Golf on Long Island

Golfing Magazine partners with 11 courses for its 2013 Free Golf Program

Starting this week, Long Island golfers will receive a Golfing Magazine certificate that allows them to play for "free" at nearly a dozen golf courses Islandwide.  The magazine's 2013 Free Golf Program includes 11 local courses -- seven full-length and four nine-hole layouts -- plus dozens more upstate and across the Northeast.  Also, this year's program sets aside for certificate holders some much-needed tune-up time, specifically a half-hour lesson at the Town of Oyster Bay's Gold Coast Golf Center and an hour in the simulator at Eagle Golf in Bay Shore.  The $39 Early Bird Special has come and gone, but interested golfers can still sign up for the program for $59.  

Seven of the eight courses in last year's program are returning again in 2013 -- Brentwood Country Club, Dix Hills Park, Glen Cove, Gull Haven, Holbrook Country Club, Tallgrass and Island's End.  Added to the selection this year are The Woods at Cherry Creek and Sandy Pond Golf Course in Riverhead, Spring Lake's nine-hole Sandpiper Course in Middle Island, and Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai. 

The Free Golf Program certificate entitles you to one "free" round at each of the above courses.  All you pay for on the day of play is a cart fee (and reservation fee where applicable).  The certificate will only be honored at certain times during the week and on weekends, and availability varies by course.  Be sure to check all terms and conditions when reserving your round.  Tee times must be made in advance.  Once that's done, it's great local golf at a steep discount.

As always, a one-year subscription to Golfing Magazine (five issues) is part of the program.  If you're heading up the Thruway or into New England sometime this summer, the certificate makes a valuable travel companion, as it's valid at a variety of participating courses in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and upstate New York.

To subscribe, contact Golfing Magazine at (516) 822-5446 or visit online at www.GolfingMagLI.com.  And for descriptions of the participating Long Island courses, click the links above to read the course flyovers.

Local entrepreneur eager to make Rope It Golf a hit on Long Island

At a time when more and more born-and-raised twenty-somethings are flying free from Long Island in no hurry to return, Marc Reda went out and came back.  And when he returned, he brought with him a golf business founded on the same principle -- go out and come back.  All that differs between Reda and the training product at the center of his growing company is that the 26-year-old entrepreneur is not tethered to his Long Island starting point by rope.

Reda, a Kings Park High School graduate, is the co-founder of Rope It Golf, which manufactures a product that gives beginners, experienced players and just about anyone with a golf club and some open space the opportunity to work on their golf swing without paying for a bucket of range balls or rigging up a net.  "The Rope It" is a real two-piece golf ball that allows full-swing contact and 20 yards of ball-flight feedback before it's yanked to the ground by a pair of attached cords.  It's a simple tool that Reda intends to make a fixture at Long Island golf courses and shops by the end of this season.

Nearly four years since Reda launched Rope It Golf with a University of Delaware classmate, his plan to get the product out Islandwide through face-to-face demonstrations and marketing is off to an encouraging start.  A few practice shots at a Timber Point Golf Course demo day last month were enough to land The Rope It, which sells for $19.95, in the Timber Point pro shop and its sister retail outlet, South Shore Golf in Oakdale.

"One guy saw me hit one ball and handed me $20," says Reda, who demoed The Rope It for a dozen players at Timber Point and sold to half of them. 

Results like that support his claim that as soon as players see The Rope It in action, they love it.  That's why Reda will show it off this year to as many course pros and attend as many demo days as possible, either selling directly to golfers or handing out coupons for purchase on his company website.

"I'm just looking to promote The Rope It any way I can," Reda says.  "It's a great product."

It took years of trial and error with different types of attachments before The Rope It's simple design was finally perfected.  John Girifalco, father of Reda's business partner Louis Girifalco, developed the practice tool over 15 years, the ultimate goal being the creation of a tethered golf ball that won't detach from its constraints or boomerang back toward the golfer.  The ropes are anchored to a small weight (or staked into the ground) and are long enough to allow shot feedback before dropping the ball to the turf.  Setup is so quick that the company website includes a video -- set to Benny Hill theme music -- contrasting the ease of The Rope It against the hassle of a backyard practice net.

