Golf on Long Island

Check out GOLI's end-of-2010s feature, "A New Decade of Long Island Golf"

With the 2010s now recent history, Golf On Long Island published a three-part series on "A New Decade of Long Island Golf," examining where local golf stands and some of the issues confronting the industry and area golfers as the 2020s get underway.

• Part 1 covers the changing landscape of Long Island public golf and some of the significant topics and themes from the previous decade and the new one ahead
• Part 2 looks at the task of developing new players as the area's young adults run low on time and leave Long Island behind
• Part 3 examines how local public courses have struggled to market themselves and appeal to players in the age of social media

Bethpage still in recovery mode following Isaias

More than a week since Tropical Storm Isaias powered through the northeast, Bethpage State Park remains in recovery mode, with the Yellow Course and part of the Blue still shut due to extensive tree damage.

In the hours following last Tuesday's storm, fallen trees were a common sight across Long Island communities, a good indication that areas like Bethpage -- no stranger to post-storm tree damage -- would be heavily impacted.  The park slowly reopened its courses over the next few days, but Yellow and Blue were hardest hit.

"All tree damage and hanging branches," says Andrew Wilson, Bethpage's director of agronomy.  "We're working our way through the courses."

Slowing down the recovery process is regular maintenance and mowing that can't be interrupted even by a powerful storm.  "Grass doesn't get the hint, so we do have to keep up mowing," Wilson says.  "We can't let tees, fairways and greens go a week without it."

There is no update yet on when the Yellow and Blue front nine will reopen.  Stay tuned for news.

Several courses remain closed due to storm recovery

A handful of Long Island's public golf courses remain closed as a result of the widespread tree damage and power outages caused by Tropical Storm Isaias, which blew through the area with powerful winds on Tuesday.

Most notably, the five courses at Bethpage State Park, which is prone to fallen trees amid tropical storms and hurricanes, are closed Thursday for cleanup. 

The following courses are closed Thursday or until further notice:

• Bethpage
• Brentwood Country Club
• Glen Cove
• Smithtown Landing
• Sunken Meadow
• Town of Oyster Bay

Swan Lake in Manorville is open despite loss of power.  Transactions are cash only and golf carts might not be available.

Contact courses directly for the latest updates or questions regarding canceled tee times.

Bethpage Black to close for NYS Open in late August

The annual New York State Open will be held at Bethpage State Park's Black Course next month after receiving the green light from state government to play the tournament amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, the Black Course will be closed to the public from Monday, August 24 through Thursday, August 27.  The course will reopen on Friday, August 28 unless tourney play is pushed back an extra day due to weather.

The other four courses will remain on a regular schedule.

Contact the park at (516) 249-0700 for schedule updates or changes.

Long Island's future Topgolf taking shape in Holtsville

Just weeks before the world was turned upside down by Covid-19, Topgolf quietly publicized specific details about its planned Long Island location.  Included in that announcement was a broad target opening date of early 2021.

Whether or not that exact timeline still stands (the company did not respond to requests for a schedule update), here in early summer 2020, after several years of rumors and governmental hurdles, there is a structure in Holtsville that's starting to resemble a Topgolf facility.  The shell of the main building and its three driving-range tiers have been erected about a 1/4 mile west of Nicolls Road.

Topgolf broke ground on its new Holtsville facility in January, and in mid-February a company press release offered golfers a glimpse of New York's first Topgolf venue -- 102 bays spread out on three tiers, live-music events, year-round lessons, upscale dining and more.  On the economic side, Topgolf expects to bring 500 jobs to central Suffolk County.

From the press release:

"Topgolf's mission centers around building and connecting communities and we have been working very hard with the Suffolk County community to design a custom venue that fits their needs including added vegetation, updated fencing and more," said Topgolf Chief Executive Officer Dolf Berle. "We're looking forward to not only entertaining Guests here, but also being a good neighbor to the community through volunteer projects, fundraising efforts and other events geared toward giving back to local organizations.  We truly can't wait to open our first venue here in the state of New York."

Topgolf also added Long Island to its list of "Coming Soon" locations, complete with photo renderings and other info.  Topgolf Holtsville will be located at 5231 Express Drive North, just off the Long Island Expressway near exit 62.

Kids play free at Spring Lake this summer

Spring Lake Golf Club is reaching out with a deal that offers two benefits in the pandemic summer of 2020 -- it gets the kids out of the house and you onto the golf course.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays in July and August, kids under the age of 14 play for free with one paying adult.  The special covers nine holes on Spring Lake's Sandpiper Course, home to the facility's namesake lake and signature hole.

Call the course at (631) 924-5115 for additional info and booking.  Presently, all rounds at Spring Lake must be booked in advance -- no walk-up tee times are available.  The pro shop and restaurant are open with masks required.

For more information on Spring Lake's Sandpiper Course, check out the course flyover.

Nine courses participating in Golfing Mag's 2020 "Free Golf" Program

As the unique, contact-free Long Island golf season of 2020 hums along, a familiar figure of pre-pandemic normalcy -- Golfing Magazine's "Free Golf" certificate -- makes its way to area mailboxes once again.

Golfing Mag's 2020 Free Golf program includes nine Long Island golf courses, ranging from nine-hole munis to the region's most scenic waterfront layouts.  For $54, subscribers to the magazine's annual promotion are entitled to "free" green fees for one round at each of the program's participating courses.  It also includes a one-year digital subscription to Hicksville-based Golfing Magazine.

This year's Free Golf certificates cover rounds at Brentwood Country Club, Gull Haven Golf Course in Central Islip, Holbrook Country Club, Island's End Golf & Country Club in Greenport, Mill Pond in Medford, Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa, Rolling Oaks in Miller Place, The Golf Club at Middle Bay in Oceanside and Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai.

