A Feast for the Eyes.

As an accomplished player who carries a scratch handicap and has competed in both the U.S. Senior Amateur and British Senior Amateur championships, Eric Gleacher knows something about good golf courses and good golf holes. And after thinking it over for a while, he picks the 17th at the National Golf Links of America in Southampton, New York as his favorite.

"It's one of the great golf holes in the world," says the 60-year-old investment banker, who is one of Wall Street's best-known and most successful mergers-and acquisitions specialists. "It's very well-designed, and the views from the 17th are just stunning. It has everything you could possibly want.

Start with the walk to the tee box, which Gleacher has taken many times during his 20 years of membership at the National. "You finish the 16th, which has a big punchbowl green, and you head up a slope to the 17th tee," he explains. "When you get up there, you have this beautiful panorama, looking down at the hole and across Peconic Bay. You see the clubhouse to your left as well, Robin's Island in the middle and then Bullhead Bay, which is a little inlet, to the right. And behind you, you can look at the clubhouse at Shinnecock Hills (which hosted the 1995 U.S. Open and, like the National, is considered one of the best courses in the country). It's a great view that surprises people, if they don't know what to expect. It just looks gorgeous."

But beauty isn't the only thing that makes the 17th so good for Gleacher. "It's also a fun hole," says the man who also sits on the executive committee of the United States Golf Association, one of the game's governing bodies, and helps handle its finances. "If you hit a good drive from that elevated tee and keep your ball out of the bunkers on the right, you have maybe 110-120 yards to the green. It's not a blind shot, and you can see the pin. But the green does have bunkers on three sides. The prevailing wind is usually left-to-right, west-to-east, so you really have to keep your drive left to keep it out of the fairway bunkers. It can be very challenging, especially when the wind blows. And it often does on that part of Long Island."

"Still, you have to look at it as a birdie hole," adds Gleacher, who grew up in Connecticut and attended Northwestern University on a golf scholarship. "And you need one after playing the back nine at the National, which is very tough up to that point. The 17th gives you that opportunity to improve your score."

Which is just one more reason why Gleacher likes it so much.

John Steinbreder is a senior writer for Golf Week magazine and is the author of five books, including Golf Courses of the U.S. Open.

ERIC J. GLEACHER

CEO, Gleacher & Co.

NATIONAL GOLF LINKS OF AMERICA

LOCATION: Southampton, NY

HOLE: 17th, par-four, 375 yards from the back tees, 350 yards from the regular markers. Named "Peconic"

HOLE DESCRIPTION: Players hit their drive on this shortish par-four from an elevated tee that affords a spectacular view of Peconic Bay. Drives from the back tees must carry anywhere from 170-200 yards to clear some bunkers and a waste area and land on a fairway that is wide open on the left and guarded by two cross bunkers on the right. Golfers are then left with a short iron to a flat, firm green with their second shot. But a pair of pot bunkers in front can eat up any approaches that come up short.

COURSE ARCHITECT: Charles Blair Macdonald

CLUB DESCRIPTION: The National, as it is usually called, is one of the great private clubs in the country. Founded by the first U.S. Amateur champion, C.B. Macdonald, who is also regarded as one of the fathers of golf in this country, its par-73 course was built in 1908. The layout measures 6,873 yards from the backs and 6,458 yards from the regular markers and is consistently ranked among the top 20 or so tracks in the U.S. Its magnificent clubhouse, which was built in 1912, was also designed by Macdonald. And it's there that members and their guests can enjoy what is universally regarded as the finest lunch in golf, the centerpiece being beautifully cooked lobsters.