Six months ago, on a blustery Sunday morning, Timber Point opened its 2013 season with a St. Patrick's Day outing on its Red Course -- the only one of the three nines fully operational long after Hurricane Sandy. About 60 golfers made their way around the inland Red while a handful of early-season players teed off on the White for nine holes on a makeshift White-Blue routing.
Down by the water, the core of the bayside Blue Course remained out of commission. The forecast for the famed Gibraltar hole and the two par-4s that followed -- fully exposed to the water and ravaged by the storm -- was a possible June reopening.
That reopening day eventually arrived, nearly on schedule in the beginning of July, and today, the Blue Course is back to its old self, with little evidence of the debris removal, the saltwater damage and the spring reseeding that had the course offline for eight months. The course, amazingly, is in nearly pristine condition, its fairways lush and greens smooth with nothing more than the typical stray ball mark. The walk from the tee to the summit of the Gibraltar par-3 -- where the flag is just a few paces from Great South Bay -- is like a stroll on a new green carpet.
GOLI visited Timber Point earlier this month for the first time since that March outing and got its first look at the post-Sandy Blue. The recovery is hard to believe. Other than some rocky rough along the water on #6, and a few roped-off, low-lying spots still being reseeded near the tee on #7, the Blue is as strong as ever. It's hard to tell that just over two years ago, the bayfront portion of the course was torn up by Hurricane Irene, its turf damaged and irrigation system exposed to the elements. It reopened briefly that fall but closed early for repairs. In 2012 the Blue was home again to summer and autumn rounds along the bay. Then Sandy arrived.
No signs of this ordeal on Blue #2 -- the "Harbor" par-3 -- where a peninsula green sits down below in a basin. The vibrant turf blends with the brown reeds at water's edge and the blue horizon. In the distance is Gibraltar, whose green is perched on top of a bluff that provides a scenic and uninterrupted view of Great South Bay and the mouth of the Connetquot River. It also looks back on the bulk of the course all the way to the clubhouse.
The walk to Gibraltar's bluff is squeezed by tall brown brush. The putting surface and approach meld together in a vivid green. Looking up at the flag, there's nothing behind it but the sky. To the right, #6 tees off along the edge of the bay. A rocky, sandy strip separates the fairway from the water. On #7, another hole with nothing but the bay to the left, a couple of patches near the tee require additional seeding. The hole continues without issue to a big, round green.
Timber Point closes in the offseason. The Blue Course's fairways and greens have already been aerated. Given the conditions and the pleasant early-autumn weather, now is the ideal time to revisit the historic and revitalized bayside nine.
[NOTE: Newsday ran a column earlier this week about Timber Point's recovery. Read it here.]
