Then there’s the 15th, which in its own humble way is every bit the pain in one’s knickers that No. 17 is at the Old Course. Like the Road hole, Kingsley’s 15th is technically a par 4. Other descriptors have been used by irked challengers who fume about the 455-yard journey, which requires a stout carry on the tee shot and a long approach to a small perched green. But on this course, a fine walking, match-play venue, the 15th fits devilishly and beautifully.

Kingsley is a course of facets, strategies and even adventures. Its subtle tilts, veiled rises and sly bunkers can change one’s approach to a shot every bit as much as DeVries’ alternate tee boxes, which on certain holes are situated 90 degrees apart.

Walker and Preston understood from the start their particular challenge: Because many of Kingsley’s members would also belong to other national clubs, not just any old golf experience would make their club distinctive or successful. Hence the subtle but first-rate ambience and amenities, and events like the annual “Hickory Shaft Open,” which clearly fits Kingsley’s pure-golf mission.

“There are a lot of things—a fine-car collection, for example—that you can’t justify strictly by usage,” Walker says. “But what I want people to feel when they come here is that they’re at home. The golf course crafted this club, and it’s a great course, truly, but what we wanted all along was to have the whole experience here be the kind of warm experience that utterly encompasses a person.”

In other words, golf ambiance that is more akin to surround-sound. It’s palpable at the Kingsley Club, where, if one listens closely enough, Alister MacKenzie can be heard, whispering fond approval.

Par: 71
Yardage: 6,911
Year founded: 2001
Architect: Mike DeVries