In 2009, the elder Girifalco gave the green light for his son and Reda, who both attended Delaware's business school, to create a company selling the product.

"We were seniors talking about what to do after graduating," Reda says.  "I tried the product and thought it might be a good idea.  We focused on taking what we learned at school and applying it to our own company."

Funding from government organizations helped the two founders get Rope It Golf off the ground and into the hands of golfers, either through eBay or the company website at first, and eventually at Rockbottom, their first major retail partner.  Later, a small business loan plus a $30,000 grant from the Delaware Economic Development Organization enabled Reda and Girifalco to grow the company without help from investors.  The Rope It is now sold online by Golfsmith, with a breakthrough into their brick-and-mortar stores possible in time for the 2013 holiday season.

While Reda travels across Long Island to demo the product, students at Delaware are working to develop The Rope It Pro, an advanced version that includes a built-in accelerometer to measure ball speed.  The university's engineering program is spearheading a project that would create both the device and a related app to convert each shot into charts and graphics showing expected ball flight and other data.  A prototype is expected as soon as next month.

Rope It is also hoping to finalize a partnership with another equipment company that would pair the product with a golf mat, meaning less wear and tear on the backyard lawn.

It's clear Reda isn't standing pat, neither in business nor on the course.  He hits 50 to 100 shots a day with The Rope It, keeping his swing fresh between rounds at nearby Sunken Meadow or Smithtown Landing.  An inherent bonus of his particular business is that the harder he works on the demo trail, the more practice swings he logs.  This month he's scheduled to head back to Delaware for a demonstration before returning to the Long Island circuit.

For Reda, that's a familiar route.

2013 Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour tees off July 8 at West Sayville

It's a good time to be a junior golfer on Long Island.  The USSSA Junior Golf Tour is up and running across the Island, giving young players a chance to compete in tournaments and reach the national finals this summer in Florida.  One kid golfer is a few skills-challenge points away from playing beneath the magnolias of Augusta National as part of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship.  And now, the annual Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour is back, a four-tournament challenge staged on each of Suffolk's four waterside municipal courses.

The 2013 Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour is open to all boys and girls from age 9 through 17.  It consists of four stroke-play tournaments, the first of which will be held at West Sayville Golf Course on July 8.  The Tour concludes a month later at Timber Point Golf Course in Great River.

Junior participants must be familiar with the rules and etiquette of golf and have a valid county Green Key Card.  Events are nine or 18 holes depending on age bracket.  Players must walk the course, be able to carry their bags (hand carts are permitted) and adhere to a standard golf dress code.

Tour fees are $140 for 12- to 17-year-old players (18-hole events) and $125 for 9- to 11-year-old players (nine-hole events).  All four rounds, practice balls at each event, a special two-hour golf clinic at Timber Point, pro-shop giveaways and an August awards banquet are covered by the Tour fee.

Junior Tour players are welcome to brush up for the main events at a special clinic hosted by Timber Point pro Andy Carracino on Monday, July 1.  The rest of the Tour schedule is as follows:

Monday, July 8:  West Sayville Golf Course
Monday, July 22:  Bergen Point Golf Course
Monday, July 29:  Indian Island Country Club
Thursday, August 8:  Timber Point Golf Course

All tournaments begin at 2:00 p.m.  Participants are urged to arrive no later than 1:00.

For more information on the 2013 Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour, call (631) 854-4947.  You can also download a Tour registration form at the Suffolk County website.

Bay Park open again in East Rockaway

After a silent start to the spring, the Bay Park Golf Course is open again along the south shore in East Rockaway.  The gates to the clubhouse and parking lot had been locked and phone calls to the park left unanswered since Hurricane Sandy tore through the area in October. 

Shortly after the storm, Golf On Long Island stopped by and noted some damage on and around the course.  The surrounding area and neighborhood have been in the news since Sandy because of damage to the treatment plant located inside Bay Park.

Bay Park's reopening means all four Nassau County nine-hole municipal courses are now available for play.  For more on the course, check out the Bay Park flyover.

