Golf on Long Island

Vote today for Bethpage Black in Round 2 of Golf Digest fan poll

The first round turned out to be a squeaker.  Riding high on the recent announcement that The Barclays will be heading to Bethpage next summer, the Black Course might be primed for a more resounding victory in Round 2 of Golf Digest's Fans' Choice poll.

Voting is open at GolfDigest.com for the second-round matchup between Bethpage Black and The Harvester in the magazine's NCAA Tournament-style competition to determine the fans' pick for America's Greatest public golf course.  (The mag already made its pick when it released its 100 Greatest Public Courses of 2011-12.)  The #2-seed Black Course edged #15 Hawktree Golf Club (Bismarck, ND) 225 to 209 last month.

The Harvester of Rhodes, Iowa features 110-feet of elevation changes and stretches 7,340 yards from the tips.  It won't be a walk in the heavily wooded park for Long Island's local legend, however.  Two famous #2 seeds -- Pinehurst No. 2 and Bandon Dunes -- have already been shown the door in the second round.  (And #2 Wolf Creek was crushed in the opener.)

Check the tournament bracket anytime at Golf Digest's Fans' Choice page -- you'll need a Facebook account to cast a vote and follow the live tally.  You can vote for Bethpage today through Sunday, July 3.

Newsday: Bethpage Black to host The Barclays in 2012 and 2016

The Barclays golf tournament is coming to Bethpage next August, according to a Newsday report.

Newsday's Yancey Roy wrote Tuesday afternoon that the PGA Tour and New York State have come to an agreement that will bring The Barclays to the Black Course at Bethpage State Park in 2012 and 2016.  The course hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009.

The Barclays is the first event of the annual FedEx Cup playoffs.  This year's tournament will be held at the Plainfield Country Club in Edison, New Jersey from August 23-28.

Observations: Pine Ridge Golf Club

One of the Pine Ridge Golf Club's most formidable holes went under the knife for a little cosmetic surgery last season.  Pine Ridge's 11th -- the beginning of an arduous four-hole, 2,060-yard stretch of the back nine -- now sports less sand than it did in the past.  But don't be fooled into thinking it plays any easier.

A river of sand that previously paralleled the final 100 yards of the hole is now a five-trap chain separated by standard rough.  Players that miss to the right of the fairway now have a chance of finding their ball on grass instead of being stranded on the beach with a difficult, diagonal recovery shot. 

The same goes for misses around the green.  Where players once had almost no margin of error to the right of the pin, the traps are now recessed a bit farther away from the surface and gaps between them provide some grassy relief.

Of course, there's a bit of a catch.  The formerly uninterrupted trap wasn't all bad -- it doubled as the last sandy line of defense before the pond on the hole's right side.  Now, unlucky players might have to watch helplessly as errant shots skitter through the new rough and into the drink.

The Coram course continues to impress with its rustic layout and pristine conditions.  For more on Pine Ridge, check out the course flyover.

Sign up for 2nd annual Painting For Cures Golf Outing, August 13 at Lido GC

After a successful debut outing held last summer, Painting For Cures, an organization that aims to keep young children smiling during extended hospital stays, will hold its second annual charity golf outing on Saturday, August 13 at the Lido Golf Club.

The outing is currently open for registration and sponsorship opportunities.  All participants will enjoy 18 holes on Lido's scenic, wind-blown layout between Reynolds Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, with cart, special tournament balls, range balls, lunch and beverages included in the $135 entry fee.  At the end of the round, enjoy cocktails and an awards presentation before leaving with a complimentary gift bag.  Players will also have opportunities to win prizes -- including Nike golf equipment -- and ace their way to a $15,000 hole-in-one jackpot.

All groups will tee off between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.  (Tee times will be made available a week prior to the outing.)  Players may register for the event individually or as part of a foursome.

