Long Island Press readers liked the results of last year's "Best Golf Course" poll so much that they kept the winner and runners-up exactly the same in 2013. This week the local newspaper announced the results of the sports and activities categories in its annual "Best of Long Island" survey, and Bethpage State Park finished in its customary gold-medal spot. Rock Hill Golf & Country Club and Eisenhower Park took second and third, respectively.
It's been a busy January for Bethpage, which earlier this month appeared in the top half of Golf Digest's America's Greatest Golf Courses list for 2013. The Black Course hosted The Barclays tournament this past August, but the renowned five-course complex didn't need a week in the international spotlight to win the honor of Long Island's best. Press readers have voted Bethpage #1 in the golf course category six years in a row (at least). With its Black, Red, Blue, Green and Yellow layouts, Bethpage beat out nine public courses and three private clubs across the Island.
Voters apparently favor length in their favorite golf destinations, and clicked Manorville's Rock Hill Golf & Country Club enough for it to repeat as runner-up in 2013. At 7,050 yards from the tips, Rock Hill is one of Long Island's longest public courses. High rough and climbing fairways make it one of the Island's most challenging, as well.
Eisenhower Park, noted for its Devereux Emmet-designed Red Course, once again finishes in third place. The East Meadow facility draws crowds year-round to its White and Blue courses, both designed by Robert Trent Jones.
PICTURED: The par-3 third at Bethpage Black. [Click photo to enlarge]
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