"Building Sebonack," published by Duck Pond Press, is at $59.95 not cheap by any means, but you know it is going to become a collectible because it is unique, just like the course in Southampton it is based on.

It is a beautiful, oversized, 192-page book that gives an inside look and exclusive behind-the-scenes interviews and photos of how the course, which officially opened last year, came about. When Friar's Head, designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore, opened in 2003, the Baiting Hollow course was immediately hailed as the finest new golf venue on Long Island and it made Golfweek's 2004 list of best courses in the country. Now the challenger for superlatives is the Sebonack Golf Club. Co-designed by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Doak, it could well wind up being considered one of the top 100 courses in the country once it begins to mature.

The setting couldn't be more beautiful – almost 300 acres of hilly, wooded terrain that looks out at Great Peconic Bay in Southampton. Its neighbors are two classic courses, National Golf Links, built in 1911, and Shinnecock Hills, created in 1891. The property was originally the estate of Charles H. Sabin in 1919, who built a 28,000-square-foot English manor house. Years later it was named Bayberryland and was owned by the Electrical Workers Union #3, which used the site as a vacation camp. In addition to the manor house, there were 175,000 square feet of outbuildings – all have since been torn down.

Avid golfer Michael Pascucci, owner of WLNY Channel 55, purchased the property in August 2001 for $45 million. His intention right away was to create a golf course that could stand alongside its prestigious neighbors. Then he got stuck in the sand trap of East End planning.

His proposal called for a private golf course on 100 acres, which would include a 14,000-square-foot clubhouse, a manager's residence, a maintenance building, staff quarters, and 15 cottages for members to use overnight. This is what Pascucci got when he received final approval for the venture in February 2004. Helping to seal the deal was that Pascucci made several offers that were accepted: He would donate 54 acres of wetlands for a Southampton College marine research station, donate three bayfront acres for a town park, and donate $1 million toward the preservation of other Southampton historic buildings. In addition, there would be a wetlands protection program and the establishment of a wildlife preserve.

There are two history-making aspects of Sebonac Golf Club. One is it is an all-organic golf course, which has not been done before in the U.S. Pesticides are not be used, and the water used for irrigation is recycled.

"If you put the money and the preparation of the soil up front, in the long run you save money on maintenance and lack of pesticides," said Pascucci. "And from an environmental standpoint, there will be no stress on the Peconic estuary system."

The other bit of history? In a one-time-only collaboration, the architects of the course are Doak, one of the hottest golf designers in the world now (Pacific Dunes in Oregon is already a classic), and the greatest player of all time, Nicklaus. Their design has 15 of the 18 holes having water views and the original landscape has been altered as little as possible.

"We're trying to build something that people will say in the future, 'This is the way to do it,'" Pascucci summarized. "It's a legacy project."

Before I get any emails, I'll state that this is not a public course. Reportedly, a membership costs $500,000. If I had it, I would spend it because of the panoramic views that remind one of gazing from atop the oceanside cliffs of Ireland.

Just one detail about the care taken to preserve the site - quite a few trees had to be removed to open up the land to golf. But instead of just yanking the trees our and carting them away, each tree was lifted out of the ground and shaken so that the attached soil dropped off and was left behind.

The clubhouse is still under construction and will open next spring. The greens are surrounded by lipped bunkers that have been described as "shaggy." The rough is uneven, so a bad shot could be punished severely. An interesting look is that the teeing grounds have been allowed to simply run into the surrounding rough.

It is a gorgeous golf course that is only going to get better with time. If the book is the closest you will likely get to Sebonack Golf Club and you want to order it, you can go to www.buildingsebonack.com or call 631-622-9433.

Change at Shinnecock Hills: A welcome is extended to Jack Druga, who is the new head professional at one of the world's most famous courses. The truly amazing part is that he becomes only the third head pro at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in the last 100 years.

Yes, you read that right. Before Druga, the head pro was Don McDougal, who was there for 45 years. Before him was Charlie Thom, who was at Shinnecock for 55 years. Willie Dunn was an early architect of Shinnecock Hills and also served as the first head pro, from 1893 to 1906. Chinese dynasties have come and gone more frequently!

Druga grew up and learned to play golf in the Pittsburgh area. He became a caddie at the legendary Oakmont course (site of this year's U.S. Open) and began to play competitively at age 14. He got his first glimpse of Shinnecock Hills in 1986 when it hosted the second of its four U.S. Opens and he was the head pro at The Creeks in Locust Valley. He has also been an assistant head pro at the Seminole Golf Club in Florida and head pro at the Country Club of Fairfield in Connecticut.

Let's hope everything works out for Druga, and Shinnecock Hills doesn't have to look for its next head pro until . . . 2055 or so.