Golf on Long Island

Oakdale Golf Center voted "Best Driving Range" in Long Island Press poll

Capping a suspense-free voting period, Bethpage State Park was crowned "Best Golf Course" last month when the Long Island Press announced the results of its annual "Best of LI" poll.  The real surprise was over in the less heralded, more practice-oriented "Best Driving Range" category, where the Oakdale Golf Center flew under the radar and scored an out-of-nowhere victory with the help of Press readers.

Oakdale topped Medford's County Fair Entertainment Park and Farmingdale's Skydrive Golf Center after not even cracking the top three in previous polls.  County Fair is also a newcomer to the elite trio.  Two-time champ Skydrive took the bronze for the second straight year.

For full 2012 "Best of LI" results, visit the Long Island Press website.

Bethpage retains title, edges Rock Hill and Eisenhower in annual "Best of LI" poll

The "Best of LI" hot streak continues at Bethpage, where each of the five courses have a victory medal all their own thanks to readers of the Long Island Press.  For the fifth year in a row, Bethpage bagged top honors in the "Best Golf Course" category of the local newspaper's annual "Best of Long Island" survey.

Readers once again recognized the national golf destination that sits right in their own backyards, clicking it to the top of the charts for its diversity of play, excellent conditions, affordable rates and the presence of the vaunted Black Course -- home of The Barclays tournament later this year.  Fourteen other Island courses, including two private clubs, were unsuccessful in their bids to knock Bethpage from its comfy perch.

Eisenhower Park -- the equally historic 54-hole facility a few miles down the road -- took home the bronze for the second straight year.  Out east, Manorville's Rock Hill Golf Club made the leap in this year's survey and knocked off previous runner-up Harbor Links to grab the first spot behind Bethpage.  Rock Hill is one of Long Island's longest public courses (7,050 yards) and, with its ascending fairways, sticky rough and sky-high slope rating, also one of the area's most challenging.

The Red Course is the centerpiece of the three-course complex at East Meadow's Eisenhower Park.  The Devereux Emmet design is one of a dozen Long Island courses to receive four stars from Golf Digest in the magazine's Best Places To Play listing.

Pictured: The approach to the 18th green on Bethpage Black (click to enlarge)

Bethpage Black cracks top five in Golf Digest's Toughest list

A crushed drive soars through the air on Bethpage Black's par-4 fifth -- the straightest drive you've struck in weeks -- and settles into the first cut off the left side of the diagonal fairway.  You get to your ball and find you have no shot at the elevated green.  Unless there's an incredible power draw somewhere in your bag, the route to the green is blocked by treetops reaching out over the rough.  I won't make that mistake again, you think.

Next time out, you take aim at the right side of the fairway.  It's another blast, but just as you expect to see it land safely on the short green grass, it drops into the last square foot of sprawling cross bunker.  You needed 230 in the air to carry the sand; you only got 229.  This course is tough, you think, among other obscenities.

Golf Digest arrived at the same conclusion in its January 2012 issue.  The mag surveyed around 1,100 panelists and asked them to consider difficult shots like these at courses around the country.  When the results came in, the Black Course at Bethpage State Park ranked #5 in the Digest's list of America's 75 Toughest Golf Courses.  Only the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, Pine Valley, Oakmont and Spyglass Hill are tougher.

The Black is one of 26 public courses to appear on the list.  Three of Long Island's private clubs cracked the top 75 -- Shinnecock Hills (#12), Sebonack (#63) and National Golf Links of America (#72).

The procession of accolades continues for the Black, which in 2011 topped Golfweek's Best Courses You Can Play list for New York State and Golfweek's Best Municipal Course, ranked #21 in Golfweek's Classic Courses list, and came in at #36 in Golf Digest's ranking of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.  To see the rest of America's 75 Toughest, head over to Golf Digest for a full list and slideshow.

And for more on Bethpage Black, including links to all its recent honors, check out the course flyover.

Glen Cove Golf Club to change permit rates in 2012

Membership permit rates at the Glen Cove Golf Club will change in 2012 and include a slight increase to city residents, a Newsday report said last week.

Non-resident permit rates will decrease by close to half as the City of Glen Cove tries to lure more golfers to its municipal par-67 and away from other Nassau County courses.

The seven-member City Council voted unanimously [on December 27] to raise annual resident permit fees next year from $75 to $95, and lower non-resident fees from $875 to $495.  After July 4, the non-resident permit rate will be further reduced to $395.

"The way to increase revenue for the course is not to increase cost per round for a golfer, it's to increase the number of golfers," Mayor Ralph Suozzi said. -- Emily Ngo, Newsday, 12/29/2011

Golfers with a membership permit benefit from lower rates than the general public.  A member round cost $24 on weekdays and $30 on weekends in 2011, compared to $40 and $50 for guests.  Since 2002, the number of permits purchased has decreased from 1,700 to 1,000, according to Newsday.  Senior, junior and regular greens fees will not change under the new rate schedule.

For more on Glen Cove, check out the course flyover.

Long Island Press wants your vote for "Best Golf Course" in annual poll

Thirteen public golf courses in Nassau and Suffolk are in the running for the title of "Best Golf Course" of 2012 in the annual Long Island Press "Best of LI" poll, and 12 of them are looking to wrestle that title away from Bethpage State Park.  The 90-hole centerpiece of Long Island golf will win the category for the fifth straight year unless one of the dozen public courses (or two private clubs) in the competition pulls off a major upset when the Press poll closes on December 15.

