Pound Ridge Golf Club, 40 miles north of New York City, has set its sights on becoming the Empire State’s next great destination course. The goal: to make accessing the only Pete Dye-designed course in New York easier, more affordable and most importantly, unforgettable. Big Apple-bound golfers can anchor a Pound Ridge pilgrimage with a stay-and-play package at a host of area hotels, ranging from the five-star Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan, to popular golf brands such as the Hyatt Regency Greenwich and Stamford Marriott in suburban Connecticut.

At the Stamford Marriott, weekday room rates are $209 and weekend rates are $109 — a 15 to 20 percent savings below the advertised rate. Hotel guests have exclusive access to Pound Ridge’s special advance tee-time rates (subject to availability.) The weekday advance rates are $155 and $105 after 3 p.m., and the weekend advanced rates are $195, $150 (after 3 p.m.) and $105 (after 5 p.m.).

Crafted by Dye, his son Perry and longtime Dye construction manager-lead shaper Michael Langkau, Pound Ridge is a full bentgrass facility, hewn from 172 acres of magnificent cliffs, streams and wooded hills in golf-crazed Westchester County. Dramatic rock formations and boulders were left onsite, creating one of the most visually stunning settings for golf in the United States. More than 14,000 linear-feet of rock wall surrounds trees, wetlands and water hazards. Contoured fairways, which wind through hardwood forests and fescue mounds, lead to open meadows with picturesque green complexes. The 7,154-yard, par-72 layout features some of the highest points in the region, with a number of tee boxes offering expansive vistas of the surrounding country.

Notable holes include the par-5 No. 13, home to “Pete’s Rock,” a giant boulder that rests in the middle of the fairway, and the par-3 No. 15, dubbed “Headstone,” which is flanked on the right by a large rock outcropping that protrudes into the elongated, 9,000-square-foot green.

Dye disciples who have sojourned to PGA West, TPC Sawgrass, Harbour Town, Kiawah Island Resort and the American Club take notice: Pound Ridge Golf Club is an essential part of any golfer’s collection of Dye-designed courses, and even more accessible than the aforementioned shrines due to its location just minutes outside New York City