the locker room doors inside the clubhouse

Entertainers such as Justin Timberlake, Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson and Ray Romano. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Fashion designer Vera Wang. Sports stars such as Giants quarterback Eli Manning and former Mets pitcher Matt Harvey.

“It’s a great, beautiful course with great views,” Romano told the Hudson Reporter. “See the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. I can play here and tell my wife I’ve been stuck in eight hours of traffic. It’s a beautiful golf course.”

During the 2015 World Series, Harvey played at Liberty National between his two starts against Kansas City.