Hitting the links at Links

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Matthew Yuen’s day as a golf caddy at the Rockville Links Club starts early. At 6:30 a.m., the 18-year-old arrives at the country club and helps members carry golf bags and read the field.

“They treat us pretty well here,” Yuen said, regarding the club, as he gazed down the course. “We have a house out there. They give us free sausages, sandwiches, whatever you want … I like to play golf a lot and mostly everybody here loves to play golf.”

Jeff Cullinan, 57, is the starter caddy master, who oversees all the caddies. Having been a caddy since he was 14, he tries to impart lessons he learned as a teen to his young caddies.

“I’ve known Matt since he was 14,” said Cullinan. “I try to teach them how to caddy, how to converse with these members as a gentleman. Some kids it’s not for, some it’s for. Matt’s done well.”

The country club boasts a 6,257 yard golf course built in 1923 by Devereux Emmet, who pioneered golf field architecture. During the time of construction, golfers used wooden-shafted clubs rather than metal ones. As balls travel shorter with wooden clubs, the field is small by today’s standards.

It’s also designed in a links style, including flat greens and a limited tree line. These features, as well as the field’s short length, encourage players to walk instead of ride carts and create a faster pace of play.

“The greens are undulating,” Said Chris Heckman, the club president. “The genius of the original architect was such that the course continues to provide challenges.”

Finding the balance between preserving the field’s original design and modernizing it is a club priority. “Over 75 years, more trees were planted, bunkers got moved, things just happened over the course of time,” Heckman said. “We recently found two aerial photographs, one from 1943, one from 1951 of the golf course. We’ve started to remodel some holes to bring them back to their original design.”

The club offers a restaurant and a pool house, among other amenities, to more than 500 members. “You always have to strive to be better no matter where you’re at between member services, quality food, quality of the golf course — just basically the quality of the experience,” said Brad Matthees, the club’s general manager.

John Coghlan has been a member for 15 years. Although he has no plans to be the next Phil Mickelson, the club’s social atmosphere brings him back each year.

“I’m not a very good golfer so it’s mostly the friendship,” Coghlan said, sitting in the restaurant. “It’s a way to stay close to friends and have some time to enjoy company. For me, golf is more social than athletic.”

Although the club is known for its exclusive accommodations, basic comforts came first during Hurricane Sandy.

“We got power back quicker than most people,” said Matthees. “We opened our doors to our members and said, ‘bring your families, bring your pets, come take hot showers.’ We even had an underground gas tank. If people couldn’t get gas, we could sell gas to the members just so they could get around.”

Five days after the storm, the club finished removing debris on the golf course from the nearly 90 trees that were lost.

Last month, the club held the Long Island Golf Association’s Junior Championship and hopes to continue holding golf tournaments to attract and breed young talent.

“We like the children of members to learn how to play the game of golf here,” Heckman said. “It’s an active teaching environment. The tournaments are very competitive and there’s large participation in all of the tournaments. I think that breeds just a better class of golfer.”