Golf on Long Island

Timber Point Red and White to close for the season this weekend

The famous ball will drop in Times Square this weekend on New Years Eve, and a few hours later, the final balls of the season will drop onto the greens at Timber Point on New Years Day.  Timber Point's Red and White courses are closing for the season at the end of the day on January 1.  The facility is tentatively scheduled to reopen on March 9, 2012.

Timber Point's other nine -- the Blue Course -- has been closed since early October due to repair work stemming from August's Hurricane Irene.

Bay Park, Christopher Morley closed for the season

The Nassau County municipal courses at Bay Park in East Rockaway and Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn have closed for the season.  Sister nine-hole courses at North Woodmere and Cantiague parks will remain open through the winter.

Bay Park and Morley will likely reopen in late March.  Check back as the spring season approaches for information on course reopenings.

Long Island Dream Club: Pine Hills CC #5

Golfing Magazine recently announced its 2011 Long Island Dream Golf Club, this season's collection of the Island's finest 18 holes and top off-course facilities.  Public golf holes make up half of this year's 6,954-yard layout, which begins and ends with lake-jumping shots at the public Sandpiper Course at Spring Lake Golf Club and the historic private club at Inwood.

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 and additional commentary are provided by Golf On Long Island where available.  To view the 2011 Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here. 

Also be sure to review Golfing Magazine's 2008 Dream Club, 2009 Dream Club and 2010 Dream Club by clicking on the links.

GOLFING MAGAZINE'S 2011 DREAM GOLF CLUB

PINE HILLS COUNTRY CLUB -- HOLE #5
353 / 326 / 310 yards
Designed by Roger Tooker

"A redesign and some additions have turned this slight dogleg right into a beautiful and challenging test.  The tee box has been moved back, opening up a fairway where driver can still be used on a relatively short par-4 hole.  Bunkers on either side of the fairway guide the way, but need to be avoided, leaving a short iron to a newly elevated green that now includes a bunker up front.  Water lurks to the left, creating a feel of a peninsula green.  A picturesque hole that can produce a par with solid shots from tee to green."

Golf On Long Island was in Manorville in the Summer of 2011 to fly over this short par-4:

"Two short holes provide opportunities to play a little more creatively without reaching, by instinct, for the driver.  The 335-/315-yard fifth uses water left of the green to impact your direction off the tee.  Targeting the roomier left side keeps the water in play later.  If you try to approach from a better angle on the right, a fairway trap enters the fray."

To read more about Pine Hills, check out the course flyover.

2011-12 Winter Rates Roundup I

The 2010-11 winter golf season was over almost as soon as it began.  By the time Golf On Long Island posted its first edition of Winter Rates Roundup in early January, Long Island golf courses were nestled under a blanket of post-Christmas snow.  So this year, fittingly on a day that nearly touched 60 degrees, we'll get the Winter Rates Roundup started a little early.

Golf On Long Island wants local players to know that the golf season doesn't have to end in October, which is why we publish some of the area's offseason deals throughout the winter.  All you need is a warm hat and waterproof shoes.  You can pass on the $100 wind and cold-weather gear, too -- any old turtleneck and zip-up fleece will do.  The winter is a great time to play good courses at low rates and your own leisurely pace.  Crowds are typically sparse.

The following are some of the offseason 18-hole rates at area courses, which in many cases have already been in place since the fall.  For full details about rates and course conditions, contact the course pro shops or visit their websites.  Note that these do not represent discounted rates at all courses:

• Pine Ridge:  $45 on weekdays, $35 after 12 p.m.; $50/$35 on weekends (all rates include cart)

• Tallgrass:  $50 to ride on weekdays, $40 after 12 p.m.; $60/$50 on weekends; take off $10 to walk (NOTE: Course closed for season as of January 2.)

• Great Rock:  $39 to ride on weekday mornings, $29 in the afternoon; $49/$39 on weekends

• Swan Lake:  $45 to ride/$35 to walk on weekday mornings, $55/$44 on weekend mornings (AM rates include breakfast or lunch); $42/$32 PM weekdays, $48/$38 PM weekends

For more of this season's winter rates, check out 2011-12 Winter Rates Roundup II and 2011-12 Winter Rates Roundup III.  And for offseason rates from previous years and a primer on winter golf in general, refer to Winter Golf on Long Island.