Bethpage, Eisenhower are local sites for nationwide "Drive, Chip and Putt" junior competition

Believe it or not, there's a way for the junior golfer in your life to play Augusta National that doesn't require trespassing or becoming the world's youngest corporate bigwig.

As told to the national viewing audience this week by Jim Nantz and Nick Faldo, junior golfers across the country can compete for the chance to walk Augusta National next April as part of the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship, a golf event made possible by the USGA, PGA and Masters Tournament Foundation.  This memorable experience is open to boys and girls from age 7 to 15.

Bethpage State Park and Eisenhower Park are the two Long Island sites that will host local qualifiers in the Metropolitan New York/New Jersey region.  Entry in the competition is free.  Participation at all local sites is limited and will be selected by random drawing from the pool of applicants.

Winners in each of four age groups at the local qualifiers will advance to regional competitions, with regional winners then earning a spot in the national final at Augusta National on Sunday, April 6, 2014.  Complete competition rules, eligibility requirements and scoring outlines are available at the Drive, Chip and Putt website.

Deadline to register online for the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship is Tuesday, April 30.

Treat Mom to holiday golf at Spring Lake's Mother's Day nine

Show Mom your appreciation by teaming up with her and sinking a key putt to beat Dad at Spring Lake Golf Club's Mother's Day celebration, beginning at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 12.

For $95, you and Mom play nine holiday holes with cart and enjoy two post-round cocktails each plus hors d'oeuvres.  Even better, bring the family (of four) and play, eat and drink for a total of $175.

Groups participating in the Mother's Day special will tee off starting at 10:00.  Reserve a spot by calling (631) 924-5115.

2013 Summer Golf Camps on Long Island

Early in the spring, practice for the new season is typically confined to the driving range.  But when the heat arrives, not only is it time for everyone to start enjoying time on the course, it's also time for junior golfers to form and polish their game with help from experienced professionals. 

Learning doesn't have to stop when the school year ends -- teaching pros all over Long Island have developed summer camp programs that school junior golfers in the fundamentals of golf, the golf swing and course etiquette, among other aspects of the game.  These golf camps offered at a handful of Long Island courses are designed to either put the first building blocks in place for newcomers or provide expert guidance for juniors looking to take their game to the next level. 

The following is a list of 2013 summer junior golf camps available and open for registration at various public courses around Long Island.   For more information, follow the links below to the course websites and junior camp pages. 

(Please note that this is not a complete list of Long Island summer golf camps.  If a course or facility is not included here, contact them directly to learn about their available camps and clinics.)

Crab Meadow:  The High School Development Program is a unique instruction and competition experience designed for the intermediate player looking to advance his or her game.  On-course play includes lessons in course management, short game, club selection and bunker play, as well as head-to-head match competition.  Three-hour sessions take place weekly in July and August.  Call (631) 499-8005 for price and program schedule.

Dix Hills Park:  Basic Program open to junior players from age 6 to 14 with limited or no golf experience.  The program stresses safety, rules and etiquette through games and contests in a fun atmosphere.  Club Division open to boys and girls who are ready for on-course instruction and play.  Campers in this program receive advanced instruction and are introduced to various competition formats.  Six-week sessions take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and begin the week of July 8.  Cost is $325 (Basic)/$350 (Club).  Visit the junior golf program page for more info.

Gold Coast Golf Center at the Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course:  Half-day camps available for kids from age 6 to 9 with rates starting at $199.  Beginners and intermediate golfers focus on fundamentals in an environment designed to foster development and interest in the sport.  Full-day camps include on-course instruction and are open to juniors from age 10 to 17 with rates starting at $499.  All programs begin on June 10 with sessions available through August.  Other programs and discounts are available.  Visit the registration page for full camp info.

Great Rock Golf Club:  Half-day camps are open to boys and girls age 7 to 14 and run in four separate sessions from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., Monday to Thursday, beginning June 24.  Campers receive a Great Rock hat and final-day pizza party.  The cost is $199 per child, per session.  Full-day camps are open to boys and girls age 9 to 16 and run in five separate sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday to Thursday, beginning July 8.  The cost is $399 per child, per session.  Full-day campers receive on-course instruction, Great Rock hat and daily lunch.  For more, see the Great Rock camp flyer.

