Golf on Long Island

Golf On Long Island -- 2010 and beyond

The month of February has been a miserable one for Long Island golfers.  Snow storms completely washed out the mid-winter golf season, and more threaten to be a major disruption in the weeks ahead.  The only consolation is that March and April signal rebirth on the Long Island golf scene.  Golf On Long Island readers are already stretching their keyboard fingers in advance of the 2010 golf season; by the time Sunday at Augusta arrives on April 11, Long Island golfers will be ready to stampede to the nearest tee. 

Golf On Long Island is preparing for its second full season as the only Long Island golf website that provides original content devoted solely to public golf in Nassau and Suffolk.  Eighteen months ago, the site launched with the goal of becoming a trusted resource for local golfers interested in learning about all the fantastic courses they are able to play.  Since then, Golf On Long Island has visited nearly all of the Island's public courses, provided detailed course "flyovers" for more than 40 and snapped thousands of photos to document every fairway and green along the way. 

This season, Golf On Long Island will continue to give readers timely updates on news, promotions and course conditions while providing in-depth analysis on the rest of Long Island's great nine- and 18-hole layouts.  To ensure that readers don't miss a post, Golf On Long Island debuted its own Facebook page (become a fan by clicking on the link in the sidebar) earlier this month that will allow fans to receive updates instantaneously.

Visitors will also continue to find that the only businesses and services promoted on the site are those relevant and accessible to Long Island's public golfers.  Since last winter, Golf On Long Island has built relationships with the Timber Point Golf Course in Great River, the Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River and South Shore Golf in Oakdale.  Additional partnerships are on the horizon for 2010.  This benefits readers through advanced word on course updates, tournaments and promotions.

Golf On Long Island remains partners with Golfing Magazine and just completed its overview of the mag's Long Island Dream Golf Club.  Keep an eye out for updates on the magazine's annual Free Golf Program. 

Overall, this site is designed to provide Long Island golfers with an unmatched web resource dedicated to the 65+ public courses in Nassau and Suffolk, and to promote the wonderful golf everyone on Long Island has access to in a way that is informative, engaging and entertaining.

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

Long Island Dream Club: Blackwells Restaurant at the Great Rock Golf Club

Long Island golf courses strive more and more to keep your group on the grounds for as long as possible.  One way to accomplish that is to make sure the day ends with a burger in the clubhouse rather than a bogey on 18.

Blackwells Restaurant is an upscale, Zagat-rated steakhouse at the Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River.  It specializes in steaks and chops and is one of the finest dining destinations in the Riverhead area.  The Tap Room offers golfers a lighter lunch menu with happy-hour specials and featured beers on tap. 

Golfing Magazine selected Blackwells as the restaurant facility most deserving of a spot in its Long Island Dream Club of 2009:

"With rich mahogany accents, subtle lighting and sophisticated service, the dining room at Blackwells is as classy as they come, and is a perfect match for the chef's fine steaks and seafood.  If you're just coming off the course and want a more relaxed atmosphere, there's the adjacent tap room as well as a large outdoor patio with a stand-alone fireplace and great views of players coming up the 9th and 18th holes."

Long Island golf course reopenings

It may be hard to believe at the moment, but some of Long Island's seasonal golf courses are only three weeks away from their target date for a 2010 grand reopening.  Of course, that date has a nasty habit of getting pushed back when residual snow and ice and overall nasty weather fail to cooperate, but it's still something for area golfers to look forward to. 

March is known around the sports world for Spring Training, the NCAA Tournament and CBS Masters commercials.  On Long Island, it's the month when clubs begin to find their way out of the basement and golfers start air-swinging their drivers with a little more urgency during down time at the office.

A handful of area courses that closed for the winter will reopen for play between mid-March and mid-April.  Some provide specific dates; others are more vague.  But once April starts, temporary tees and greens will slowly disappear and Long Island golf season will be in full swing.

*All dates listed below are subject to change.  Call the courses directly for updated dates and times.

COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Swan Lake -- March 6
• Crab Meadow -- March 9
  
• Timber Point -- March 12
• Holbrook Country Club -- March 17
• Brentwood Country Club -- March 17
• Bethpage Green -- March 14
• Bethpage Red -- April 1
• Bethpage Black -- April 13
  

    The following courses will reopen in mid-March:

• Bay Park
• Christopher Morley Park
• Eisenhower Red

The information above was updated on March 9, 2010.

