Golf on Long Island

Observations: New driving range open at South Bay Country Club

Two months into its grand reopening season on the water in Oceanside, South Bay Country Club is quickly working its way up to full speed.  The Sandy-damaged facility had the course up and running in time for Memorial Day weekend this spring, but the driving range and halfway house remained in the very early stages of reconstruction.

While work on the halfway house continues, the adjacent driving range is complete.  Its 16 stalls direct practice shots to an expanse between South Bay's opening and closing holes.  A chain-link fence protects players from tee shots off #1.  Buckets go for $5, $7 and $10 for 30, 60 or 90 balls.

The pro shop, simply an empty room with a counter back in May, is now lined with golf shirts, shoes, clubs and other apparel.  The South Bay Cafe halfway house could be ready for thirsty golfers as soon as the middle of August, according to golf director Ron Wright. 

Rounding out the list of course developments, tee times can now be made online at the South Bay website.

For more on South Bay, check out the Golf On Long Island flyover.

Rock Hill to host seventh annual Chrissy's Wish Memorial Golf Outing on September 7

The seventh annual Chrissy's Wish Memorial Golf Outing, which raises money each year for the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, will take place on Saturday, September 7 at Rock Hill Golf Club in Manorville.  The event has raised more than $370,000 over the past six years for research and treatment of various mental illnesses, including depression and bipolar disorder. 

Tee time is 1:30 p.m.  Barbecue lunch, range practice and an opening ceremony begin at 11:30.  After the round, players are invited to stay for a buffet dinner, dessert and two-hour open bar.  Entry fee for all players is $160 and includes cart, range balls and all meals.  To register for the outing as a player or sponsor, or to donate, visit the Chrissy's Wish Memorial Fund website.  Interested participants can also register as dinner-only guests for $55.

At 7,050 yards, Rock Hill is one of Long Island's lengthiest public courses.  Thick rough and uphill approaches make distance off the tee vitally important.

For more on Rock Hill, check out the course flyover.  And to learn more about the mission of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, visit the organization's website.

New ownership at Long Island National will not honor previously purchased golf vouchers

Public players will still be able to play Long Island National Golf Club this season before it transitions to a private club in 2014, but it appears the new ownership would rather have you get a headstart on the changeover and just take your clubs elsewhere.

In an e-mail distributed this past weekend to all "avid golfers" on its mailing list, the club welcomed recipients to the "new" Long Island National by announcing that it will not honor any vouchers purchased prior to July 17 on third-party sites like Groupon, Amazon Local and LivingSocial.  If you're one of the many who prepaid for a heavily discounted $49 or $55 round at the Riverhead course, you're likely out of luck.  Contact the third-party websites for details on how to receive a refund or credit.

You can also voice your displeasure at Long Island National's new phone number -- (631) 591-3733.

SEE ALSO:  Long Island National going private after 2013 season

Long Island National Golf Club going private after 2013 season

Changes are in store at Riverhead's Long Island National Golf Club, one of which is to clear the place of Long Island's public golfers.

Long Island National, the Robert Trent Jones Jr. design that opened on the East End in 1999 and filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, will turn private at the conclusion of this season.  Real estate developer Donald Zucker agreed in June to purchase the course for $6 million and, according to the Daily News, announced his plans to make the course private at an outing last week with members of the Metropolitan Golf Writers.  Zucker was the only bidder.

Public golfers will have a few more months to challenge the rolling, wind-blown layout before they are closed out for good.  Then the course will welcome back "really good golfers," provided they have equally prolific stock portfolios, of course.  More from Hank Gola at the Daily News:

“I hope to attract really good golfers.  It’s a tough track and it’s going to stay a tough track,” [Zucker] explained.  “But it’s going to be a welcoming course for people who are really into golf.”

The course will still be open to the public for the remainder of the season.

“Whenever the season is over from a weather point of view, that’s when we will stop the public from coming in,” said Zucker, who hopes to close on the property by next Wednesday.  “Interestingly enough, the people who had it have kept the names and emails of every single person who ever played the course who we will be able to email every single person and let them know what’s going to happen.”