Harbor Links Golf Course:  All camps are split into AM and PM sessions beginning the week of June 24.  Weekly programs for kids age 6 to 9 run Tuesday to Friday and include games and drills that help develop important skills and fundamentals.  Separate programs for teens age 10 to 16 run Monday to Friday and cover the full swing, short game, course management, rules and etiquette, and conclude with a two-day "Junior Scramble" team tournament.  Cost is $410 for the 6-9 camp and $585 for the 10-16 camp, with discounts available for family and friends.  For all program information, schedules and registration forms, visit the Harbor Links website.

Indian Island Country Club:  Weekly full-day camps include lunch, prizes, skills contests and on-course competition.  Camps are open to boys and girls of all skill levels between the ages of 7 and 16.  Fees are $450 per week, per camper, with family, returnee and multi-week discounts available.  Sessions begin July 1 and last through August.  See the Indian Island camp brochure for all details.

Lido Golf Club:  Camps are open to golfers age 6 and up, with all skill levels welcome.  Week-long programs focus on swing fundamentals, short-game skills and techniques, course play, etiquette and rules.  Evening camp sessions (5:00 to 7:00 p.m.) are available beginning the week of June 24; morning camp sessions (9:00 to 11:00 a.m.) the week of July 1.  Enrollment is $300 per session.  Visit the Lido website or Chuck Kupfer Golf for details.

Pine Hills Country Club:  Four-week programs take place on Tuesday evenings and are open to boys and girls from age 7 to 14.  First session begins July 2; second session begins August 6.  Campers will learn putting, chipping, full swing and etiquette, and receive on-course lessons from two PGA teaching professionals.  Registration is $295 ($275 before June 25).  For additional information, check out the camp brochure.

Poxabogue Golf Center:  Sessions run Monday through Friday and are open to boys and girls from age 7 to 16.  All campers receive daily lunch, shirt, hat and prizes, and will learn basics of the full swing, short game, putting, rules, etiquette and sportsmanship.  Cost is $475 per week, per camper, with family, returnee and multi-week discounts available.  Sessions begin July 1 and last through August.  See the camp application for details.

Smithtown Landing Country Club:  Contact the Smithtown Landing pro shop for information about details and availability of summer programs led by PGA professional and Hall of Famer Michael Hebron.  Call (631) 979-6534.

Spring Lake Golf Club:  Programs available for kids from age 8 to 11 (July 16-18) and teens from age 12 to 14 (July 30-August 1).  Three-day camps teach swing fundamentals in a fun environment with on-course play each day.  Cost is $179 per child.  Visit the Spring Lake website for details.

Timber Point Golf Course:  Six-week Basic Program is designed for new players from age 7 to 10, and focuses on fundamentals, safety, rules and etiquette through fun games and contests.  Club Division (four-week and eight-week programs available) is open to experienced juniors from age 11 to 15 and includes advanced instruction and on-course play.  Basic and Club sessions begin in late June and run through mid-August.  Call (631) 581-2401 or e-mail timberpointgolfcourse@yahoo.com for price, schedule and registration information.

West Sayville Golf Course:  Eight-week programs (total of eight four-hour sessions) are available on Tuesdays through Fridays beginning July 2.  Campers receive instruction at the range and on the course, with instruction concentrating on all aspects of the swing, including grip, stance and alignment, plus bunker play and video analysis.  The $450 fee also includes shirt, hat and rule book.  Visit the course website and download the camp registration form for more information.

New season, new discounts at Brentwood and Holbrook

The spring weather has been slow to come around.  That's not the case, however, for the Brentwood and Holbrook Country Clubs.  Both Town of Islip courses are wasting no time getting back into form with their usual seasonal discounts.

In April and May, you can ride for $42 or walk 18 holes for only $24.  Senior town residents can ride for $38.  These discounts are valid after 10 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. on weekends.  To take advantage of the discounts, each player must bring a printed website coupon and reserve their tee time online.

The special rates are valid at Brentwood Tuesday through Sunday, and at Holbrook Wednesday through Monday.  Holbrook is often closed for outings on Tuesdays.

