Golf on Long Island

Observations: Holbrook Country Club

There's no shortage of trees at Holbrook Country Club, a course where all 18 holes are ringed by a dense collection of limbs and leafy branches.  Aside from an occasional generous kick toward the fairway, these trees offer little that's of any aid to golfers. 

One tree, however, does serve a beneficial purpose to Holbrook players.  Rather, it did serve a purpose.  The tree, all alone on the inside of the dogleg on the par-4 ninth, is gone.  It was there on our previous visit in May 2011, but no more.  It served as an important landmark for players unable to see the far half of a fairway obscured by a water hazard and surrounding reeds.  A strong drive launched over the tree would cut the corner of the sloped fairway and tumble down within a short iron or wedge of the green.

All is not lost -- you can still use the edge of the hazard to set your aim. 

While the tree may be gone, still active at Holbrook are the infamous crows that cackle and caw from first hole to last.  Turn your back and they'll make off with that bag of chips you left in the cart.  Lip out on a birdie putt and their well-timed jeers head straight for your last nerve.

[PICTURED: Looking back from beside #9 green (in May 2011), the lost tree can be seen on the right inside the turn of the fairway.]

Tallgrass converting #6 to a par-3

The staff at Tallgrass Golf Course went back to the drawing board last season after a few too many errant drives irked neighbors alongside the course's short par-4 sixth.  Though the plan was to keep the hole a par-4, there apparently wasn't enough room on that drawing board to allow it.  The hole is now a par-3, with new tee boxes currently being prepared for action.

Golf On Long Island's Rob Dimino snapped photos of the redesigned teeing grounds (right) while at the course last week.  The hole will measure approximately 180 to 190 yards from the back tees.

The future of the hole was "up in the air" last fall according to general manager Phil Tita, who said the preference was to modify the par-4 while alleviating the concerns of off-course neighbors who were pelted too often by overzealous players trying to reach a green less than 300 yards away.  Limited space around the hole likely sunk those plans, however.

[See previous post: Redesign in the works for Tallgrass #6]

#6 is the second of three par-3s on Tallgrass's front nine.  It is sandwiched between the sandy fourth and the reverse-redan eighth, which GOLI examined in detail earlier this year.  The change means that Tallgrass drops from a par-71 to par-70.

The hole's main feature is now the steep downslope behind the green, which will turn any long tee shot into a nearly automatic bogey.  With the change, the mammoth sand trap down the hole's left side has been relegated to spectator.

Observations: Spring Lake Golf Club

Spring has been slow to take hold on Long Island, but it seems to have arrived for good at Spring Lake Golf Club, and it doesn't have anything to do with the name.  All that was missing at the Middle Island course this past weekend were the leaves on the trees, which works in golfers' favor for just a short time longer.

Approaching the course from the opposite side of its namesake lake provided the perfect vantage point to admire the deep summer-esque green of the course standing out between the brown trees, themselves just starting to show first signs of color.  The course's fairways were in beautiful shape and the greens rolled fast and smooth -- if you ignored the bare branches and the hand-stinging chill that rolled in as the afternoon round wound down, you'd think you were playing in June.   

Spring Lake's crew deserves credit for having the course in such impressive condition so early in a season of cool, uncooperative weather.  Last fall, new drainage systems were installed on #1, #7 and #10 of the Thunderbird Course, with more planned for this season.  The grounds crew was hard at work this weekend preparing the 13th green for play (a temporary green stood in).

You're running out of time to take advantage of the relatively bare limbs at the heavily wooded Thunderbird Course and the Sandpiper nine.  Once May hits, trees overhanging the rough and fairways will be in midseason obstructionist form.  Good weather or bad, balls that settle inside the treeline sit at the mercy of green-blocking tree trunks.

For the full Spring Lake overview, check out the Thunderbird and Sandpiper flyovers.