Taking advantage of the promotion is simple -- bring your Free Golf certificate with you to the course and all you pay is a cart fee (and reservation fee, in some instances).  The certificate is honored only once at each course, at designated times during the week and on Sundays.  Availability varies by course.  (Specific terms for each course are listed on the certificate and can be viewed at the Golfing Magazine website.)  Be sure to double-check all terms and conditions when reserving your round.  Tee times must be made in advance.

As an added bonus for those who travel across the Northeast, certificates are also valid at dozens of golf courses across upstate New York and New England. 

Players can subscribe throughout the season for only $54.  Certificates are valid until December 31, 2020.  To subscribe online, visit www.GolfingMagLI.com.  And for descriptions of the participating Long Island courses, click the links above to read the course flyovers.

Bay Park, Merrick open for play

The last remaining Long Island public golf courses to start their pandemic-era spring seasons have finally opened for play.

After an extended offseason, Bay Park Golf Course, a Nassau County muni, and the Town of Hempstead's Merrick Road Park Golf Course are open for pre-booked rounds only -- a distinct change for two courses that have long been strictly walk-up. 

Tee times at Bay Park can be reserved on the Nassau County Parks website or by phone at (516) 571-7242.  Rounds must be prepaid by credit card.

Tee times are available at Merrick on the Town of Hempstead website.

[NOTE: Pitch-&-putt golf courses within municipal parks are subject to park openings.  Robert Moses and Cedar Beach are open; Nickerson Dunes (Nickerson Beach) is unconfirmed.  Also, Great Rock Golf Club has still not reopened and appears to be permanently closed.]

All Long Island public golf courses open except two Nassau municipal courses

With tomorrow's scheduled reopening of Harbor Links' Executive Course, all but two of Long Island's public golf courses are back open for play in a 2020 spring season where tee times are scarce and social-distance regulations are firm.

Bay Park and Merrick Road Park, municipal nine-hole courses owned by Nassau County and the Town of Hempstead, respectively, are the last holdouts.  (A third still-closed course, Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River, might be out of business.)

Park personnel confirmed on Friday that the golf courses remain closed.  When asked about a scheduled opening date, an employee at Merrick simply answered, "We're not open."  A phone message stated the course is closed "until further notice."

A representative at the Nassau County parks department said by e-mail that Bay Park's golf course is expected to open sometime next week upon approval of seasonal personnel.  However, an employee in the park's main office said she is unaware of any planned opening date.

The rest of the Nassau County munis -- Eisenhower Park's three courses, plus Cantiague, Christopher Morley and North Woodmere -- reopened in late April.  Hempstead Town's other municipal course at Lido Golf Club opened then as well.

Coronavirus Update: Motor carts permitted at county, town courses

Motor carts for single riders only will be available as soon as Saturday at some Long Island county and town golf courses, according to Newsday's Jeff Williams.

The Suffolk County municipal courses at Bergen Point, Indian Island, Timber Point and West Sayville will allow the use of motor carts for golfers age 65 and over, and disabled players of all ages, beginning this Saturday. 

Town-owned golf courses at Brentwood Country Club, Holbrook Country Club, Gull Haven, Mill Pond, Rolling Oaks and Smithtown Landing will also permit single-rider carts under Suffolk County's guidelines.

In Nassau County, all players can rent single-rider carts beginning Monday, May 11, at Eisenhower Park's Blue and White courses.

Following the reopening of golf courses in late April, seniors and players with disabilities complained that New York State's walking-only restriction prevented them from returning to the course.  Under the state's revised business guidelines, as a non-essential business, golf courses can allow play with only security and maintenance personnel on site.  With no golf employees, facilities like the clubhouse, pro shop and presumably a cart shed are to remain closed.

However, municipal facilities are exempt from the state's essential and non-essential classifications.  There is no word yet on when non-municipal public courses will be able to rent motor carts.

Business regulations are expected to be loosened when the state's "NYS On Pause" shutdown expires on May 15.

Great Rock silent as Long Island's 2020 golf season revs up

After abruptly ending its 2019 playing season last October, Great Rock Golf Club spent the rest of the fall e-mailing and posting "See You Next Year!" messages to Long Island golfers, a cheery and optimistic retreat from a season littered with tales of weedy bunkers, scorched greens and barren facilities. 

Now, next year is here, and Great Rock is silent.

Long Island golf courses are packed with pandemic-weary golfers this spring, but no one is quite sure what is going on in Wading River, where Great Rock sits with a neglected 18, dormant social media and a disconnected phone line.  There are rumors of a 2019 sale and scant evidence that the course plans to open at all in 2020.

Once regarded for pristine grounds, most notably its ultra-fast greens, Great Rock fell into serious disrepair in 2019.  So poor were conditions that dozens of Long Island golfers posted reviews and photos on platforms like Golf Advisor detailing an essentially abandoned golf course with crabgrass-covered fairways and bunkers, bare greens and unmowed rough.  The recently renovated on-site bistro, Pure North Fork, did not reopen during the season.  A few days short of Halloween, Great Rock suddenly closed for the year with little notice.

As the season progressed, the course responded to online player complaints with canned apologies and vague promises of future improvements.  Then, following its closure, Great Rock started a heavy "See You Next Year!" marketing blitz on its Facebook page and mailing list.  All communications ceased in January.  Its most recent post on January 25 promoted leagues and outings in 2020.

If Great Rock is indeed closed for good, it would be yet another blow to the East End public golf scene.  Tallgrass is now covered from head to toe with solar panels, and Calverton Links -- the last course to close early amid sale rumors and never return -- is an overgrown playground for paintball and other outdoor sports.

[PICTURED: Great Rock's downhill ninth in brighter times.]