Zucker says he doesn’t have a lot of definite plans yet but he will improve the practice areas and expand the men’s lockeroom. -- Hank Gola, Daily News, 7/12/2013

After the sale agreement, Newsday's Mark Herrmann relayed Zucker's intentions to have course architect Tom Doak take a look at Long Island National -- the first signal that news would likely be bad for public players.  Doak restored the private North Shore Country Club in Glen Head for Zucker after the developer purchased that bankrupt course in 2009.

For public players, the pickings remain plentiful in and around the Riverhead area, with Great Rock and Tallgrass to the north, the Manorville courses to the south, and Cherry Creek, Indian Island and the restored nine-hole Sandy Pond right down the road in town.  Long Island National will now compete with golf juggernauts Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links and Sebonack, to name a few, plus nearby North Fork clubs.

Newsday has more on the details of Zucker's purchase here.  First-timers at Long Island National or returning players looking to tee it up one last time can learn more about the layout by reading the course flyover.

[UPDATE -- 7/22/2013:  The club announced in an e-mail that new ownership will not honor any prepaid vouchers purchased before July 17 on third-party sites like Groupon, Amazon Local and LivingSocial.]

"World's Largest Golf Outing" ready to return to Pine Ridge to benefit Wounded Warrior Project

The "World's Largest Golf Outing" -- a Billy Casper Golf event to raise money for the Wounded Warrior Project -- will tee off at 110 different courses in 28 states on Monday, August 12.  Long Island golfers can participate at Billy Casper Golf's lone local course -- Pine Ridge Golf Club in Coram.  The outing begins at 1:30 p.m.

Entry fee is $59, with $5 from each registration plus all additional donations going to the Wounded Warrior Project.  To date, the nationwide event has raised more than $100,000.  The fee covers cart, range balls, lunch, an awards reception and a chance at prizes, including a grand-prize trip for four to the Nike campus in Oregon.  Format for the tournament is four-person scramble.

Space is limited.  Register online, sponsor a team or donate directly to the Wounded Warrior Project by visiting the World's Largest Golf Outing website. 

Built in 2006, Pine Ridge is one of Long Island's newer courses.  For more on the local host course, check out the Pine Ridge flyover.  And for additional information on the Wounded Warrior Project, visit the organization's website.

Birdies, bogeys and Blue Points at Great Rock on July 26

Summer afternoons are best spent with a golf club in one hand and a cold beer in the other.  Sure, this setup won't promote much of a ball flight, but it will certainly be relaxing.  Great Rock Golf Club and the Blue Point Brewing Company will pair these two summer classics on Friday, July 26 when the Wading River course hosts a nine-hole tournament featuring the best of Blue Point's brew lineup.  

The event is a team scramble.  The $65 entry fee includes driving range, beverage cart, buffet dinner and Blue Point drafts.  Prizes will be given for low team score, though with plenty of local microbrews at the ready as well as food from Great Rock's Blackwells restaurant, everyone's a winner.  Tee time is 5:00 p.m.

Golfers must reserve a spot by e-mailing Great Rock general manager Brian Curtin at [email protected] with a complete list of participants.  Singles and twosomes will be paired with others, if possible.

For more on Great Rock, check out the course flyover.  And to take a look at Blue Point's delicious beer roster, including its award-winning Hoptical Illusion, visit the brewery's website.

Timber Point's Blue Course reopens, all 27 holes now open for play

The Blue Course at Timber Point has made its 2013 debut, just a few months later than normal.  The waterside nine and home of the Gibraltar par-3 is open again at the Great River course, bringing the 27-hole facility to full capacity for the first time since last year.  Blue's bayside holes were heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy in October.

Timber Point golf director Andy Carracino says there are local rules currently in place that allow improved lies and relief from ground under repair.  Greens are in decent shape, though #5 is still healing from storm damage.  Most player feedback so far during the Blue's recovery has been positive.

For more on the Blue Course at Timber Point, check out the course flyover.

Lido Golf Club to host July 4th outing

Fireworks will fly later that night, but in the morning, tee shots will soar on the south shore as part of Lido Golf Club's first annual Independence Day Shotgun, scheduled to kick off at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 4.  Registration is currently open through the Lido pro shop.

The $70 entry fee covers breakfast and range time beginning at 7 a.m., plus beverages and contests on the course.  Call (516) 889-8181 or stop by the Lido Beach course to reserve a spot.

For an overview of Lido Golf Club, check out the course flyover.