Golf on Long Island

Sumpwams Creek to host Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition Golf Challenge on October 25

Have you ever thought that a clean iron shot on a local par-3 course could put a $20,000 check in your pocket?  If so, well...you have quite an imagination. 

But on Monday, October 25, Long Islanders will have an opportunity to win a $20,000 grand prize at the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition's 2010 Golf Skill Challenge Classic at the Sumpwams Creek Golf Course in Babylon.  All you have to do is bury a hole-in-one at the course's 180-/158-yard ninth hole.

The Challenge is a stroke-play competition that includes contests like Closest to the Pin, Beat the Pro and Straightest Shot at each of the course's nine holes.  All participants will compete for low gross score awards (male and female) and are automatically eligible for three $500 hole-in-one prizes plus the $20,000 grand prize. 

Three separate shotgun starts are scheduled for 8:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.  Entry fee for the Challenge is $60 per player ($75 after October 15).  To participate in the individual skill competitions, purchase a $25 Challenge Pass before the round or pay $5 per hole on the course.  All prize winners will be announced at a Founders' Award Reception after the event at Lily Flanagan's Pub in Babylon Village.

To register for the event or participate as a sponsor, download the registration form at the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition website or call (631) 893-4110.

All proceeds from the Challenge will benefit the Coalition's patient and community services.  Founded in 1993, the BBCC is a non-profit volunteer organization that provides an array of patient-support services, education and advocacy programs.  For more information on the BBCC, visit www.babylonbreastcancer.org.

Sumpwams Creek is a 1,156-yard course wedged between Route 231 and the Long Island Railroad.  Its nine par-3s range from 90 to 180 yards.  Three holes play around the perimeter of a small pond. 

To read more about Sumpwams Creek, check out the course flyover.

October is aeration month at Bethpage

Four of the five courses at Bethpage State Park will be temporarily closed for aeration during the month of October.  (The Yellow Course was already aerated in August.)

The Black Course will be the first to close.  Aeration is scheduled for Monday, October 4 and Tuesday, October 5.  The rest of the park's aeration schedule is as follows:

Blue Course:  closed October 12 and 13
Red Course:  closed October 19 and 20
Green Course:  closed October 25 and 26

Bethpage Black goes dark every Monday for maintenance, though it will remain open for play on Columbus Day, October 11.  The course will close instead on Tuesday, October 12.

For updated course conditions and availability, contact the Bethpage park or reservation hotline.

Observations: Brentwood Country Club

The hot, steamy, rain-free days of the Summer of 2010 delivered a beating to lawns and gardens across Long Island and the small, mostly flat greens of the Brentwood Country Club.  Bare brown patches dotted a handful of putting surfaces around the short par-72 on our last visit.

Luckily, if you're teeing it up at Brentwood, you're probably not there for manicured conditions or a smooth roll on the greens -- instead, you're there for the open driving holes and a string of pint-sized par-4s.  The eighth hole is the first of six consecutive par-4s that, with the exception of the 386-yard 12th, all play less than 360 yards from the tips and 310 from the middle.

Brentwood's fairways seemed to have survived the hot temps and are in nice shape entering the Fall.  Off to their sides, the thin rough gives way to hard, dried dirt in some spots.  Considering Brentwood's bunkers have no rakes, most traps were surprisingly smooth.

Brentwood and its sister course at Holbrook are currently offering Early Twilight and Senior Specials.  For more on Brentwood, check out the course flyover.

Hamlet Willow Creek to aerate October 13

Putts at Hamlet Willow Creek Golf & Country Club will roll smoothly and speedily over the first few weeks of the Fall golf season.  Greens will not be aerated until Wednesday, October 13 -- which means now is a great time to challenge the immaculate Mount Sinai course, especially with $39-49 weekday afternoon rates on the table.

Opened for play in 2005, Hamlet Willow Creek offers Florida-style golf and scenery on Suffolk County's north shore.  It features nearly 100 sand traps, plus a network of water hazards that influence play on a dozen holes.  The par-5 ninth and par-5 15th were both named to previous editions of Golfing Magazine's Long Island Dream Club.

For more on Hamlet Willow Creek, check out the course flyover.

Tallgrass sheds "Country Club" title, now Tallgrass Golf Course

Change is afoot in Shoreham:  The golf course formerly known as the Tallgrass Country Club is now, simply, the Tallgrass Golf Course. 

In an effort to promote its public status, Tallgrass has shed the "Country Club" portion of its title and any air of privacy that has come with it.

"By changing our name to Tallgrass Golf Course," says general manager Phil Tita, "we feel it better communicates that we are a public-access facility open to golfers of all skill levels as well as businesses interested in hosting outings and catered events."

The course also recently upgraded its cart fleet, redesigned its website and created Facebook and Twitter pages to announce special rates and facility updates.  

Tallgrass is ranked #8 in New York State in Golfweek's 2010 Best Courses You Can Play listing.  For more information about the layout, check out the course flyover.

September closings at Bethpage Black

The Black Course at Bethpage State Park will be closed on Thursday, September 16 and Tuesday, September 21 for local competitions.  As usual, the course will be closed on Mondays for scheduled maintenance, though it will remain open for play on Monday, September 27.