Winter Golf on Long Island

Golf is not a 365-days-a-year sport on Long Island like it is in Florida, Arizona and other warm climates.  But if Old Man Winter keeps Frosty the Snowman in the clouds for a few extra weeks, and if you can tolerate frigid, biting winds and a swing reined in by four layers of clothing, it can stretch closer to a 12-month sport here on the Island than you might think.

Today is the first day of the year's coldest season and the official start of winter golf on Long Island -- though many courses begin their "winter" around or even before Thanksgiving.  A year ago, the winter golf season was less than a week old before a post-Christmas blizzard buried Long Island and its courses under a few feet of snow.  Hopefully the 2011-12 offseason will remain playable for a little longer.

• See also: Winter Golf on Long Island overview

When heavy snow holds off through December and into January, winter golf on Long Island is like a holiday gift in itself.  Until that first heavy snowfall, fairways remain in good condition and greens -- unless frozen or recently aerated -- roll close to their typical speed and smoothness.  Bare trees are less obtrusive, rough is less dense.  As a bonus, rounds are available at a sharp discount.  For those taking up the sport or working on their mechanics, the silenced fairways of early winter are a fantastic place to practice without pressure.  Only a small handful of courses close for the season; the rest stay open through the winter as the weather permits. 

Golf On Long Island attempts to make winter golf easy to find by posting discount rates through the offseason.  As posted earlier this month, the Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River is offering 18 holes for as low as $29.  Check back for updated specials throughout the winter months.

• Ride for $29 on winter afternoons at Great Rock
• 2011-12 Winter Rates Roundup I
• 2011-12 Winter Rates Roundup II

For a full primer on offseason golf, check out the Winter Golf on Long Island page, which includes some of this season's special rates and offers from previous years.

Eisenhower Red closed for the season

The Red Course at Eisenhower Park is closed for the season.  The Devereux Emmet-designed beauty in East Meadow will likely reopen sometime in early April.

Until then, check out the course flyover or take a look at Eisenhower Red's ghost greens.

Long Island Dream Club: Glen Cove GC #2

Golfing Magazine recently announced its 2011 Long Island Dream Golf Club, this season's collection of the Island's finest 18 holes and top off-course facilities.  Public golf holes make up half of this year's 6,954-yard layout, which begins and ends with lake-jumping shots at the public Sandpiper Course at Spring Lake Golf Club and the historic private club at Inwood.

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 and additional commentary are provided by Golf On Long Island where available.  To view the 2011 Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here. 

Also be sure to review Golfing Magazine's 2008 Dream Club, 2009 Dream Club and 2010 Dream Club by clicking on the links.

GOLFING MAGAZINE'S 2011 DREAM GOLF CLUB

GLEN COVE GOLF CLUB -- HOLE #2
407 / 380 / 340 yards
Designed by William Mitchell

"A lovely and deceiving par-4, this 2nd hole features a back tee that requires a drive over water to a straight and fairly generous fairway to help you land it in the short grass.  The green is sloped slightly from back to front, so staying under the hole for an uphill putt is preferred.  Possibly the greatest challenge that could turn a par into a bogey is the mesmerizing view of the Long Island Sound in the distance beyond the green.  A picture postcard of a par-4 that can be enjoyed from start to finish."

Golf On Long Island covered this Sound-side hole back in June 2009:

"#2 is the pond hole -- it provides a nice view of the interior Sound waters from the fairway and of the beach from behind the green.  A diagonal tee shot is necessary to clear a corner of the pond and reach the fairway on the right.  From there, the green is a middle iron away.  Mounding and a thin ribbon of sand on the right can penalize anyone who goes too far to avoid the water bordering the fairway's left side."

To read more about Glen Cove, check out the course flyover.

Off-Course Destinations: 1st Tee Fitness & Performance, St. James

Bethpage Black slipped into its annual winter hibernation earlier this month, but inside a small St. James strip mall, the fairway leading up to the Black's famous fourth-hole glacier bunker is still a deep, healthy green and the air is a May-like 72 degrees.

Conditions are the same at Pebble Beach, Pinehurst and more than a dozen other renowned golf courses available for virtual play in the High Definition Golf simulator at the new 1st Tee Fitness & Performance facility in St. James, where brothers Jason and Richard Greco hope to make indoor golf -- including leagues, tournaments, lessons and physical therapy -- a healthy and recreational outlet for Long Island golfers.  Jason and Richard are golf fitness instructors certified through the Titleist Performance Institute with more than 25 combined years of experience working with and rehabilitating patients.  (Their primary office, Greco Physical Therapy and Sports Performance, PLLC, is located in Greenvale.)

