Golf on Long Island

Veterans Day perks at Pine Ridge, Bergen Point, Wind Watch

Veterans and active military members can golf for free on Veterans Day -- this Monday, November 11 -- at Pine Ridge Golf Club in Coram.  Book tee times online or call the pro shop at (631) 331-7930.

Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon is offering free carts to veterans and active military members on Veterans Day.  Proof of veteran or military status required.

From Veterans Day through the end of November, Wind Watch Golf & Country Club in Hauppauge is waiving green fees for all veterans on weekday rounds (excluding Thanksgiving).  Veterans will pay cart fee only.

For more Veterans Day specials, see our previous post on offers at Mill Pond, Brentwood and Holbrook.

Mill Pond, Brentwood and Holbrook offering Veterans Day promotions and discounts

Mill Pond Golf Course's annual "Comeback Coupon" will be available again this Veterans Day, and the Town of Islip is thanking veterans with steep discounts at its two 18-hole golf courses.

On Monday, November 11, any golfer who pays for a round at Mill Pond in Medford will receive a "Comeback Coupon" good for a free follow-up greens fee.  The coupon can be used for any weekday round of equal or lesser value through April 17, 2020.  Cart and reservation fees are not included.  (Golfers must also be on Mill Pond's e-mail list to receive the coupon.)

Over at Holbrook Country Club, all veterans will pay just $22 for their round, with cart and reservation fees included.  Brentwood Country Club, which is closed Mondays, will offer the same deal on Tuesday, November 12.

Mill Pond and Brentwood are also offering Thanksgiving events.  Check back over the next few days for details.

Great Rock closing for the season today

Great Rock Golf Club will end its season this afternoon, closing the book on a tumultuous 2019 littered with widespread reports of horrendous course conditions and rumors about the future of the Wading River facility.

Typically praised for its fast greens and overall excellent conditions, Great Rock fell into disrepair this year, with many Long Island players taking to various online platforms to post reviews and photos portraying a seemingly abandoned course with fairways overrun by crabgrass, bare greens, unmowed rough and weed-filled bunkers.  The restaurant, Pure North Fork, has been closed.  As the season progressed, the course answered player complaints with canned responses about future improvements.

Meanwhile, there are rumors that a sale of the course is in the works, so Great Rock's status for the 2020 season is currently unknown. 

As seen nearby at the former Calverton Links, the track record of golf courses that abruptly close in October amid sale rumors is not great.

Check back through the offseason for updates and additional information.

Off-Course Destination: Pickle N Par, Melville

Two years after the long-running Skydrive Golf Center was torn down in Farmingdale, the busy Route 110 corridor near the Nassau-Suffolk line regained another golf facility, all thanks to one Long Islander's passion for ... pickleball.

Yes, pickleball, the hybrid of badminton, tennis and ping pong introduced to thousands of teenagers each year by way of high school phys-ed teachers, shares the spotlight at Pickle N Par, Long Island's newest indoor golf venue.  Unlike Skydrive, whose landmark range nets towered over Route 110 near Republic Airport, Pickle N Par is tucked away in a modern, newly constructed sports-and-fitness building just up the road in Melville.

Pickle N Par manager Andrew Ritter was one of those Long Island high school students who briefly flirted with pickleball in gym class.  A decade after playing the sport at Glen Cove High School, he picked it up again in 2015 at a local community center, learned more about its intricacies and techniques, and eventually became certified as an IPTPA instructor.

The way Ritter sees it, the two elements of Pickle N Par are a natural fit.  "Pickleball and golf are multi-generational," Ritter says.  "And they are two of the most social sports we have."

Unlike other sports, where players might be able to come and go without really interacting with teammates or opponents, Ritter says there's a social element that naturally emerges during and after pickleball matches, the same way it does between shots in an 18-hole round of golf.  Ritter thinks this will attract people to Pickle N Par, not to mention its central location among bustling Long Island commercial centers and office parks.

The facility currently features two Full Swing golf simulators with space for a third.  Players can choose from 85 golf courses -- including nearby Bethpage Black (approach shot on Black #1 pictured left) -- and customize their rounds for weather and ground conditions, scoring formats and more.  Full Swing's "Showdown Golf" also offers a variety of golf games, challenges and competitions that Ritter sees as a potential hit for kids' birthday parties and work functions.  Professional golf instruction will also be offered.

