Golf on Long Island

Long Island course reopenings

For sports lovers, March is the month when the world seems right again.  Spring Training brings baseball season into view and March Madness puts college basketball on center stage.  Pro golf heads east to Florida, CBS Masters commercials become more frequent, and golfers everywhere get the itch to start swinging again.

On Long Island, March is grand reopening month.  A handful of area courses that closed for the winter will cut the ribbon on the 2009 season in the coming weeks.  Some have given specific dates; others are more vague.  But no matter what, by the time April starts, temporary tees and greens will be gone and Long Island golf season will be in full swing.

COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Timber Point -- March 13
• Holbrook Country Club -- March 13
• Brentwood Country Club -- March 16
• Cedars -- April 1

    The following are set to reopen in mid-March:

• Bay Park
• Christopher Morley Park
• Eisenhower Red

County budget negotiations will not affect Nassau golf courses

Nassau County parks have recently found themselves caught in the crossfire of media statements and a part of ongoing negotiations between County Executive Tom Suozzi and local unions, as the two sides look for ways to navigate the local budget crisis without resorting to salary cuts or layoffs.  Suozzi stated frequently over the past few weeks that a number of public parks and recreational facilities will close if a budget agreement with the unions is not reached.

While the financial well-being of the county and its employees is certainly more important than golf, local players have no need to worry about the short-term future of Nassau's five municipal golf facilities -- Eisenhower Park, North Woodmere, Bay Park, Christopher Morley and Cantiague. 

A representative from the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation and Museums told Golf On Long Island in an e-mail this week that Suozzi and the unions are close to an agreement and that both sides have stressed that parks and facilities should remain open. 

"The golf courses are some of the most important parts of the Nassau County Parks system and would only close under a worst-case scenario," said the rep.  "Even if the county were to close some facilities, the golf courses would not be affected."

Bethpage, Eisenhower, Crab Meadow honored by Long Island Press readers

The Long Island Press wrapped up its fourth annual "Best Of Long Island" poll last month.  Each year the newspaper invites readers to vote on its website for their favorite Long Island restaurants, pizzerias, museums, shops, parks --- pretty much their favorite Long Island anything.  The 2009 poll included more than 175 "Best Of" categories.

In the Public Golf Course category, Press readers voted Bethpage the best on the Island for the second consecutive year.  Eisenhower Park and Crab Meadow make up the rest of the Island's top three -- in reality a top nine when you include all five Bethpage and all three Eisenhower courses.  The Press calls Bethpage Black a "work of art." 

"Five [Bethpage] courses of prime fairways, bunkers and greens," says the Press, "and you could play them all and pay less than some other private clubs charge for one round."

The local praise for Eisenhower Park golf comes a few months after the Red Course received four stars in Golf Digest's 2008-09 Best Places To Play listing.  Crab Meadow's eighth hole, a short par-5 with a lake guarding the green, is part of Newsday's Dream 18.

Golf On Long Island -- 2009 and beyond

Last spring I tried to find a convenient course for an after-work twilight round.  Stonebridge in Hauppauge fit my location and rate preferences, but I had a very limited knowledge of the course itself.  The only reason I even knew of Stonebridge at all was because of its listing as a "can't miss" course on a Long Island golf map.  So I set out on an Internet search for course details, but all that turned up were fragments and nuggets of information, scattered across a handful of web listings, that revealed little more than the yardage, the rating/slope, and contact info.  Similar searches of other courses later in the summer were equally fruitless. 

So instead of waiting around for a central Internet resource for Long Island golf to appear, where in-depth and timely information devoted solely to the Island's public golf could be found within a few mouse clicks, I decided to create it.  Six months ago today, GolfOnLongIsland.com introduced itself in cyberspace with a post entitled "Getting Started" and a "flyover" of the North Woodmere Park Golf Course, a fitting tribute to the place where I was first introduced to the sport.

