The Blue and White courses at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow are open for play on Saturday, November 3. The Red Course remains closed.
Also open again for play in Nassau County is the nine-hole course at Cantiague Park. The driving range there is open, as well.
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The Red, White and Blue courses at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow remain closed on Friday. The staff hopes to have the courses cleaned up and ready for golf this weekend. If you just want to take some swings, the driving range is open.
Bethpage State Park's five golf courses are closed indefinitely. (All state parks on Long Island are currently closed.) As shown yesterday, there are a few trees down in the section of course below the clubhouse, most notably around the third hole of the Green Course.
Harbor Links in Port Washington is open for play.
The Merrick Road Park nine-hole course, which plays alongside coastal bays and inlets, is closed and has sustained damage.
The four County-operated nine-hole courses at Bay Park, North Woodmere, Cantiague and Christopher Morley will likely remain closed Friday.
Lido Golf Club is closed with flooding visible.
Scroll through the Golf On Long Island home page for running updates from courses around Long Island.
[Pictured: Tree down near the Peninsula GC clubhouse.]
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Despite their inland locations, the Town of Islip golf courses at Brentwood Country Club and Holbrook Country Club are closed until further notice, as well as the 27-hole Middle Island Country Club. Middle Island hopes to be open by Saturday.
Down on the water, the highly vulnerable Timber Point and Bergen Point golf courses are closed. Timber Point's Blue Course, which plays right on Great South Bay, suffered significant damage during last year's Hurricane Irene. At Bergen Point in West Babylon, some flooding is visible from outside the course.
Lido Golf Club, where major damage along Reynolds Channel is likely, has standing water near #2 green, according to one report.
Nassau County municipal courses -- including Eisenhower Park's Red, White and Blue -- are closed.
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A handful of trees are bent over at their trunks around the Peninsula Golf Club, a nine-hole course at the center of a Massapequa neighborhood bordered by south-shore inlets and South Oyster Bay.
Trees are down near the clubhouse and the par-3 sixth hole, to name a few, and there is some standing water alongside the first green, third fairway and other areas. Branches and debris are scattered throughout the course, and work vehicles line the path next to #6 green.
[Pictured (click to enlarge): A splintered tree and standing water near Peninsula's first green.]
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Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano's proposed $2.79 billion budget for 2013 was approved by a legislative committee Monday, according to Newsday, and is now up for vote by the county legislature. Mangano's proposal includes rate increases at Nassau County's seven municipal golf courses.
Newsday reported last month that greens fees for Nassau residents would jump $2 on weekends and holidays at each of the seven courses. Nine-hole course rates at North Woodmere, Bay Park, Christopher Morley and Cantiague would increase to $17, and rates at Eisenhower Park's Blue, White and Red courses would rise to $36, $38 and $43, respectively. The legislative vote has not been scheduled.
For more information, see the Newsday articles linked above and Golf On Long Island's September article on Mangano's proposed rate hikes.
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Rates will increase at Nassau's seven municipal golf courses under the $2.79 billion budget for 2013 proposed last week by County Executive Ed Mangano, according to Newsday.
Golfers at Eisenhower Park and the nine-hole courses at North Woodmere, Bay Park, Christopher Morley and Cantiague will shell out a few more dollars to tee off under Mangano's 2013 budget plan as the county executive focuses on improving Nassau's financial situation without raising property taxes. Newsday reported Wednesday that higher fees at county parks, along with spending cuts in various departments and introduction of new business licenses, are a significant part of Mangano's proposal.
New two-year licenses for small-business owners, including scrap metal processors and secondhand precious metal and gem dealers, would bring in $1.6 million in new revenue over two years, officials said.
Parks users also would pay higher fees to play golf and set up campers at county facilities.
"This budget reflects the tough decisions made over the past two years to cut spending and keep Nassau on the path to fiscal stability," Mangano, a Republican, said. -- Robert Brodsky and Sid Cassese, Newsday, 9/19/2012
Greens fees for Nassau residents would jump $2 on weekends and holidays at each of the seven courses, according to the Newsday report. Nine-hole course rates would increase to $17, and rates at Eisenhower Park's Blue, White and Red courses would rise to $36, $38 and $43, respectively.
Eisenhower Red was in the news in 2007 when Nassau County banned walking and made all golfers use motor carts on the course. The rule was quickly pulled after an uproar from players over additional mandatory costs and the inability to walk for recreational and health reasons. In 2010, New York State increased golf rates at all its parks, most notably for seniors, with some fees rising as much as 42%.
Pictured above: #1 at Eisenhower Red
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Storms have done a number on the Merrick Road Park Golf Course in recent years, destroying several veteran trees around the bayside nine, including notables on #2 and #5. One of them, however, is making a comeback after its brush with Mother Nature.
The fairway tree in the middle of the par-4 fourth is climbing back to its old self, obscuring views of the green in the distance and occasionally swatting down approach shots. Just about 100 yards out and standing on a grass island inside a bunker, the tree has been one of Merrick's recognizable features since we started playing the course in the late '90s. After a brief hiatus as a stump a few seasons ago, the tree is back, with new branches sporting a dense canopy of leaves.
Meanwhile, around the rejuvenated tree, much of Merrick goes on as normal. Few players rake bunkers or repair ball marks, the latter if which is problematic considering the greens are spongy -- almost saturated -- in spite of Long Island's recent near-drought conditions.