Call the park or reservation hotline for the most updated course and closure information.

Fourth Annual Pink Rock Golf Classic, October 7 at Great Rock GC

The Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River is once again inviting Long Island golfers to "take a swing in the fight against breast cancer" when it hosts the fourth annual Pink Rock Classic on Thursday, October 7.  All proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Fund For Uninsured Women at the Fortunato Breast Health Center at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson.

Participation in the event is $275 for an individual and $1,000 for a foursome.  The day at Great Rock will begin with a hot breakfast buffet and a 10 a.m. shotgun start.  Save room for a BBQ lunch during the round and a cocktail hour and grand buffet dinner following the action.  An awards ceremony, live music and silent auction will also be part of the festivities. 

Those who can't make it to Great Rock on event day can still raise money for breast cancer patients and their families through sponsorships or donations.  Last year's Classic raised more than $65,000.  All tournament information can be found at the Pink Rock Classic website or call (631) 476-2723.  The rain date for the event is Tuesday, October 12.

Great Rock is a delightful course for shotmakers with the precision and accuracy to navigate the tight twists and turns over the slopes of Suffolk County's north shore.  Greens notorious for their high speed make players work hard to stay on target.  The tenth hole, a par-4 with an uphill climb nearly 450 yards long, is rated among Long Island's finest holes by both Newsday and Golfing Magazine.

For more information on Great Rock, check out the course flyover.

Observations: Bethpage - Red Course

Rob visited the Red Course at Bethpage State Park earlier this summer.  Here he discusses some of the Red's more notable holes and features.

[For the full course overview, check out the Bethpage Red flyover.]

Written by Rob Dimino

The fairway of the Red’s famous first hole was closed when we played, turning a normally daunting par-4 into a just-as-daunting uphill par-3.  Imagine hitting an absolutely perfect drive to that spot – about 200 yards out – from the regular tee, then visualize how hard that hole typically plays under normal conditions.

Par-5 fifth is a tight tee shot with a landing area that pinches in around 250-300 yards out.  Stay left – a miss to the right requires a punch-out to the 150-yard marker.  Plenty of sand before and around the green.  #6 is a short dogleg left that should only be an iron/hybrid off the tee.  It features a tough green – kind of a reverse bowl that is very easy to miss.  Landing too far left off the tee, depending on the distance, will force you to go over trees for the approach.

Without a doubt, I’d say #9 is the toughest hole on the course.  When we last played the tees were at about 450 – into the wind.  A tree and some bunkers on the left threaten drives that attempt to cut the corner.  Hit the ball straight out and you risk overshooting the fairway.  You’ll more than likely lay up on the second shot. 

The 13th is an awesome hole – split fairways with mounding, fescue and a ton of sand in between.  Safer tee shot is to the left but leaves a much tougher approach.  If you’re bold and execute a shot to the right fairway, the second shot becomes much easier, but there is OB all down the right side beyond the rough.  A testy second shot awaits from either fairway.

#15 is the second toughest hole on course.   Major-league long, 450-plus with a right dogleg.  Try to fade it too much and you’re into and under the trees.  Hit it straight through the dogleg and there’s little buffer zone between the fairway and super fescue.  A tree hangs overhead near the green and can cause issues on the slightly uphill approach.

#17 is a mid-range par 3 that plays around 150-160.  Very tricky hole – from the tees it looks like a slightly downhill shot.  But it’s actually uphill; you can tell when you look back at the tee from the flag.  I always see shots hit short here and you can guess where the only bunker is – a long front trap that spans the entire width of the green.  The key is to always use one more club than you think.

The 18th would be my favorite hole on the course if it didn’t always turn me into Phil Mickelson at Winged Foot.  It plays around 400 yards, but the tee shot is so severely downhill that you can reach the green with iron-iron, in theory. 

Advantage:  Take the two bunkers that pinch the fairway out of play. 

Disadvantage:  Leave yourself 190 or so to an uphill green that is guarded by a front bunker contoured to set up a very difficult bunker shot. 

A 3-wood off the tee obviously shortens the second shot but it really brings those tough fairway bunkers into play.  Driver, if hit solidly, clears those traps, but it’s no picnic in the rough and fescue beyond.

All in all a great closing hole and one of the best par-4s at Bethpage.

Fall Twilight Specials at Brentwood, Holbrook Country Clubs

The Brentwood and Holbrook Country Clubs are once again arming local golfers with money-saving coupons good for the entire Fall season.  The Town of Islip courses are offering two specials -- one each for riders and walkers.

For $42, play either course after 11:00 a.m. with cart and reservation fees included.  If you'd rather walk 18, tee off after 1 p.m. for just $24.  To receive the special rate, be sure to bring a printed coupon from either course website on the day of play and reserve an online tee time for each player.  

The deal is valid six days a week at each course (Brentwood is closed on Mondays; Holbrook on Tuesdays).  Also check the course websites for ongoing senior and foursome specials.

For a detailed description of Brentwood, check out the course flyover.