In the time since, I've collaborated with Hicksville-based Golfing Magazine through the offseason by bringing to the site its Long Island Dream Club.  The site has been highlighted by East of NYC, a popular local food and culture site, and was recently featured by the Long Island Business News.  Despite having only two in-season golf months to work with since launching Golf On Long Island, I've covered in detail nearly 20 courses, in addition to updates on promotions, rates, course news, and off-course golf facilities.  Web presence and readership has steadily grown through the winter, a strong indicator of the site's potential in the 2009 season.

There are two main goals for the site in 2009.  One is to continue adding to the list of course flyovers and make it as complete and detailed as possible.  Part of that will involve maintaining and updating past flyovers as courses evolve and our collective golfing eye picks up a new quirk or tidbit it may have overlooked before.  The other goal is to add the voices of the Long Island golf industry to the site.  

All this is an effort to promote the wonderful golf everyone on Long Island has access to, in a way that keeps area golfers informed and is entertaining to read.

The ultimate goal remains the same -- to give scratch players through high-handicappers a resource to turn to for quality information about the great public golf facilities we have here on Long Island.

Long Island Dream Club: The Carltun at Eisenhower Park

At many Long Island golf courses, the day doesn't end once the 18th flag is back in the cup and the shoes are tossed in the trunk.  Some can host a relaxed post-round meal or a stylish night out just as smoothly as they can turn out a foursome every eight minutes.

The Carltun at Eisenhower Park offers both.  The Palm Court is the headliner, highly acclaimed and considered one of the best and most elegant restaurants on Long Island.  The Clubhouse caters more to the hungry golfer, a casual place to celebrate a round with a steak, a beer and a TV.  Golfing Magazine selected The Carltun as the restaurant facility most deserving of a spot in the Long Island Dream Club.

Golfing Magazine editor Terrence Jordan explains why:

"The Carltun at Eisenhower Park is the ideal dinner spot after a late afternoon round.  Indulge in a perfectly cooked filet mignon or one of the restaurant's super-fresh fish selections.  Top that off with a vintage wine from The Carltun's extensive wine cellar, and you have an ending to your round that's better than a birdie on 18."

(Long Island Dream Club photography by Jim Krajicek and Brian Elder)

Off-Course Destinations: Full Swing Golf at Baseball Plus, Freeport

Most visitors to Baseball Plus on February weekends are there to hone their swings for upcoming baseball and softball seasons.  For the past year, however, golfers have had a practice area for their own swing work, where the crack of a 5-iron and the thud of a simulator screen join the chorus of aluminum bat pings and pitching machine thumps.

Baseball Plus, just south of Merrick Road on Henry Street, brought Full Swing Golf to Freeport last year and jumped into the indoor golf world.  I took note of the simulator last winter when limbering up for softball season but it took a year for me to make it back with my Cleveland Launcher instead of my Worth Supercell.

Full Swing Golf simulators allow golfers to practice or virtually play some of the world's greatest courses in a system that impresses with its fast reaction time and sharp detail.  At Baseball Plus, spend a half-hour in the simulator for $20 or a full hour for $35.  Eighteen holes at Pinehurst No. 2 took me just under an hour.

There is a lot to take in when you face down your first virtual golf hole -- including wind speed, distance, yardage to landing areas, lie, and more -- but the realistic graphics stand out.  Pinehurst's famous crowned greens are clearly displayed in the distance as you set up an approach.  Shots hit the large screen and continue without interruption.  Strong shots and mishits all translate accurately.  Chip shots struck too thin skitter across the green.  Each swing concludes with a brief overview that includes shot distance, ball speed, launch angle, and yardage to pin.

It takes time to get the hang of some of the technology, especially putting.  There is a steep learning curve for the short game, an aspect of real golf dependent on feel and instinct.  But who cares?  You're playing Pinehurst No. 2 for 35 bucks, and your chips would probably roll off those greens in the real world anyway.

