Golf on Long Island

Season over at Timber Point, West Sayville

Just over 24 hours before the New Years Eve ball drop in Times Square, the final putts of the 2012 season dropped into the cup at Suffolk County's Timber Point and West Sayville golf courses.  Both municipal courses closed for the season on Sunday.

Timber Point is scheduled to reopen on March 15, 2013, with or without the Blue Course, which was severely impacted by a hurricane for the second straight year.  West Sayville was flooded in areas by Hurricane Sandy but was up and running again in about a week.  It will reopen on or around March 9.

Clubhouse expansion in the works at Stonebridge Golf Links

Stonebridge Golf Links in Smithtown might have a bigger clubhouse in the near future if an expansion proposed by the club's catering company, Carlyle Stonebridge, is approved next month by the town.

Newsday reported earlier this week that Carlyle, which also operates Carlyle on the Green at Bethpage State Park and several other Long Island catering halls, proposed plans to the development's homeowners that include a 2,600-foot expansion of the clubhouse and increased parking space to attract more weddings and boost business at the facility.

The golf course at Stonebridge wraps tightly around the residential community, especially below the clubhouse, where backyards and back doors are just steps from the first fairway.  Yet most residents are in favor of the proposal, according to Newsday, though some are concerned that an expanded catering business will lead to guest parking on community streets and heightened clubhouse noise. 

Carlyle took over the club's catering business in April with an eye toward making Stonebridge more appealing to soon-to-wed couples.

Carlyle officials said the larger business would not be intrusive.  "I don't think they'll see any change from what they've had," executive vice president Jay Kranitz said.  He said there would be valet parking so catering customers would not park on the narrow roads. -- Carl MacGowan, Newsday, 12/24/2012

An approval or rejection of the expansion by the Smithtown Board of Zoning Appeals may come as soon as January 8.

2012-13 Winter Rates Roundup I

Christmas Week is a great time to test out all the new clubs, waterproof shoes, gloves, windbreakers and fleeces you picked up during the December holidays.  Not at the range -- on the course.

Sure, it's a little cold, a tad uncomfortable, and your chips might skitter across a nearly frozen green like you're trying to hole out on the center-ice dot at Nassau Coliseum.  Just chalk it up to four-season fun.

Golf On Long Island loves winter golf, and you should too, if only for the chance to play quality courses with limited crowds for a great price.  Below is a sampling of offseason 18-hole rates at area courses.  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.

For offseason rates from previous years and a primer on winter golf in general, refer to Winter Golf on Long Island.

• Calverton Links:  $45 to ride, $35 to walk (with range balls) on weekdays; $50/$40 on weekends

• Great Rock:  $39 before 1 p.m. on weekdays, $29 after 1 p.m.; $49 before noon on weekends, $39 after (all rates include cart)

• Pine Hills:  $45 to ride, $35 to walk on weekdays before 12 p.m., $35/$25 after 12 p.m.; $55/$45 (before 12 p.m.) and $45/$35 (after 12 p.m.) on weekends

Winter Golf On Long Island: 2012-13 Edition

The 2012-13 winter golf season on Long Island already has a slightly different feel than usual, even though the winter has yet to arrive.  In Nassau County, dependable offseason outposts at the Lido Golf Club and, on a smaller scale, North Woodmere Park, are out of the winter rotation, both recovering from severe blows delivered by Hurricane Sandy.  Three of the Island's best -- Bethpage Black, Bethpage Red and Eisenhower Red -- closed up shop more than a month early and lost their popular late-autumn playing days in the wake of the storm.  

But the show goes on for the rest of Long Island's year-round courses, and if last winter was any indication, the show still has a bunch of nice, playable weeks ahead.  The 60-degree January days from the 2011-12 winter season were the reward for the previous year's blizzards, but chances are they won't be repeated.  True Long Island winter golf resides somewhere in the middle, marked by hour-long frost delays, frozen tee boxes and nasty, biting winds.  All that is music to your ears if you're a layer-donning, cocoa-guzzling, four-season golfer from Nassau or Suffolk.  It also sounds as sweet as a finger-stinging, skulled 3-iron if your clubs hit the attic upon October's arrival.

Winter is just hours away, but at many Long Island courses, "winter" rates have been around for weeks, and as long as the snow falls elsewhere, early-autumn conditions remain.  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.

• See also: Winter Golf on Long Island overview

Golf On Long Island attempts to make winter golf easy to find by posting discount rates through the offseason.  For one, the Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River is offering its annual winter weekday special of 18 holes for as low as $29.  Other courses allow you to play for around two bucks a hole, as well.  Check back for updated specials throughout the winter months.

• 2012-13 Winter Rates Roundup I

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.

Brentwood, Holbrook to close for the season on December 17

The 2012 season will come to a close at Brentwood Country Club and Holbrook Country Club this coming Monday, December 17.  When play concludes Sunday afternoon, both courses will begin a three-month break before reopening in mid-March.

The sun will be out Friday and parts of Saturday, so get to either of the two Town of Islip courses while you can.  For more information, check out the Brentwood CC and Holbrook CC flyovers.

Great Rock Golf Club completes minor renovation of 11th green

Anyone who has ever had a putt, chip or approach accelerate off the back of the notoriously nasty 11th green at the Great Rock Golf Club can take some joy in the latest course news.  Great Rock superintendent Dan Wolf has already completed a minor renovation of the green that will keep more balls on the back side of the green and out of the rough.

The teardrop-shaped green is well known for its deceptively severe left-to-right tilt and fast falloff up top.  Wolf's work adds height to the back of the green so that decent approach shots aren't penalized with a trip into heavy rough, said Great Rock general manager Brian Curtin.

Like the major renovation done on the 12th green in 2010, this work began in November and was finished in short order.  "Once again, Dan has outdone himself by completeing the work in only seven days," said Curtin.  "It's a smaller job [than #12] but one we're confident will add to the overall experience at Great Rock."

The back of the green will be closed until spring, but the rest of the green, which still sports its devilish slant in the center, will remain open all winter.  That left-to-right speed is featured in this Golf On Long Island "Closer Look" from May 2012.

 

One more week to vote for "Best Golf Course" in Long Island Press poll

Voting closes next Saturday, December 15, for the annual "Best of LI" poll conducted by the weekly (soon to be monthly) Long Island Press.  Most relevant to Golf On Long Island readers is the poll's "Best Golf Course" category, which has been dominated by Bethpage State Park for the last half-decade.  You can also cast votes in "Best Driving Range" and "Best Golf Store" categories. 

This year, nine public golf courses (and three private clubs) in Nassau and Suffolk are in the running to halt Bethpage's winning streak, or, more likely, bag the silver.  Rock Hill Golf & Country Club took second place in 2012, followed in third by Eisenhower Park.

This year's public nominees, in addition to Bethpage, are:

• Calverton Links
• Eisenhower Park
• Harbor Links
• Lido GC
• Rock Hill
• Smithtown Landing
• Stonebridge Golf Links
• Tallgrass
• Timber Point

Vote for the "Best Golf Course" of 2013 at www.LongIslandPress.com, and while you're there be sure to cast a vote for your favorites in dozens of other LI-related categories, including driving range, golf store and miniature golf course.  Winners will be announced in January.