The US Open is being played at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, one of the greatest golf courses on earth. A links course perched between the Atlantic Ocean and the Long Island Sound, where the wind shifts constantly, and the world’s best players have nowhere to hide.
I was there in 1995 when Corey Pavin stood on the 18th fairway and hit a 4-wood to within five feet of the hole to win the championship. Pavin was undersized by every measure that mattered on paper; shorter hitter, surrounded by bigger, stronger, more talented players. He won on grit, precision, and sheer force of will.
I’ve thought about that shot a lot over the years. It’s a pretty good metaphor for how a lot of us operate here on Long Island.
We’re not the biggest market. We’re not the loudest room. But the people who live and work here, in construction, healthcare, financial services, small businesses, in every industry that keeps this region running, they compete. They stay. They build things that last.
I’ve been recruiting on Long Island for decades. I talk to candidates every week who could work anywhere. They choose to stay. Or they left, and they want to come back. The reasons aren’t complicated: the schools, the neighborhoods, the coastline, the community. The fact that you can be in Manhattan in under an hour and back home for dinner.
This week, as the world’s best players compete at Shinnecock and visitors from around the globe get their first look at what we already know. I’m reminded what a gift it is to work in a place you’re genuinely proud of.
For employers, that pride is a recruiting asset. Long Island has an identity. When your company is part of this community, not just operating here, but rooted here, candidates feel it. Tell that story. Right now, there’s no better backdrop.
Jim Sullivan is the owner of Galaxy Management Group, Inc., an executive search firm based in Garden City, NY. He recruits across professional and financial services in the New York metro market.