As the name indicates, Baseball Plus is strictly baseball -- there are no secondary comforts like TVs, lounges or refreshments like at other indoor golf centers.  Still, the staff is helpful and interested in your thoughts on the Full Swing system.

Poxabogue Golf upgrades on hold

Years ago, before I had much of a clue about what I was doing with a golf club, I woke up early while on a family vacation in Montauk and tried to get onto Montauk Downs as a single.  An outing kept me from playing there, which, in retrospect, was probably a good thing for my young golf ego.  Dejected, I decided to head west on Route 27 and take a shot on the golf course I had spotted on the way into Montauk.  That course, Poxabogue, was not quite Montauk Downs, but pleasant and fun nonetheless.  One thought I recall having was how much easier golf would be if 60-yard par-3s were more the norm.

Recently, the town-owned nine-hole course in the Hamptons has turned up in headlines out on the East End.  

Poxabogue was in line for a series of upgrades, the first of which centered on the safety and quality of the driving range and increased space for golf lessons, according to Joanne Pilgrim of the East Hampton Star.  Eventually, parking would be expanded and a new clubhouse and miniature golf course added.  The first phase of the $1.1 million multi-stage project was still set to launch as of late January, said Aaron Boyd of Hamptons.com.

But now the upgrades are on hold as the Towns of Southampton and East Hampton try to iron out financial issues and some haggling between town and village municipalities.  Area residents are also speaking out against any night lighting and mini golf.  The Star's Jennifer Landes reported that Southampton Town Supervisor Linda Kabot asked that upgrades focus primarily on safety and that future expansions be put off until the economic situation becomes more clear. 

Additional information on the previously planned upgrades can be found on 27east.com.

Long Island Dream Club: Harbor Links Pro Shop

So you showed up at the Long Island Dream Club with a dozen Titleists, and you left the 18th green at Cherry Creek Links with only three.  A full sleeve disappeared into the drink when you tried to pull a Roy McAvoy through the wind at Montauk Downs.  You tensed up in the face of Bethpage Black #4 and sliced a pair into the woods.  In the meantime you snagged your new Nike shirt on a thorn trying to coax one out of a bush and waterlogged your shoes while fishing another from the pond at Long Island National.  Looks like you'll need to restock.

Luckily the Dream Club is serviced by the Harbor Links pro shop.  As Golfing Magazine editor Terrence Jordan says, there may not be a better place on any Long Island course to load up on new equipment.  And while you're there, if your round at the Dream Club finally motivated you to practice with a purpose, Harbor Links is a great place to take lessons as well.

 "While there are many fantastic pro shops on Long Island, most of the best are confined to private clubs.  The pro shop at Harbor Links takes the cake with its wide selection of clubs and apparel, and it doesn't hurt that it's located at one of the best public courses in Nassau County."

(Long Island Dream Club photography by Jim Krajicek and Brian Elder)

Chip Shot: Spring Lake - Thunderbird

The Spring Lake Golf Club's Thunderbird Course is the main attraction at the 27-hole facility in Middle Island, offering a combination of challenging, strategic golf and a pleasant, park-like setting that cannot easily be topped on the Island.  It is a par-72 that measures 7,048 yards from the championship tees and 6,455 from the middle.  Tall trees frame and overlook long, lush fairways and enhance the course's serene and secluded atmosphere.  There is a very natural feel at Spring Lake -- my lasting image of both the Thunderbird and the nine-hole Sandpiper is simply their rich green fairways, a testament to the facility's conditioning and maintenance.

Water plays a limited role on the Thunderbird, with small ponds influencing play on only two or three holes.  (The facility's namesake lake is confined to the Sandpiper Course.)  The battle then is mainly with the course's mammoth greens, not only in finding the easiest way to navigate their tiers and turns, but also the best route to reach them. 

