Golf on Long Island

Crab Meadow to host Trick Or Treat Scramble on Halloween

When you have to line up a putt blindfolded, tee off with an antique driver and play "worst ball" on a hole, you know it's Halloween at Crab Meadow.  The Northport golf course is hosting another Trick Or Treat Scramble this year, scheduled to tee off at noon on Thursday, October 31.  Luckily there are just as many treats -- think multiple-pin greens and free-beer holes -- as the above-mentioned tricks.

Entry fee for the event is $65 per player and includes cart, range balls, prize opportunities and post-round food and drinks.  Best costume plays for free.  Call the course at (631) 757-8800 to register.

Crab Meadow is a hilly and scenic 18 near the Long Island Sound in Northport.  The eighth, a relatively short par-5 with out-of-bounds pinching close to the fairway on both sides and a pond in front of the green, is the course's signature hole.  It's also a "trick" hole during the Halloween scramble -- if two players dunk shots into the hazard, it's an automatic triple bogey for the team.

For more on Crab Meadow, check out the course flyover.

Lido Golf Club to host New York Apple Core fundraiser outing

The New York Apple Core junior hockey program and Lido Golf Club both absorbed heavy damage from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, and on the eve of the storm's first anniversary, the repaired and restored Lido Beach golf course will help raise money for its Long Beach neighbor to enjoy a similar rejuvenation. 

Registration is open for the New York Apple Core golf outing, which will tee off on Monday, October 28.  The outing will help Apple Core -- one of the country's top junior hockey programs -- recover some of the costs from rink damages and repair and get the future of the program back on track.  Entry fee is $195 per golfer and covers lunch, dinner, drinks and range balls.  Dinner-only guests can attend for $65.  Sign-up information is available on the outing brochure. 

For more on Apple Core and its alumni currently playing in the National Hockey League, visit the Apple Core website.

Family special this Sunday at Spring Lake

Spring Lake Golf Club is running a "Sunday Funday" family special this holiday weekend (October 13) on its nine-hole Sandpiper Course.

For $50, guests can reserve a tee time on the Sandpiper Course for one adult and one junior player, with motor cart and a hot dog and soda for each player included.  The special is valid after 2:00 p.m.  Call (631) 924-5115 to reserve a family tee time.

Sandpiper is Spring Lake's nine-hole course.  Its opening hole (pictured) requires a double carry over the club's namesake water hazard.  For more, check out the Sandpiper flyover, and for even more than that, visit the flyover of Spring Lake's 18-hole Thunderbird Course.

Long Island Press announces nominees for "Best Golf Course" of 2014

The golf season is winding down, which means voting in the annual Long Island Press "Best of LI" poll is just heating up.  Golfers and golf fans have a few months to cast their votes online for Long Island's "Best Golf Course" as well as the area's top driving range and golf store. 

Voting is open at the Long Island Press website for not only golf, but dozens of other categories in the 2014 survey.  Each year the newspaper and its readers determine nominees across a variety of genres and ask Long Islanders to pick which ones are truly the finest.  This year, a dozen public courses and three private clubs in Nassau and Suffolk are finalists for the golf title.  Not surprisingly, Bethpage State Park has dominated the poll in years past.  Voting closes on December 15.

This year's public-course nominees are:

• Bethpage State Park
• Calverton Links
• Eisenhower Park
• Harbor Links
• Holbrook Country Club
• Lido GC
• Rock Hill
• Smithtown Landing
• Stonebridge Golf Links
• Tallgrass
• Timber Point
• Town of Oyster Bay GC

Vote for the "Best Golf Course" of 2014 at www.LongIslandPress.com, and while you're there be sure to cast a vote for your favorite driving range and golf shop.  Winners will be announced in January.

Angela's House Golf Outing scheduled for October 7 at Willow Creek G&CC

Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai will host the Angela's House Golf Outing on Monday, October 7 at 1:00 p.m.  Angela's House is a Hauppauge-based non-profit organization that assists families in finding suitable care for medically frail children.

Entry fee per golfer is $175, which covers a pre-round lunch at 11:30 and range balls.  On-course amenities include food at the halfway house and a beverage cart.  A cocktail hour and dinner with awards and raffles will begin at 6:30.  Dinner-only guests can attend for $100.  To sign up for the event as a player, foursome, dinner guest or sponsor, visit the Angela's House website. 

Willow Creek is a Stephen Kay design with stylized bunkers, prevalent water hazards and slick, contoured greens.  For more on the course, check out the Willow Creek flyover.

For more on Angela's House, visit the organization's website.