Observations: Eisenhower Blue, after Hurricane Sandy

Except for a dark, frigid front desk (kudos to the bundled-up employees manning the windows) and the occasional sighting of grounds crew gathering fallen limbs and branches, all seemed normal from tee to green at Eisenhower Park's Blue Course on Sunday, where golfers could step out onto the fairway under blue skies and imagine a destructive hurricane didn't just blow through the region less than a week ago.

Eisenhower's Blue and White courses opened for play at the start of the weekend, offering a diversion for Long Islanders lucky enough to have the means and enough gas in the tank for a quick round.  The Red Course remains closed with extensive tree damage.

Some trees and limbs were down around the course, but otherwise the Blue made it through the storm unscathed.  Fairways and elevated greens are still intact, and pair after pair (after pair) of fronting sand traps are dry and basking in the November sun.

For Red, White and Blue course updates, call (516) 572-0330.

Redesign in the works for Tallgrass #6

The sixth hole at Shoreham's Tallgrass Golf Course, easily the shortest par-4 in the layout, presents a unique, strategic challenge.  How heavy that challenge remains in the future is uncertain.

A driveable, risk/reward par-4 by design, Tallgrass #6 has played as a modified par-3 throughout the 2012 season due to concerns by neighbors over errant golf balls.  Heading into the offseason, the Tallgrass staff is considering ways to redesign the hole with its short par-4 character intact, or simply leaving it as a par-3. 

General manager Phil Tita says the plan is to keep the hole a par-4 but adds that, currently, the future of the hole is "up in the air."  The problem, according to a Tallgrass pro-shop attendant, is that players aiming to drive the green -- a 295-yard shot from the back tees, 280 from the second set -- can easily hook (or slice) their shots off the property toward several residences next to the course.  Though the fairway is oriented to the right of the tees and away from the property line, the hole's design -- including penal areas left and long -- and a buffer of trees are not enough to protect the homes and their inhabitants from wild drives.

But the strategic nature of the Gil Hanse-designed hole would be lost if the fix is to convert #6 to a par-3.  Slightly uphill, the hole features a tremendous and deep sand trap down nearly the entire left side.  Over the far end of the trap, the fairway banks downhill toward the green.  Players can try an aggressive shot toward this banked fairway or simply lay up shorter in the middle of the fairway.  The glory shot is a drive-the-green attempt, ignoring a major falloff behind the green and two awkward bunkers short of it, not to mention the out-of-bounds potential.

At close to 190 yards, this season's modified setup is still tough, but feels out of place on a course where the par-3s require some finesse, creativity and shot-making skill.   As seen in the image above, simply moving the tees as part of a par-4 redesign is likely not possible due to space constraints.  More dramatic changes could impact at least two adjacent holes.

For more on Tallgrass, visit the course flyover.  Or click on the aerial image above and pitch your design ideas in the comment section.

[Aerial image courtesy of Google Earth]

Wind Watch G&CC reorders layout to improve pace, balance nines

The staff at Wind Watch Golf & Country Club spent years tinkering with and lengthening its opening hole, eventually maxing it out to a 491-yard par-5 before the 2010 season.  With nowhere else to stretch it in the physical sense, new management at Wind Watch moved the hole on the scorecard instead -- across the course to the back nine.

ClubCorp, which purchased the Hauppauge course and Mount Sinai's Willow Creek G&CC from the Holiday Organization in 2011, made its first significant on-course change at Wind Watch earlier this year, reordering the layout in what is essentially a flip of the front and back nines, with only holes 8, 9, 17 and 18 remaining in place.  Wind Watch general manager and golf director Pat Dill says the changes are designed to "improve pace of play, increase control on the first tee and get the nines back to par-36 on each side."

In the new routing, players tee off behind and below the clubhouse on what used to be #10, a slightly downhill, 353-yard par-4.  Previously, rounds began with a short cart ride past the 18th green, around the tennis courts to the starter's booth, followed by a walk or ride up the hill to the new par-5 tees.  Then it was a blast down the hill and a battle with the shorter side of the course.  Now the nines are equal in par and almost identical in yardage (3,384 out; 3,302 in).