Long Island Dream Club: Lido GC #16

Golfing Magazine put together its 2009 Long Island Dream Golf Club in its recent Fall 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, the Dream Golf Club is a 7,219-yard par-73.  With holes like the blind-carry 16th at Lido and the split-fairway sixth at Harbor Links, the 2009 Dream Club demands smart strategy and precise execution from the public golfer.

Every Monday through the winter, Golf On Long Island will feature one public hole from the Dream Golf Club along with commentary from Golfing Magazine editors.  Photographs are provided by Golf On Long Island where available.  To view the Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here. 

And to review Golfing Magazine's 2008 edition of the Dream Club, click here.

GOLFING MAGAZINE'S 2009 DREAM GOLF CLUB

LIDO GOLF CLUB -- HOLE #16
487 / 430 / 405 yards
Designed by Robert Trent Jones

"This windy layout between the bay and ocean puts fear into every golfer on the 16th tee.  First, you drive to a horseshoe-shaped landing area surrounded by water.  Big hitters must stay right or risk running out of land.  Unfortunately, the reward for a big tee shot is a second shot that's at least 200 yards over water.  Short hitters can stay left, but then must either lay up to 160 yards or fly the ball 50 yards past that spot to stay dry.  A waste bunker behind the green keeps some long shots out of the water, but not all.  The large green slopes hard from back left to front right."

Golf On Long Island provided a flyover of the course in September 2008:

"You might recognize the 16th hole from Newsday’s Dream 18.  It is a par-5 that demands that you hit (blindly, at times) two separate islands.  The slabs of land are guarded by water, weeds and nerves.  Your choice off the tee greatly influences your decision on the second.  Hit it right and go at the green; hit it left and you’re laying up; or hit it straight and you’re in the water.  Lido rookies likely won’t have a clue how to navigate it – just hope for a playing partner well-versed in Lido #16."

To read more about Lido, check out the course flyover.

Golf fees may rise as New York State threatens to close parks, slash services

Long Islanders pining for the warmth of spring and summer as they dig out from the blizzard of 2010 received some bad news Thursday when a Newsday report (subscription required) by Bill Bleyer revealed that New York State is threatening to close up to ten state parks on Long Island and either raise fees or cut services at many more. 

For area golfers already dealing with the loss of several weeks of the winter golf season underneath the heavy blanket of snow, the news comes as an added kick in the shins.  The state park system includes two of Long Island's cornerstone golf facilities at Bethpage and Montauk Downs, as well as nine-hole courses at Sunken Meadow and Sag Harbor and pitch-and-putts at Jones Beach and Robert Moses.

Though specific rate changes have not yet been announced, the Newsday report quoted a source at the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation who confirmed that increased golf fees are under consideration statewide.  None of the golf courses are located at parks targeted for closure.

Perhaps worse news for golfers, the state's proposed service cuts include reduced course maintenance at Bethpage, according to Newsday.  Golfweek ranked Bethpage Black #1 and Bethpage Red #20 on its 2009 list of America's Best Municipal Courses.  Montauk Downs appeared on the list at #38. 

Disgruntled Long Islanders threatened with the loss of their state parks and higher fees for golf courses, beaches and other recreational services can contact the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation at (518) 474-0456, or call the Long Island regional office at (631) 669-1000.

Long Island Dream Club: Eisenhower Red #15

Golfing Magazine put together its 2009 Long Island Dream Golf Club in its recent Fall 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, the Dream Golf Club is a 7,219-yard par-73.  With holes like the blind-carry 16th at Lido and the split-fairway sixth at Harbor Links, the 2009 Dream Club demands smart strategy and precise execution from the public golfer.

Every Monday through the winter, Golf On Long Island will feature one public hole from the Dream Golf Club along with commentary from Golfing Magazine editors.  Photographs are provided by Golf On Long Island where available.  To view the Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here. 

And to review Golfing Magazine's 2008 edition of the Dream Club, click here.