To view all valid specials at Brentwood and Holbrook, check their coupons page.

New owners continue upgrades in second season at Sandy Pond

Ken Weinstein and Chris Wahlers ended their first season as owners of Sandy Pond Golf Course the same way they began -- by making improvements from top to bottom at their nine-hole course in Riverhead.

More accurately, the improvements went from bottom to top.  One of their first projects, according to this Riverhead News-Review profile from last June, involved cleaning out the course's three namesake ponds.  And among a host of renovations last fall was a resurfacing of the elevated fourth tee.  (A time-lapse video of the teebox reno can be viewed at Sandy Pond's Facebook page.)

The results of their hard work on and around the course late in 2012 will soon become evident to returning golfers, though by that time, Weinstein and Wahlers will already be far into their 2013 to-do list.  Aside from the reshaping and extension of the #4 tee, the Sandy Pond crew renovated tees on #1, #6 and #7, all of which will debut this spring.  They also added mounding and tall fescue to some rough areas between fairways. 

Much of the effort, however, was devoted to the putting surfaces.  "The biggest improvement has to be the greens," Wahlers says.  "Last winter when we took over, some of them had up to 40% turf loss.  As of right now every green has been expanded and is in great shape."

While last season's cleanup and renovations were designed, Wahlers says, "to try to get the worst out of the way," the tasks in year two -- besides bunker restoration on #1 and #9 -- will focus a little more on the periphery of the course.  One project already underway is the "clearing and beautifying" of some of the outside out-of-play areas.  The bathrooms and clubhouse are currently being upgraded. 

If all goes according to plan, when the warm weather arrives golfers will be able to unwind on a new shaded patio with food and drinks.

For more on Sandy Pond, check out the course flyover or visit the Sandy Pond website (Facebook).

[PICTURED, above left: View from the elevated fourth, which this season will have a newly shaped and surfaced teeing area.]

2013 public golf course reopenings on Long Island

The spring golf season can't come soon enough.  Every first tee shot that rises into the air at reopened public golf courses across Long Island is an indication that the offseason brought on prematurely and in swift, sudden fashion by Hurricane Sandy is finally in the past.  And the coming spring signals rebirth for a region that's dealt with years worth of hardship since it bid farewell to summer only a few months ago.

Spring rebirth takes on new meaning today along Nassau's south shore, where the Lido Golf Club officially reopens for business in an area ravaged by and still rebounding from last October's storm.  The Lido Beach golf course was submerged by ocean and channel water during Sandy.  Both the course and the clubhouse required extensive renovations in order to reopen for the 2013 season.

Other courses on the south shore are working hard to reopen in time for the peak part of the playing season.  Timber Point, which has now been significantly damaged in consecutive years by Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, will open its Red Course and portions of the White and Blue courses on March 15.  The White Course will open in full sometime in the spring; the bayside Blue Course is targeted for a late-May or early-June debut.

The following is a list of tentative reopening dates for Long Island's seasonal golf courses.  Also listed are some year-round courses that were closed for at least a portion of the offseason for general maintenance or Sandy recovery.  Most public courses on Long Island are sending golfers out by the middle of March; others like Bethpage Black and Red hibernate until April.  Courses will be added or updated as information becomes available.  Be sure to check back through the month for the latest info.

*All dates listed below are subject to change.  Call the courses directly for updated dates and times.

GOLF COURSE REOPENINGS:

• North Woodmere Park -- OPEN (reopened in January)
• Christopher Morley Park -- OPEN (reopened on 2/26)
• Lido Golf Club -- March 1
• Brentwood CC -- March 15
• Holbrook CC -- March 15
• Great Rock -- March 15
• West Sayville -- March 15
• Timber Point Red -- March 15
• Timber Point White/Blue (partial) -- March 15
• Woods Course at Cherry Creek -- March 18 (approximate)
• Bethpage Red -- March 29
• Harbor Links Championship/Executive -- March 30
• Eisenhower Red -- April 12
• Bethpage Black -- April 13
• Bay Park -- OPEN
• Cedars GC -- OPEN

[This post was updated on April 16, 2013.]