Liberty, justification

For three years now a playpen to the rich and famous, Liberty National this week will let the world enjoy the breathtaking views that drew Fireman here in the first place.

Back then, if you could ignore the stench, the only nice thing about the place was the sweeping vista of New York City, and its proximity to this country’s beacon of freedom. Now, after completing one of the truly remarkable engineering feats in the history of golf course construction - albeit at a hefty price - Liberty National welcomes the best players in golf by hosting The Barclays, the first of four tournaments that make up the PGA Tour playoffs, with the FedEx Cup the lucrative, dangling carrot.

While not the culmination of a dream, it’s certainly an affirmation that the vision Fireman and his father, Paul, put in place here more than a decade ago is headed in the right direction and can produce quite a party.

“It’s kind of like the first day of camp: You’re not sure what to expect, there’s nervous anticipation, you know you’re going to have a lot of fun, but you just don’t know where to begin,’’ said Fireman, co-founder and managing partner of the Boston-based Fireman Capital Partners, whose family has been behind such ventures as Reebok and Willowbend Country Club in Mashpee. “When we got here, it was chaotic in a sense, because there’s so much you want to absorb at once, from spending time with the players and really understanding how they feel about the course, to some of our guests and partners.’’

Tour players can be a fickle bunch, and while not everyone is gushing about Liberty National, they’re all taken in by the scenery.

“It’s kind of a links golf course in the middle of, I don’t know, Manhattan. It’s got the best views, though,’’ said Vijay Singh, a four-time Barclays champion who won last year at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J.

Said Lucas Glover, “It’s in perfect shape. Kind of intimidating scenery. But it’s in great shape.’’

“It’s interesting,’’ said Tiger Woods. In a good way? “It’s interesting.’’

The most favorable comments came from Phil Mickelson, who happens to be a member of Liberty National.

“Coming over on the ferry, staying in Manhattan, seeing the Statue of Liberty, it’s awesome,’’ said Mickelson. “What a cool feel, unlike any course in the world.’’

That’s the idea the Firemans had in mind when they secured the property, which at the time was a run-down collection of vacant warehouses sitting on contaminated land that had been used as, among other things, an ammunition dump in World War I, storage for corroded oil tanks, and an operations base for the Gambino crime family. In the early 1990s, a push was made to revitalize this area on the New Jersey side of New York Harbor. All it took was the right group to see it through.

Paul Fireman has said that he knew within five minutes of being on the property what he wanted to do. Dan Fireman had similar thoughts.

“Obviously it was nothing like you see here, but obviously if you could envision putting a golf course here,’’ Fireman said, then pointed to Manhattan, “you would attract everything that’s over there.’’

Tom Kite and Bob Cupp designed Liberty National, overcoming a number of site-specific challenges. Once the site had been decontaminated, the transformation could begin. The vast majority of golf courses use the land’s topography to shape and route holes. Kite and Cupp couldn’t dig into the existing soil, so they had to create that topography. Plastic was put down, then covered by millions of tons of clay and fill, ultimately raising the area to as much as 52 feet above sea level.

All the elevation changes? Hand-made. The subtle contours in the fairways, and the more severe slopes around and on the greens? Also hand-made. The entire golf course has been completely manufactured.

“When we first saw the property, it was dead flat. There was two foot of elevation change,’’ Kite said. “It was our job to be able to see something that could take place like this before it ever happened, and we were lucky to be able to do that.’’

The Firemans saw to it. Andrew Spellman, general partner for Fireman Capital Partners, said, “When you think about Paul and Dan, you think about bold things.’’

How bold? It might be the most expensive golf property ever built. Upward of $150 million was spent on constructing the course, another $60 million on the clubhouse. Plans for 36 guest houses, condominiums, office space, and a hotel are also part of the master plan.

Not surprisingly, a challenging golf course this close to the New York skyline has quickly created an A-list membership. In addition to Mickelson, Robert Kraft, Eli Manning, and Rudy Giuliani also belong.

Also not surprisingly, these amenities don’t come cheap. The initiation fee was actually raised this year, to $500,000. Spellman said the club currently has 90 members, and is hoping to reach 250.

And now, three years after Liberty National opened, the PGA Tour comes calling. A week like this - with Woods, Mickelson, and the rest of golf’s best playing, and television cameras capturing shots of Lady Liberty in the background - is bound to help. And even if players complain and Liberty National doesn’t land on any “best courses’’ lists, the belief that Paul and Dan Fireman clung to won’t waver. It’s their dream, their asset, their baby.

“We think a tournament like this is a huge validator, because you’ll get 125 of the best golfers in the world who will clearly give their opinion of what we’ve put together here,’’ Dan Fireman said. “We always envisioned, from Day 1, that here’s this mecca, this global capital called New York City, all the business leaders, thought leaders, cultural leaders, political leaders, they all come through here. What is the one connection that helps them and facilitates what they do? Golf.

“Well, we have a 170-acre conference room where people can conduct business, they can develop relationships, they can make friends, they can just have a good time and relax and get away, and then go back to the office. That was the vision behind it.’’