Golf on Long Island

Long Island Press wants your vote for "Best Golf Course" in annual poll

Thirteen public golf courses in Nassau and Suffolk are in the running for the title of "Best Golf Course" of 2012 in the annual Long Island Press "Best of LI" poll, and 12 of them are looking to wrestle that title away from Bethpage State Park.  The 90-hole centerpiece of Long Island golf will win the category for the fifth straight year unless one of the dozen public courses (or two private clubs) in the competition pulls off a major upset when the Press poll closes on December 15.

Last year's runners-up Eisenhower Park and Montauk Downs are again in the field of 15, along with these public facilities:

• Crab Meadow
• Harbor Links
• Mill Pond
• Rock Hill
• Smithtown Landing
• Stonebridge Golf Links
• Tallgrass
• Timber Point
• Town of Oyster Bay GC
• West Sayville

Vote for the "Best Golf Course" of 2012 until December 15 at www.LongIslandPress.com, and don't forget to choose your favorite driving range and golf shop while you're there.  Winners will be announced in January.

Observations: Middle Island Country Club

Until the first substantial snowfall of the offseason, fairways and greens around Long Island typically remain in very good condition even as the players driving over and stomping on top of them add layers of apparel to block the chill.  Plenty of layers were shed on Friday at the Middle Island Country Club during a post-Thanksgiving round that began with a frost delay then ended under a warm, spring-like November sun.  Fairways were smooth, soft and lush at the 27-hole course, where conditions continue to improve overall thanks to an ongoing rehabilitation under new ownership over the past four years.

"This place had fallen into pretty bad shape," an MICC veteran of more than 20 years said yesterday while waiting to tee off on the Spruce nine.  "But these new owners have turned it around."

The course renovation has included extensive tree removal, addition of water hazards on Spruce, rebuilding of tee boxes and other enhancements.  One minor addition is a large bunker shared by Spruce #2 and #5.  In previous seasons, this area between the two holes was cluttered with trees.  A sandy pit was left over briefly once the trees were cleared.  Now a trap nearly 50 yards long occupies the open space.  (The bunker appeared to be under repair during our recent round, however.)

Over on the Dogwood and Oak nines, finding our balls was a breeze since the fairways and most of the rough were completely cleared of leaves, an impressive feat considering the course's volume of trees.  "I'm impressed," the MICC vet said of the decluttered playing area. 

Also noted since our previous visit to Middle Island:  There are no more GPS units in the motor carts.

Lido Golf Club to host annual Turkey Trot this Thursday

Registration is open for the Lido Golf Club's annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, which tees off shotgun style this Thursday, November 24 at 8:00 a.m. 

The $75 entry fee includes cart, range balls, breakfast and a Lido GC winter hat by Under Armour.  There will also be competitions on the course for longest drive, most accurate drive and closest to the pin.  With predicted tee-time temps down around a chilly 40 degrees, warm up early with breakfast and a hot coffee beginning at 7 a.m.  To reserve a spot in the event, contact the Lido pro shop at (516) 889-8181.

The Lido Golf Club is located alongside Reynolds Channel in Lido Beach.  The course was selected by Newsday as one of the Island's best public courses in 2008, and its double-carry 16th hole (click here for a Closer Look at #16) is part of Golf On Long Island's "Nassau 18" and Golfing Magazine's 2009 Dream Golf Club.

Nine-hole Thanksgiving Day Scramble at Timber Point GC

The Timber Point Golf Course in Great River will host an abbreviated holiday scramble on Thanksgiving morning, November 24, complete with food, drinks, prizes and bonuses for all turkeys (no, not the ones you douse with gravy).

Timber Point's Thanksgiving outing -- a nine-hole, four-person scramble -- will begin with a 9 a.m. shotgun start.  The $45 entry fee covers pre-round bagels and mimosas, plus motor cart and range balls.  All players will be in the running for putting and accuracy prizes, high- and low-score honors, and will also have the opportunity to bag a "turkey" -- three consecutive birdies -- for a bonus prize.

Check-in for the tourney begins at 8:00.  Register before Thanksgiving to secure a spot, though you can still enter on the day of play for an extra $5.  Singles, pairs and threesomes are free to enter and will be placed on scramble teams.

To register, send an e-mail to [email protected] or call (631) 581-2401.  For more on Timber Point's Red, White and Blue (closed for the season) courses, click the links to the course flyovers.

Thanksgiving Day Turkey Shoot Scramble at Crab Meadow

Seems like only yesterday we were at the Crab Meadow Golf Course for its Trick or Treat Scramble on a pleasant Halloween Monday.  Of course, at Crab Meadow, almost every major holiday doubles as a great day for a scramble (see Easter, St. Patrick's Day and others).  The course's annual Thanksgiving Turkey Shoot is only a week away.

The scenic 18 on the rolling, waterside hills of Northport will host its annual Turkey Shoot Scramble on Thanksgiving morning, November 24.  Shotgun start is scheduled for 8:30 with free beer and appetizers to follow the round.  Arrive early for continental breakfast and unlimited practice balls on the range.