Hourly rates for the golf simulators range from $45-50, with a $5 surcharge added for non-members (membership is $95 annually).  All rates include access to a putting green and ping-pong tables.  Each simulator bay has a TV tuned to sports.

In addition, members and non-members can book reservations on the Pickle N Par website and through the Court Reserve app.  (Members have access to a longer booking window.)

As a courtesy to GOLI readers, Pickle N Par will waive non-member surcharges through the end of October for visitors who mention this Golf On Long Island profile.

Pickle N Par is located at 515 Broadhollow Road (Route 110), Suite 500 in Melville (entrance and parking lot off Baylis Road).  For more information, visit the company website or call (631) 777-PICK.

Long Island Press announces nominees for "Best Golf Course" in 2020 survey

Bethpage State Park rarely loses any kind of Long Island golf popularity contest -- in fact, it's won nothing but gold in the "Best of Long Island" reader survey conducted each year by the Long Island Press.  Still, this fall, more than a dozen public courses and private clubs have an opportunity to knock Bethpage off its perch in the 2020 "Best Golf Course" category, which is officially open for online voting.  Also open for voting are "Best Driving Range" and "Best Golf Store."

The 2020 nominees for "Best Golf Course" -- as determined by Press readers -- include 12 public courses and five private clubs.  Voting is open at the Long Island Press website until December 15.

This year's public-course nominees are:

• Bethpage State Park
• Brentwood Country Club
• Eisenhower Park
• Harbor Links
• Lido GC
• Middle Bay
• Rock Hill
• Stonebridge Golf Links
• Swan Lake
• Timber Point
• Town of Oyster Bay GC
• Willow Creek

In the "Best Golf Store" category, Babylon's Unique Golf Shop has been just as dominant as Bethpage, sweeping the contest since its inception.  This year it will compete with 14 other stores around the Island, including independent shops, national retailers and even one -- Golfsmith -- that's out of business.  (The Press has been notoriously slow in vetting its list of potential nominees.)  Country Fair in Medford is vying for a three-peat in the "Best Driving Range" survey, though it will need to beat out former champions Heartland Golf Park and Eisenhower Park, among nine others.

Winners of the 2020 survey will be announced in January.

Cherry Creek's "Double Play" fall special begins today

As the 2019 golf season begins to wind down, Cherry Creek would like you to bring your clubs out to Riverhead for an autumn round -- twice.

The fall edition of Cherry Creek's twice-a-year "Double Play" special is now available -- just drop by the Woods or Links clubhouses and purchase a Double Play card, which allows you to play one 18-hole round at each of the two golf courses for a total of $66 (cart included).  The deal is valid for weekday rounds from October 1 through November 27.  (Rounds can be played on separate days.)

For more information, call the Woods at (631) 506-0777 or the Links at (631) 369-6500.  And for details on the two Riverhead courses, check out the Woods and Links flyovers.

Topgolf inches closer to first Long Island location with latest board approval

After listening to arguments last month in support of and opposed to a proposed Topgolf facility beside the Long Island Expressway in Holtsville, the Town of Brookhaven planning board followed up this week by voting 6-0 in favor of granting site-plan approval for the company's first New York location.

The approval requires that Topgolf plant additional trees and install 6-foot-high fencing along parts of the property that border residential neighborhoods, among other measures, according to Newsday and town documents.  Topgolf must also get building permits from the town before it can begin construction at the site, which sits west of Nicolls Road at exit 62 of the LIE.

Though there is no opening date at the moment, with this latest Brookhaven approval, Topgolf's efforts to expand into New York are essentially sitting in the middle of the fairway, wedge in hand.

Brookhaven Councilman Kevin LaValle, who represents Holtsville on the town board, said Topgolf is "a very positive business" that would provide an economic boost to the area.

“I think what’s been put in place with the buffers ... really will help to mitigate the concerns,” LaValle said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "The response that I’ve had from people who live around here and people I know from college, everybody says it’s an amazing experience.” -- Carl MacGowan, Newsday, 9/18/19

Mixing dining, nightlife and technology with the traditional elements of a driving range, Topgolf facilities allow players to hit microchipped golf balls toward arcade-style target areas for computer-scored games and contests.  Climate-controlled hitting bays are rented by the hour and typically include televisions, WiFi and access to food and drinks.  Standard range features like lessons and clinics are also included.  Currently, the closest Topgolf facility to Long Island is located in Edison, New Jersey (pictured).