At 1st Tee Fitness -- which opened in December 2011 -- the Grecos use much of the space to exercise and rehabilitate the muscles and joints that work together to swing the golf club, while the rest is reserved for the swing itself.  In the back of the facility, a two-person practice net is available for simulator warm-ups and private lessons conducted by professionals from several area courses, including nearby Smithtown Landing.

But the main attraction is up front, where the High Definition Golf simulator leads frost-delayed Long Island golfers on a virtual excursion to nearly 20 world-class golf courses.  At its most basic level, the simulator simply recreates the local driving range.  It offers a technical breakdown of each swing with recordings of club and ball speeds, launch angle, swing path, clubface position, spin and more -- all useful information for the on-site professionals to translate into real-world results for their students.

League play and tournaments will be scheduled throughout the winter months to hold eager Long Island golfers over until they can push a peg into an actual teebox.  Players can take part in leagues run by 1st Tee, or create their own group of family and friends, compete at their leisure and set their own rules and prizes.

"It takes about an hour for two people to play nine holes," Jason says.  "We envision a scenario where players book their simulator tee times online, arrive early to warm up in the practice net, play for as long as they wish and have their results recorded in the league and available online."

Jason says simulator tournaments range from 18 to 72 holes and can include contests like closest to the pin and longest drive.  "The simulator tracks everything," he says.

Indoor league and tournament information is announced by e-mail and at www.grecopt.com.  The simulator is open for general and league play until 9 p.m. during the week and 4 p.m. on weekends.  Rates vary based on length and time of play.

For more information, visit the First Tee website or call (631) 686-6600.  You can also follow First Tee on Facebook and Twitter.  The St. James facility is located at 430-7 North Country Road, about five minutes east of the public Smithtown Landing Golf Course.

Brentwood, Holbrook to close December 18

The Brentwood and Holbrook Country Clubs will end their 2011 seasons this Sunday, December 18.  Both courses will be closed until mid-March.

Golf On Long Island last visited the two Town of Islip courses in the spring.  The Holbrook flyover went up after a round in early May.  For more on Brentwood, check out its course flyover.

Long Island Dream Club: Spring Lake GC, Sandpiper Course #1

Golfing Magazine recently announced its 2011 Long Island Dream Golf Club, this season's collection of the Island's finest 18 holes and top off-course facilities.  Public golf holes make up half of this year's 6,954-yard layout, which begins and ends with lake-jumping shots at the public Sandpiper Course at Spring Lake Golf Club and the historic private club at Inwood.

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 and additional commentary are provided by Golf On Long Island where available.  To view the 2011 Dream Club's 18-hole lineup, re-visit the original post here. 

Also be sure to review Golfing Magazine's 2008 Dream Club, 2009 Dream Club and 2010 Dream Club by clicking on the links.

GOLFING MAGAZINE'S 2011 DREAM GOLF CLUB

SPRING LAKE GOLF CLUB, SANDPIPER COURSE -- HOLE #1
464 / 414 / 335 yards
Designed by Charles Martin

"This ultimate 'risk/reward' par-5 is a great way to start our Dream 18.  Long hitters can bomb away for a chance to reach the green in 2, while all others will lay up with a 3-wood or less, which would then require flying it over the waters of Spring Lake twice to get to the dance floor.  Water also guards the undulating green off the back side, leaving little room for error.  An opening hole where anything is possible -- from an eagle putt to losing a sleeve of balls.  This is truly the way to get your juices flowing as your dream round begins."

Golf On Long Island first visited Spring Lake's Sandpiper nine in October 2008:

"Sandpiper #1 is the hole to remember for the entire 27-hole facility, not just Sandpiper, and if you don't agree, take it up with the yardage book, which labels it Spring Lake's "Signature Hole."  The double-carry par-5 is not hard to score on, but for an opening hole it can be a little daunting.  It's still fun though -- the green is reachable in two, and if you pull it off, starting your day by conquering two water carries and lining up an eagle putt should set the tone for a great round."

To read more about Spring Lake's Sandpiper Course, check out the course flyover.