Wind Watch still ends with the same uphill 18th, a 90-degree dogleg boasting a triple-tiered green.  But if you arrived expecting to tee off from one of Long Island's highest elevation points on a hole chosen as part of Golfing Magazine's Long Island Dream Club, you'll have to wait until the start of the back nine.

Thanks to a GOLI commenter for the heads-up about the change.  For more on Wind Watch, check out the course flyover.

[PICTURED: Meet the new opening hole at Wind Watch -- the former 10th.]

Observations: Merrick Road Park Golf Course

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.

Bethpage Red's opener a little less grueling in lead-up to Barclays

A pre-Barclays round at Bethpage State Park's Red Course is a few strokes softer thanks to the behind-the-scenes work to prepare its next-door neighbor for the international spotlight.  While the Black Course fills with tents and pavilions and all the trimmings associated with a professional golf event, the Red Course will go about its business until it closes to the public on August 18, but will boast a few yards less than normal along the way.  The Red's classic par-4 opener is teeing off from the fairway while the area near the tee is scattered with equipment and trailers.  Thanks to several Golf On Long Island readers for the tip.

Still, the hole plays around 360 uphill yards.  Sure beats 471 yards (with a gallery of waiting golfers breathing down your neck).

Last day of play on the Red, Blue, Green and Yellow courses is Friday, August 17.  The four will reopen on Thursday, August 30, followed by the Black on September 1.

Observations: Swan Lake Golf Club

There are a couple of new additions at Manorville's Swan Lake Golf Club in 2012.  Though a driving range is not one of them, the course has upgraded its practice nets, which remain in their usual spot next to the parking lot.  Only now they are a bit bigger, a bit sturdier, and with room to accommodate more golfers.

For those concerned more about the latest on the course, the eighth hole should pique their interest.  A spiffy new sand trap made its debut earlier this year on the dogleg par-4, giving players even more reason to stay right.  The long, mostly flat bunker (pictured; click to enlarge) is short of the more familiar fairway trap inside the turn.  Whether it was put in place to serve as a deterrent, or simply as a barrier to freeze errant shots before they skitter into the trees, either way the message is clear -- keep right at all costs. 

Even the namesake swans of the Manorville course have new additions this season.  Emerging from the marsh next to the ninth tee were two proud, protective parents -- sized impressively enough to keep this cameraman at a healthy distance -- and their three miniature swanlings (pictured).  The brief swan delay is par for the Pine Barrens course, and not just because they think they run the place.  Wildlife sightings are common, including beavers scampering near the water hazard and turkeys taking their time around the woods.

For the full rundown on Swan Lake, check out the course flyover.

Observations: Middle Island Country Club

Until the first substantial snowfall of the offseason, fairways and greens around Long Island typically remain in very good condition even as the players driving over and stomping on top of them add layers of apparel to block the chill.  Plenty of layers were shed on Friday at the Middle Island Country Club during a post-Thanksgiving round that began with a frost delay then ended under a warm, spring-like November sun.  Fairways were smooth, soft and lush at the 27-hole course, where conditions continue to improve overall thanks to an ongoing rehabilitation under new ownership over the past four years.

"This place had fallen into pretty bad shape," an MICC veteran of more than 20 years said yesterday while waiting to tee off on the Spruce nine.  "But these new owners have turned it around."

The course renovation has included extensive tree removal, addition of water hazards on Spruce, rebuilding of tee boxes and other enhancements.  One minor addition is a large bunker shared by Spruce #2 and #5.  In previous seasons, this area between the two holes was cluttered with trees.  A sandy pit was left over briefly once the trees were cleared.  Now a trap nearly 50 yards long occupies the open space.  (The bunker appeared to be under repair during our recent round, however.)

Over on the Dogwood and Oak nines, finding our balls was a breeze since the fairways and most of the rough were completely cleared of leaves, an impressive feat considering the course's volume of trees.  "I'm impressed," the MICC vet said of the decluttered playing area. 

Also noted since our previous visit to Middle Island:  There are no more GPS units in the motor carts.