For more, see previous GOLI posts on the proposed Topgolf:

Plans in place to bring Long Island's first Topgolf location to Holtsville (12/23/2017)
No updates on planned Topgolf facility in Holtsville (12/20/2018)
Holtsville residents tee off on plans for Long Island's first Topgolf facility (8/21/19)

[Photo courtesy of Topgolf]

Brewery-themed outings on tap at Pine Ridge this fall

Like a good friend, with the summer drawing to a close, Pine Ridge Golf Club is there, offering local golfers a beer.  The least you can do is join it for 18 holes.

For the second consecutive season, Pine Ridge is hosting a beer-themed outing -- the 2019 Sam Adams Open -- as the summer turns to fall on Saturday, September 21.  Registration is $75 and entitles players to 18 holes (shotgun start at 1 p.m.), range balls, Sam Adams during the round and an after-golf dinner party with live music, beer tastings, raffles and prizes. 

Next month, Pine Ridge's beer outing will have more of a local flavor, as the Coram course will once again host Montauk Oktoberfest 2019.  Beers from the Montauk Brewing Company will be featured during the Saturday, October 12 event, this time a 12 noon shotgun with the same guest-brewery beverages and after-golf festivities.

Sign up for either outing online at the Pine Ridge website or in person at the pro shop.  Dinner-only guests can also register for $35.

Glen Cove, Cherry Creek and other aeration updates around Long Island

Glen Cove Golf Club will close on Tuesday, September 10 and Wednesday, September 11 for aeration.  The course will reopen for play on Thursday, September 12.

Here are some other upcoming aeration dates for public golf courses on Long Island:

Cherry Creek - Woods Course:  September 17
Bethpage - Green Course:  September 17-18
Bergen Point:  October 1-2
Bethpage - Black Course:  October 10-11
Bethpage - Red Course:  October 16-17

Check back through the fall for more aeration updates.

Holtsville residents tee off on plans for Long Island's first Topgolf facility

Ground has yet to be broken in Holtsville for what would be Long Island's first Topgolf facility, but representatives from the Dallas-based company have already received a traditional Long Island welcome from area residents who spoke out against the development at a Brookhaven Town public hearing on Monday.

Citing loud music, lights and the potential for increased traffic and drunk driving in the area, Holtsville residents asked the board to oppose the new facility, which would be located north of the Long Island Expressway at exit 62, according to Newsday.  Topgolf is known nationwide for its driving ranges that mix high-tech features, modern amenities, dining and nightlife.

Topgolf officials argued that the $25 million facility would create up to 500 jobs and comply with all town laws, though residents were skeptical of the range's use of music and lights late into the night.

Opponents of the project threw up their hands in apparent exasperation during the hearing as Topgolf officials tried to assure them that their lifestyles would not be disrupted by the business.

Mike Quilty described a recent vacation trip with his wife Mary during which they saw a Topgolf site with blaring music and bright lights.

"When we saw the Topgolf in South Carolina, I said, Oh, my God, it is in your face," Quilty said. "I said, wow, this is going to be in my neighborhood? I can't believe this."

Other residents expressed concern about Topgolf customers driving drunk as they leave the facility, which would be open until 2 a.m. on weekends. -- Carl MacGowan, Newsday, 8/20/2019

Back in December 2017, the Brookhaven Town board unanimously approved special permits and zoning changes to make way for Long Island's first Topgolf.  At the time, proponents cited Topgolf's entertainment value while residents complained that disruption from the site could devalue their homes. 

Unlike standard driving ranges, Topgolf features microchipped golf balls and arcade-style target areas for computer-scored games and contests, as well as dining and lounge-style amenities that appeal to non-golfers.  Climate-controlled hitting bays are rented by the hour and typically include televisions, WiFi and access to food and drinks.  Standard range features like lessons and clinics are also included.  Currently, the closest Topgolf facility to Long Island is located in Edison, New Jersey (pictured).

Brookhaven's planning board deferred a decision until its next meeting on September 16.

For more, see previous GOLI posts on the proposed Topgolf:

Plans in place to bring Long Island's first Topgolf location to Holtsville (12/23/2017)
No updates on planned Topgolf facility in Holtsville (12/20/2018)

[Photo courtesy of Topgolf]