Many of the holes seem simple in design, but it becomes evident that the course is subtly working against you.  Trees all around are nice on the eyes, but bad for the nerves, especially with driver in hand.  A comfort zone may be hard to find as you pursue correct angles for scoring and avoid traps and blocked target lines.  On the 507-yard par-5 fourth, tee shots to the right of the fairway's center are cut off from any shot at the offset green, making a layup a necessity.  But even this conservative route is made dicey by a fairway bunker that protects the ideal landing area.  Falling prey to that trap, no matter what side of the fairway you are firing from, nets you a 60-yard bunker shot over another pair of traps.  

Standing out at Spring Lake are Thunderbird's tremendous greens.  It is vital that players take note of the hole locations when setting up for their approach shots.  Green depth is large enough in many cases to make a two- to three-club difference, and discovering once it's too late that your 8-iron to the front of the green left you with a twisting 80-footer to a backside pin will have you exasperated while you scramble for a three-putt.

The course doesn't wait to show off its big greens either.  The first three holes all sport putting surfaces that are more than 40 yards deep.  Taking aim at a right-side pin on the par-3 third is risky, as a bunker and a downslope with medium rough penalize misses in that direction, while pins on the left are guarded by another bunker and a minor water threat.  Later in the round, the green on the par-3 13th runs 50 yards deep, and its multi-tiered surface is a major obstacle to par for those who fail to play to the flag color.

In all, according to the yardage book, 12 of Thunderbird's 18 greens are more than 40 yards deep.  Not many of the putts are flat.  The moral of the story, again -- pay attention to the flag.

See also:  Flyover: Spring Lake - Sandpiper 9

Long Island Dream Club: Cherry Creek Links #18

Golfing Magazine put together a Long Island Dream Golf Club in its Fall 2008 issue, a collection of the area's finest 18 holes and its top off-course facilities.  Made up of ten private and eight public holes from as far west as Garden City and Great Neck, and as far east as Montauk and Greenport, the Dream Golf Club is a 6,881-yard monster from the tips that ends with the Island's only par-6.

This is the last of the Dream Club's eight public holes, but in the next two weeks, Golf On Long Island will highlight the Club's restaurant and pro shop, which will also feature commentary from Golfing Magazine editor Terrence Jordan and accompanying photos by Jim Krajicek and Brian Elder.

To view the Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here.

GOLFING MAGAZINE DREAM CLUB

#1:  Garden City Golf Club -- par-4, 302 yards
#2:  Sebonack Golf Club -- par-4, 454 yards
#3:  Colonial Springs CC -- par-4, 420 yards
#4:  Bethpage Black -- par-5, 530 yards
#5:  Timber Point (Blue) -- par-3, 207 yards
#6:  The Creek Club -- par-4, 465 yards
#7:  Montauk Downs -- par-5, 508 yards
#8:  Maidstone Club -- par-3, 150 yards
#9:  Garden City CC -- par-5, 525 yards
#10: Great Rock -- par-4, 444 yards
#11: Atlantic Golf Club -- par-3, 131 yards
#12: Long Island National -- par-4, 354 yards
#13: Fresh Meadow CC -- par-3, 188 yards
#14: Shinnecock Hills -- par-4, 444 yards
#15: Hamlet Willow Creek -- par-5, 545 yards
#16: Island's End Golf & CC -- par-3, 210 yards
#17: National Golf Links of America -- par-4, 360 yards

CHERRY CREEK LINKS - HOLE #18
644 / 612 / 572 yards
Handicap - 14
Dream Club Handicap - 5

"What would a round of Long Island golf be without the Island's only par-6?  This mammoth hole will bring even the heaviest of hitters to their knees.  If you're lucky enough to have the wind behind you, maybe a driver and two 3-woods will be enough to give you a shot at a low score.  Woe to those that miss the fairway off the tee, though -- they will face an uphill climb to save par.  This is probably the only hole on Long Island where a snowman isn't too bad!"