Golf on Long Island: Flyover: Sandy Pond Golf Course

[This flyover was updated on December 20, 2022.]

[UPDATE: Beginning in March 2023, Sandy Pond will go by the new name Sandy Pond Links and feature changes to the layout and facilities. Further information can be found here. This flyover will be updated after the course's reopening.]

The nine holes that make up the Sandy Pond Golf Course are only a short jaunt from Riverhead's busy Route 58 commercial corridor, but you wouldn't know it standing beside one of the course's rustling willows. Sandy Pond's par-3 layout hides amid houses and open fields, with few clues tipping off passers-by to its existence other than a fleeting glimpse of fairway behind a dirt road and tiny clubhouse shack.

New owners took over the course in the 2012 season, but Sandy Pond remains old school. At the end of the dusty driveway, ground rules are carved into wood boards hanging near the front door. Inside, all-time holes-in-one are archived in lists scrawled across the walls. The "homespun" feel is so strong that, as Newsday's Mark Herrmann wrote in 2009, players are asked to kindly leave their green fees in an envelope outside when the clubhouse is unattended.

From opening tee to final green, Sandy Pond is a 1,070-yard breath of fresh East End air. Holes ranging from 85 to 160 yards lead beginners, seniors, families and iron tuners toward recently enlarged and refurbished greens. Owners Ken Weinstein and Chris Wahlers, profiled by the Riverhead News-Review in June 2012, have gradually improved conditions at the course since taking over, beginning with the installation of a new irrigation system, maintenance of the course's three ponds and repair of the facility's dwindling greens.

LAYOUT:
Opening play is a basic 105-yard hole without any frills. Your official introduction to the course won't arrive until the 110-yard second, where the first of three namesake hazards ripples behind a friendly "Welcome to Sandy Pond" sign. Offline shots to the right, unfortunately, receive a more personal welcome that will cost you two strokes.

Cross the bridge to the 120-yard third, which plays up a fairly steep hill. The fourth plays back down the hill, and with only 85 yards separating tee from green, it's a fun shot that you don't often encounter. Another pond just off the green's right side adds a dangerous element. The fifth is a simple 120-yarder with a green tilted right to left and front to back.

Trees frame the shot on the 160-yard sixth, a hole that would hold its own if suddenly transplanted down the road onto a course like Cherry Creek or Indian Island. The overhanging leaves and limbs, along with a pond underneath, create a three-sided threat that's ultimately just a distraction. Split the trees and there's plenty of room short of and around the green.

Equally long but situated downhill is #8. The round comes to a relaxed conclusion with the flat 90-yard ninth.

CONDITIONS:
New management at Sandy Pond has worked to clean and clear the namesake water hazards and integrate them more effectively into the park-like setting. Refurbished greens and ongoing beautification projects around the course have yielded positive remarks from longtime visitors and have even drawn the attention of the area's more experienced and skilled players.

Greens, which in some cases had shrunk by 40% by the time the new owners arrived, have been restored to original size and roll smooth. Tees show off the typical wear and tear of a par-3 course. Newly planted fescue grass and garden beds add aesthetic appeal.

HOLE(S) TO REMEMBER:
Firing a shot over water and between overhanging trees is fun whether you're on a $13 par-3 course or a $130 resort course. Consider the first five holes at Sandy Pond a warm-up for the tee shot on #6, which is the toughest you'll find all day. Though it's really just a standard 160-yard shot with more bark than bite, pull or push it a little too much and you might find yourself in hot -- more like lukewarm -- pond water.

AREA(S) TO AVOID:
Other than the trio of ponds and the out-of-bounds course perimeter, there's nowhere to find trouble. Keep your head on a swivel when walking around the course since many holes play back and forth in close proximity to one another. The walk from #8 green to #9 tee crosses in front of the sixth tee. Avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

NEARBY COURSES:
Cherry Creek - Links/Woods (2 miles)
Indian Island CC (4 miles)

WHERE TO GRAB A BITE AND A BEER:
Sandy Pond is a short ride from chain-heavy Old Country Road, where casual bar/grills and fast-food staples are plentiful. In downtown Riverhead, a relatively new spot that offers just about everything a foursome could want -- bar snacks, draft beer, a spacious patio, and so on -- is Peconic County Brewing. Old reliable Long Ireland is still around for those who want to keep the focus on the microbrews. Head east toward Aquebogue and The All-Star, a tiered sports grill with a huge TV wall and a bowling alley.

CONTACT:
1495 Roanoke Ave., Riverhead 11901
(631) 727-0909
www.sandypondgolf.com