Last year's runners-up Eisenhower Park and Montauk Downs are again in the field of 15, along with these public facilities:

• Crab Meadow
• Harbor Links
• Mill Pond
• Rock Hill
• Smithtown Landing
• Stonebridge Golf Links
• Tallgrass
• Timber Point
• Town of Oyster Bay GC
• West Sayville

Vote for the "Best Golf Course" of 2012 until December 15 at www.LongIslandPress.com, and don't forget to choose your favorite driving range and golf shop while you're there.  Winners will be announced in January.

Newsday reader foiled by Holbrook Country Club's crafty crows

During our first visit to the Holbrook Country Club a few years ago, a crow -- either hungry or simply mischievous -- took advantage of our concentration on the putting green and helped itself without any hesitation to some of Rob's unguarded breakfast.  It then joined its friends up in the trees for a hearty cackle about it as we made our way around the green and back to the cart.

The crows were there again when we returned to the course back in May.  When we published the Holbrook flyover, we made sure to include a little warning about the course's nuisance from above:

"Just a suggestion:  If you're enjoying that delicious egg-and-cheese sandwich that you brought with you to the course, don't leave it unattended and unwrapped in your cart as you try to two-putt for par.  A team of crows perched around the course will be eyeing it, and they won't hesitate to swoop in and indulge.  They'll throw in a few mocking calls for good measure when your par putt rims out, all while conspiring to steal your next snack."

Unfortunately, the crows took more than breakfast from Newsday reader Joseph Governale, a Holbrook resident whose bid for his first sub-80 round was sabotaged by the fearless, feathered foes.  He detailed his encounter today in a Newsday guest column.

I reached into my pocket for a tee -- the longer kind made for today's larger club-heads. Not finding any, I was walking back to the cart when a crow of gargantuan size suddenly swooped down, pulled my bag of tees out of the cupholder and flew off.  Screaming, I followed the bird to a nearby tree.  It sat on an uppermost branch about 40 feet up, the booty dangling from its beak.  I cursed and raved.  Almost flung my club at the thing.  The beast just looked down at me, one eye at a time. -- Joseph Governale, Newsday, 11/12/2011

Click here for the full column.  And to read more on the Holbrook CC, check out the course flyover.

Newsday: Residences, green space slated for former Links at Shirley site

The gated entrance to the former Links at Shirley sits largely ignored along William Floyd Parkway, some of its letters missing as it protects overgrown corridors of once-pristine golf holes.  Soon, the site will be split up between single-family homes, 55-and-over townhouses and open space.

According to Newsday, as part of a deal between the Town of Brookhaven and the site developer, Holiday Organization of Plainview, the town will control nearly half of the 205-acre site.  Among the possibilities for the town's portion of the land: a recreational destination, community center, parks or undisturbed green space.

Even a golf course isn't out of the question:

Councilman Daniel Panico, who represents the area, said he would like a community center and possibly a municipal golf course on the land. -- Patrick Whittle, Newsday, 10/25/2011

The Links at Shirley opened in 2000 and quickly earned a reputation as one of the top public courses on Long Island.  Under financial strain, it closed for good at the end of the 2009 season. 

Read more about the closing of the Links at Shirley at the following link: 
Goodbye to the Links at Shirley

East Hampton Town Board agrees to sell its portion of Poxabogue Golf Course

The Hamptons-area Poxabogue Golf Course will soon be owned entirely by the Town of Southampton, according to reports in Newsday and The East Hampton Press earlier this week.

East Hampton's Town Board voted last week to sell off its portion of the jointly owned golf facility in order to pay off debt from its original purchase and save on interest payments, said Will James of The East Hampton Press.  The two East End towns purchased the course in 2004 to prevent development of the property.

The sale will not impact golfers residing in East Hampton.  For the financial particulars, check out the Will James article in The East Hampton Press and this Newsday overview.

Poxabogue, a nine-hole course in Sagaponack, has made surprisingly big news in recent years for such a little layout.  The course has been tangled in a web of municipal and legal issues for nearly a decade.  Luckily, that hasn't stopped local and vacationing golfers from enjoying the pleasant facility on the north side of Montauk Highway. 

Plug "Poxabogue" into the search box on the right for a refresher on the course's previous issues.  It's not all negative -- the New York Times featured the "people's golf course" in its "Neighborhood Joint" series this past July.

Newsday: Eisenhower Red still one of Long Island's gems

In his Golf Beat column this week, Newsday's Mark Herrmann delves into the history of the Red Course at Eisenhower Park and how the East Meadow layout remains one of Long Island's finest golf treasures.

There is a big sign above the ticket office at Eisenhower Park: HOME OF THE 1926 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP.  It is a lasting tribute to the fact that 85 years ago this week, the course in East Meadow was the center of the golf universe.  Walter Hagen won his third consecutive PGA, a feat not done before or since.

A more profound tribute, though, is the steady parade of golfers coming in and out below that sign.  All these decades later, the place is alive and open for business. The Red Course, which was called Salisbury Golf Club No. 4 in 1926, is closed for a few days, but that is merely a sign of life. The greens are being aerated, a standard procedure that pokes holes in the turf to let the soil breathe.

Eisenhower Red will reopen this weekend, a living, breathing testimony to the resilience of a quality course and Long Island golf in general. -- Mark Herrmann, Newsday, 9/29/2011

For more on the Red Course at Eisenhower Park, check out the Golf On Long Island flyover.  And for a historical perspective, visit this June 2010 post on The Forgotten Greens of Eisenhower Red.

Three Bethpage courses reopen after storm

The Black, Red and Yellow courses at Bethpage State Park reopened for play today, September 2 -- five days after Hurricane Irene blew through Long Island.

Bethpage's Blue and Green courses remain closed as of Friday and may reopen over the weekend.