Registration for the event -- a four-person scramble -- is $70 per golfer.  All participants will receive door prizes and a chance to take home additional rewards for closest-to-the-pin and long-drive competitions.  Singles and pairs can register and will be placed into four-person scramble teams.  Call (631) 757-8800 or stop by the course to reserve a spot.

Golf On Long Island visited Crab Meadow for the Halloween event last month, and our foursome's trick-and-treat-adjusted score of 65 was good enough for first place.  Luckily for Thanksgiving Day golfers, there won't be any "trick" holes -- like a reverse scramble (play the worst ball on all shots) -- in this outing.  We also recommend the Swedish meatballs during the appetizer portion of the day, washed down with a Blue Point before heading home for turkey.

For more information on Crab Meadow, check out the course flyover.

Newsday reader foiled by Holbrook Country Club's crafty crows

During our first visit to the Holbrook Country Club a few years ago, a crow -- either hungry or simply mischievous -- took advantage of our concentration on the putting green and helped itself without any hesitation to some of Rob's unguarded breakfast.  It then joined its friends up in the trees for a hearty cackle about it as we made our way around the green and back to the cart.

The crows were there again when we returned to the course back in May.  When we published the Holbrook flyover, we made sure to include a little warning about the course's nuisance from above:

"Just a suggestion:  If you're enjoying that delicious egg-and-cheese sandwich that you brought with you to the course, don't leave it unattended and unwrapped in your cart as you try to two-putt for par.  A team of crows perched around the course will be eyeing it, and they won't hesitate to swoop in and indulge.  They'll throw in a few mocking calls for good measure when your par putt rims out, all while conspiring to steal your next snack."

Unfortunately, the crows took more than breakfast from Newsday reader Joseph Governale, a Holbrook resident whose bid for his first sub-80 round was sabotaged by the fearless, feathered foes.  He detailed his encounter today in a Newsday guest column.

I reached into my pocket for a tee -- the longer kind made for today's larger club-heads. Not finding any, I was walking back to the cart when a crow of gargantuan size suddenly swooped down, pulled my bag of tees out of the cupholder and flew off.  Screaming, I followed the bird to a nearby tree.  It sat on an uppermost branch about 40 feet up, the booty dangling from its beak.  I cursed and raved.  Almost flung my club at the thing.  The beast just looked down at me, one eye at a time. -- Joseph Governale, Newsday, 11/12/2011

Click here for the full column.  And to read more on the Holbrook CC, check out the course flyover.

Spring Lake GC to host Thanksgiving Shotgun

Start Thanksgiving at the crack of dawn in Middle Island at Spring Lake Golf Club's holiday shotgun outing, set to begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 24.

Arrive early for continental breakfast, then compete against fellow holiday golfers for first-, second- and even last-place prizes.  The outing will follow best-ball format.  Entry fee is $54.  Visit Spring Lake or call the course at (631) 924-5115 to sign up.

Spring Lake is a tree-lined 27-hole facility consisting of the Thunderbird and Sandpiper courses.  Tight corridors and tough angles put a premium on accuracy.  Players who spray the ball around the course will often find themselves underneath trees and, at this time of year, searching through leaves.  The nine-hole Sandpiper course is more forgiving, and its lakeside opener is the most picturesque hole at the facility.

For more on Spring Lake, check out the Thunderbird and Sandpiper flyovers.

Thanksgiving Turkey Shootout at Mill Pond

Long Island golfers have a lot to be thankful for, including a 65-degree Election Day and seasonal green fee specials.  Plenty of players across the Island are also thankful for the local courses that put on early-morning Turkey Day golf outings.

Mill Pond Golf Course in Medford is one of them.  On Thanksgiving, Mill Pond will once again host its annual Turkey Shootout, a two-person team scramble that kicks off early and ends in time for all participants to be at the dinner table for the first round of appetizers.  The $59 entry fee includes golf, cart, continental breakfast, range balls and the chance to win individual and team prizes.  Shotgun start is scheduled for 8:00 a.m.  Visit the Mill Pond pro shop or call (631) 732-8249 to register.

The wide-open, wind-swept, links-style par-70 measures a pitch short of 6,000 yards from the middle tees.  Its opening hole (formerly #10) was selected to Golfing Magazine's 2009 Dream Golf Club.  For more information on Mill Pond, check out the course flyover.

Golf On Long Island took part in the 2008 Turkey Shootout, carded a -1 on a blustery November morning and worked up a big holiday appetite in the process.

Bethpage Black to close for 2011 on November 15

Two weeks remain in the 2011 playing season at Bethpage State Park's Black Course.  The Black will close for the season on Tuesday, November 15.

Despite the early taste of winter here in the Northeast this past weekend, prime golfing conditions still await the cool-weather golfer at Bethpage and across Long Island.  The Black Course will be open every day between now and its mid-month closing date.

It's been another banner year at Bethpage Black.  Golf Digest readers voted the course into the Sweet 16 of the mag's Fans' Choice poll, and the Digest rated Black #7 in its list of America's Greatest Public Golf Courses for 2011-12.  It was also announced this summer that the course will host The Barclays next August and again in 2016.

For more on Bethpage Black, check out the course flyover.