"Painting For Cures was formed to help make a difference in the lives of hospitalized children and their families," says Robert Catalfomo, the organization's founder.  It helps put smiles on the faces of children during extended hospital stays by providing them with arts and crafts programs as they recover from serious medical procedures.  For more information on Painting For Cures or to register online for the event, visit the organization's website.

Contact Robert Catalfomo at [email protected] for additional event and registration details.  To sign on as an event sponsor, contact Jonathan Donohue at [email protected].

Free Clinics on Sundays at Tallgrass GC

Make your driving-range practice sessions a bit more productive this season by stopping over at the Tallgrass Golf Course in Shoreham for an hour or two on summer Sunday afternoons.

Tallgrass pro Phil Tita and his staff will hold free player-development clinics every Sunday through August.  Each one-hour clinic begins at 12 noon and includes a demonstration and mini-lesson.  Sessions rotate each week and cover iron play, chipping, putting, woods and sand play.

The next clinic -- this Sunday, June 26 -- will cover iron play.  Call the course at (631) 209-9359 for more details or a clinic schedule.

Tallgrass received its second consecutive top-10 ranking by Golfweek -- ahead of Bethpage Red and Montauk Downs -- in the magazine's 2011 Best Courses You Can Play listing released earlier this year.  The Shoreham layout is also one of Long Island's top public courses according to Newsday and its par-4 11th hole is a member of the newspaper's "Dream 18."

For more information on Tallgrass, check out the course flyover.

Register by July 1 for the 2011 Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour

[For information on the current 2014 Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour, please click here.]

The professionals aren't the only ones who should be focusing on tournament play during U.S. Open week.  Suffolk County's junior golfers can start preparing right now for this year's Junior Golf Tour, which begins at the West Sayville Golf Course on Wednesday, July 13.  Parents/guardians have until Friday, July 1 to register their young golfers for the 2011 Tour.

The Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour is open to all boys and girls aged 9 through 17 who are familiar with the rules and etiquette of golf and have a valid county Green Key Card.  It consists of four stroke-play events -- one at each of the county's municipal courses -- in July and August.  Events are nine or 18 holes depending on age bracket.  Players must walk the course and be able to carry their bags (hand carts are permitted).

Tour fees are $140 for 12- to 17-year-old players (18-hole events) and $125 for 9- to 11-year-old players (nine-hole events).  This fee includes all four rounds, practice buckets at each event, one golf clinic at the Timber Point Golf Course, pro-shop giveaways and an awards banquet in August.

Timber Point pro Andy Carracino will host the clinic for Tour participants on Friday, July 8 at 1 p.m.  The rest of the Tour schedule is as follows:

Wednesday, July 13:  West Sayville Golf Course
Monday, July 25:  Bergen Point Golf Course
Monday, August 8:  Indian Island Country Club
Thursday, August 18:  Timber Point Golf Course

All four tournaments begin at 2:00 p.m.  Participants are urged to arrive no later than 1:00.

For more information on the 2011 Suffolk County Junior Golf Tour, call (631) 854-4947.  You can also download a Tour registration form at the Suffolk County website.

Cantiague Park to host Father's Day Weekend tournament for Dad and family

Team up with Dad and make him earn that "#1 Dad" coffee mug on the golf course this Saturday, June 18 -- the day before Father's Day -- at Cantiague Park's "Father-Child Golf Tournament" in Hicksville.  The event is open to two- to four-person teams comprised of Dad and his kids.

The first family will go out at 6:15 a.m., with last tee for the day scheduled for 3:30 p.m.  Prizes will be given to first- and second-place finishers in gross-score and handicap groups.  All Nassau County golf and cart fees apply (including surcharges for those without a Leisure Pass).  An additional $10 per player will go toward an evening barbecue and awards ceremony. 

Groups are welcome to register in advance at Cantiague Park or sign up on the day of play.  Call (516) 571-7061 for more details.

Cantiague Park is a flat par-30 and one of four Nassau County-operated nine-hole courses.  It features six medium-length to long par-3s and three par-4s ranging from 257 to 272 yards.  For more on Cantiague, check out the course flyover.