GOLFING MAGAZINE'S 2009 DREAM GOLF CLUB

EISENHOWER PARK, RED COURSE -- HOLE #15
454 / 402 / 307 yards
Designed by Devereux Emmet / Robert Trent Jones

"The [former] host of a Champions Tour event, the course's 15th hole always makes the home stretch interesting.  There's nothing daunting off the tee, but stress builds with the approach shot.  Short hitters must contend with water that crosses the fairway 20 yards before the green.  For bombers, the water's not a factor, but they face a downhill lie to an elevated green.  Bunkers wrap the whole right side of the green, plus part of the left side too.  A ridge running diagonally through this big green makes three putts possible."

Golf On Long Island provided a flyover of the course in July 2009:

"Its serenity is matched by its history.  Eisenhower Red was originally the #4 course at the Salisbury Golf Club, a five-course complex that was once dubbed the "Sports Center of America."  Famed architect Devereux Emmet designed the course in 1914, and 12 years later, it hosted a PGA Championship won by the legendary Walter Hagen.  It was the only original Salisbury course to survive the club's downturn after the Depression and World War II, and was later joined by the new White and Blue Courses in the 1950s."

To read more about Eisenhower Red, check out the course flyover.

Mill Pond Golf Course reconfigures layout for 2010 season

The Mill Pond Golf Course in Medford will look exactly the same to Long Island golfers when the winter breaks this season, but for those who settle comfortably into routine, it will have a significantly different feel.  Management used the down time earlier this offseason to break in the course's new 18-hole configuration.

Golfers will now begin their rounds from a more traditional tee -- the one right behind the clubhouse.  The former #10 is now Mill Pond's opening hole, and what used to be the back nine is now the front.  Previously, a round at Mill Pond started on the south side of Mill Road and golfers did not return to the clubhouse side of the course until the par-3 eighth.

Today, the new back nine begins with the holes formerly known as #8 and #9 before players head through the Mill Road tunnel to complete their round on the old starting seven.

Confused?  Thankfully management has already posted an updated scorecard.

Golf On Long Island correspondent Rob Dimino feels the new configuration makes for a better finish.

"The old 18th (now #9) was a pretty nondescript closing hole," he says.  "I like the idea of finishing with a par-5."

Seasoned Mill Pond veteran Jeff Hulbert of Lynbrook is looking forward to a little more early success on the new course layout.  "I always thought the back nine was much easier than the front so with this configuration it will be more favorable to a strong start," he says.

Share your thoughts on the new Mill Pond configuration either by e-mail or in the comments section below.

Long Island Dream Club: Mill Pond #10

Golfing Magazine put together its 2009 Long Island Dream Golf Club in its recent Fall 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, the Dream Golf Club is a 7,219-yard par-73.  With holes like the blind-carry 16th at Lido and the split-fairway sixth at Harbor Links, the 2009 Dream Club demands smart strategy and precise execution from the public golfer.

Every Monday through the winter, Golf On Long Island will feature one public hole from the Dream Golf Club along with commentary from Golfing Magazine editors.  Photographs are provided by Golf On Long Island where available.  To view the Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here. 

And to review Golfing Magazine's 2008 edition of the Dream Club, click here.

GOLFING MAGAZINE'S 2009 DREAM GOLF CLUB

MILL POND -- HOLE #10
381 / 368 / 302 yards
Designed by William (Buddy) Johnson

"It's neither a long nor crooked hole, but the 35-foot drop from tee to fairway shows you the lake covering the entire left side; you have to carry your drive at least 200 yards if you hit it the slightest bit left.  It's tempting to play the right side, but mounds with high fescue make sure there's no easy out.  If you play a straight tee ball, it's a short approach shot but with a bunker front right, plus a creek all along the left boundary.  The large green has an elevated tier in the back third, so don't be long."

Golf On Long Island provided a flyover of the course in December 2008:

"Players on holes 10 and 11 find the same pond and tiny creek waiting for them as they prepare to drive off each of the elevated teeboxes.  The drink plays a limited role on #10, a 368-yard par-4, but the creek that traces a thin line between the 10th and 11th fairways can absorb an unlucky bounce."

To read more about Mill Pond, check out the course flyover.

[NOTE:  The Mill Pond Golf Course reconfigured its hole layout in December 2009.  The former #10 is now Mill Pond's opening hole.]