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In places like South Carolina and Florida, backyards and barbecue grills are almost as much a part of some golf courses as Bridgestones and bogeys. Houses in golf-course communities -- seemingly more common than not in areas like Myrtle Beach -- are nothing more than a slight hook or slice away from the fairways, placing them in a perennial line of fire. It's the agreed-upon-price to be paid on occasion for the scenery and lifestyle.
Here on Long Island, the side-by-side relationship between patio and par-5 is a foreign concept, existing only at a number of public golf courses that you can sum up with one hand. And when houses and yards that are not part of a golf course are routinely pelted with duck hooks, the residents don't take kindly to it -- and rightly so.
Two Suffolk County municipal courses -- West Sayville GC in West Sayville and Bergen Point GC in West Babylon -- have been in the news several times in the past year due to issues with the neighboring community. In this past Sunday's Newsday, Community Watchdog columnist Judy Cartwright followed up previous reports and outlined the showdown between West Sayville golfers, Suffolk County Parks Department representatives and residents along the north side of the course. And CBS2 News recently highlighted the concerns (and property damage) of residents who live beside Bergen Point's ninth hole (video link courtesy of Long Island Golf News).
The issues bring to mind other locations around local public courses where ball can easily meet house, or worse. Here's a few that come to mind:
[NOTE: This is not intended to glorify or encourage errant shots toward houses. It's a recollection of the rare examples where homes are in close proximity to courses in our area. Please exercise caution and courtesy when playing the holes and courses listed below.]
Stonebridge Golf Links: Long Island's closest imitation of the type of residential golf developments found elsewhere in the country, the Hauppauge course circles its houses so closely that you might be able to get in on dinner if you're polite enough. Trees and netting form a protective barrier for homes on many holes (though you still might lose a ball out-of-bounds into a yard), but on others, especially #1, #2 and #16, a bad righty hook or pull can have negative consequences for all involved. About a dozen yards and patios are just steps from the fairway on the "Hog's Back" 16th.
Pine Ridge Golf Club: The Coram course is another built around a golf community, but in this case, the namesake pines do a fine job hiding and protecting the neighbors and their recently built digs. One chink in the armor, however, is on #6, where a very high and very poor slice could fly over the pines toward a cluster of homes. In our last round there, a resident out for a morning stroll alongside the hole (a common sight at Pine Ridge) helped us find a ball in the right rough. When we saw how close we were to the homes off the side of the hole, we apologized. "Don't worry about it," he said, before commending the recovery shot back under the pines.
Lido Golf Club: All that separates the Lido Golf Club from Lido Boulevard is a string of about 50 houses sandwiched between the two. Though the tees and fairways on #10 and #11 are angled slightly away from the course boundary, a big-time slice can still lead to a few seconds of nervous anticipation before what everyone hopes is the silence of a ball landing safely and damage-free. If I recall correctly, some homeowners have installed their own protective barriers since there is no netting and only scattered tree cover.
Peninsula Golf Club: Peninsula is a nine-hole course in the center of a quiet section of Massapequa south of Merrick Road. Many of its big driving holes are contained within the interior of the layout, except for one -- the par-5 ninth. A row of trees lines the course perimeter but is powerless against high slices, which, again, can be street- or roof-bound.
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With The Barclays teeing off at Bethpage Black next month, plenty of guests -- many with golf bags in hand -- will soon be arriving on Long Island on top of the area's typical crop of summer travelers and tourists. Earlier this season, Golf On Long Island published its "Visitor's Guide" with these guests in mind.
The Golf On Long Island Visitor's Guide provides a detailed rundown of all a traveling golfer needs to know about the what, where, how, how much and so on for public golf on the Island. The Guide can also be a valuable resource for local players as well, perhaps those unfamiliar with courses in certain areas or others looking to expand the group of golf courses they play on a routine basis. Locals can leave tips or advice for visiting players, or feedback about the Golf On Long Island commentary itself, in the Guide's comments section.
To view the Visitor's Guide, click this link or the permanent link in this page's right sidebar.
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[Looking for information on Golfing Magazine's 2013 Free Golf Program? Click here for details on this year's program.]
Golfing Magazine's 2012 Free Golf Program is set to begin and Long Islanders will be able to save on golf at eight local courses -- and dozens more upstate and in New England -- as soon as their certificates arrive in the mail. Those who saved through the $39 Early Bird Special will have an extra Hamilton in their pocket for a Gatorade at the turn and a Blue Point on the 19th hole, but registration remains open all season for just $49.
Free Golf Program certificates are valid for one "free" round at each of this year's eight participating courses -- Brentwood Country Club, Dix Hills Park, Glen Cove, Gull Haven, Harbor Links - Executive, Holbrook Country Club, Tallgrass and Island's End.
As a member of the Free Golf Program, all you pay for on the day of play is a cart fee (and reservation fee where applicable). Just be sure to follow all terms and conditions, bring your certificate to the course and have it handy at check-in. Then head to the first tee for great golf at a discount rate. The certificate will only be honored Monday to Thursday after 11 a.m. and on Sundays after 1 p.m., though availability varies by course. Tee times must be made in advance.
In addition, you will receive a one-year subscription to Golfing Magazine (five issues) as part of the program. And the certificate is also valid for discount golf at participating courses in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and upstate New York.
The certificate pays for itself after two rounds. 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.
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