June Wednesdays are Wild at Brentwood CC

Wednesday is the day to play if you're looking for a good golf deal this month in western Suffolk.  Tee off for as little as $24 at the Brentwood Country Club on "Wild Wednesdays" in June, fees included.

An 18-hole round at the Devereux Emmet course is $37 with cart and reservation fees included, and $32 for seniors.  If you prefer to walk Brentwood's flat layout, greens fee and reservation is only $24.  These discounts are valid all day long. 

And don't forget -- Brentwood and its Town of Islip sister course at the Holbrook Country Club continue to run monthly specials for single players, pairs and foursomes.  This month, a foursome can ride for just $40 per player at either course after 11 a.m. 

For information on all current discounts at Brentwood and Holbrook, check out their coupons and specials page, and be sure to print a copy to show at the course.

Hamlet Willow Creek and Wind Watch sold to Dallas-based course operator

The Hamlet Willow Creek and Hamlet Wind Watch Golf & Country Clubs have been purchased from the Holiday Organization by Dallas-based ClubCorp, according to a Newsday report.

The acquisition also includes the private Hamlet Golf & Country Club in Commack.  ClubCorp, which operates more than 150 private golf and country clubs primarily in the South and Midwest, has designed a multi-million-dollar renovation and improvement plan for the three facilities.

Most importantly for fans of Willow Creek in Mount Sinai and Wind Watch in Hauppauge, the courses will (supposedly) remain open to the public.

Mark Burnett, the executive vice president of the golf and country club division for ClubCorp, did not disclose the purchase price or other financial details of the acquisition. 

With the exception of a few changes in upper management, the general operations and employees of the golf courses will be unaffected, Burnett said.  The Hamlet club will also remain a private club, and the Willow Creek and Wind Watch clubs will retain their semiprivate status. -- Lisa Du, Newsday, 6/8/2011

Newsday revealed late last month that ClubCorp applied to sell alcohol at the three Long Island clubs, likely a precursor to a future purchase.  Now that the acquisition is complete, ClubCorp's improvement plan will reportedly focus primarily on the courses themselves at Wind Watch and Willow Creek.

For more on the picturesque and extremely hazardous (think lots of sand and water) Hamlet courses, check out the Wind Watch and Willow Creek flyovers.

Observations: Great Rock Golf Club's new 12th green

The namesake rock at the Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River is hard to miss as it waits atop the summit of the course's steadily climbing 10th hole.  A recent discovery turned up another boulder that had taken up a much more secluded position on the course since Great Rock debuted back in 2001 -- buried underneath the old 12th green.  Considering its effect on putts during its ten seasons in hiding, this particular rock, in the eyes of most players, was far from great.

Great Rock's current staff unearthed the boulder when it began its regrading of the par-3 12th green this offseason.  Rather than remove the rock, previous owners built the green on top of it and thus created a putting surface that was so severely sloped that even the shortest putts built up enough velocity to careen off the side or roll back down to a player's feet. 

General manager Brian Curtin said the changes were made to create more playable hole locations.  Superintendent Dan Wolf, who worked with Curtin previously at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, completed the project in ten days.

"Dan did an amazing job," Curtin said.  "Subtle to the eye but totally different when played."

 

Golf On Long Island visited Great Rock last week to test out the new green for the first time.  Wolf raised the front and left edges of the surface to counteract the slide off the dramatic right-to-left slope.  Tee shots can now hold the green in a sort of collection area in the left-center portion of the surface.  But that's not to say the 12th has gotten any easier.  It remains one of Great Rock's most challenging putting tests.  Putts along the new seam have plenty of movement and require a careful read.  And the surface stays true to Great Rock's reputation as the place to be for speedy greens.  Balls still go for a ride when tapped from above the hole.  It's just that now the player has some control.

Curtin said feedback on the new green has been overwhelmingly positive since it opened.  "Dan is a great super and it will really show this season," he said.

To read more on Great Rock, check out the updated course flyover and previous observations.