Golf on Long Island

No Halloween "Trick or Treat" Scramble at Crab Meadow in 2014

If you were in the mood to swing hickory drivers or play a hole as a reverse scramble (play the worst ball) this Halloween, you're probably out of luck.  Crab Meadow Golf Course will not be running its annual "Trick or Treat" scramble on Halloween.

The event featured alternating tricks and treats that were either sweet or sour on the scorecard.  "Tricks" like the ones listed above were countered by holes with super-sized cups or a keg at the tee.

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.  On Halloween it was typically a "trick" hole -- if two players splashed into the hazard, the team carded an automatic triple bogey.

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

Tenth edition of the Long Island Press "Best of LI" poll now open for voting

There are ways each year to keep Long Island's golf courses in mind even when the playing season is on its last legs and the golf clubs are slowly making their way into storage.  One of them is to check in at the Long Island Press website to see which courses are finalists for "Best Golf Course" in the newspaper's annual "Best of LI" poll, presented by Bethpage Credit Union.  This year is the tenth edition of the survey and includes a format twist -- there will only be a first-place finisher, which is bad news for courses not named Bethpage.

Go to the Long Island Press website to vote for your favorite course as well as "Best Driving Range," "Best Golf Store" and a number of other "Bests" in different categories across Long Island.  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.  As in last year's poll, 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.  Frequent runners-up Eisenhower Park and Rock Hill will need lots of reader help to knock off the king in this year's first-place-only tally.  Voting closes on December 15.

This year's public-course nominees are:

• Bethpage State Park
• Eisenhower Park
• The Golf Club at Middle Bay (fka South Bay)
• Harbor Links
• Lido GC
• Rock Hill
• Smithtown Landing
• Stonebridge Golf Links
• Swan Lake
• Timber Point
• Town of Oyster Bay GC
• Willow Creek Golf & Country Club

Vote for the "Best Golf Course" of 2015 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.

Cherry Creek refutes rumors about course closure

Someone's been telling tales of a stormy outlook for Cherry Creek in Riverhead, but the facility made it clear Thursday that its two courses and on-site restaurant are here to stay.

In an e-mail distributed to subscribers on Thursday, Cherry Creek general manager Eileen McCaffrey addressed rumors of course closure by stating that the Links Course, Woods Course and Stonewalls Restaurant will all operate according to their typical schedule this upcoming offseason and be open for play in 2015.  McCaffrey added that the Links clubhouse will be renovated early next year and that new promotions are on the agenda, as well.

Given the recent history of golf in the Riverhead area, any bit of speculation is bound to spread.  In the last year, Long Island National was sold and converted to a private club, Great Rock Golf Club temporarily closed before reopening under new owners, and Calverton Links abruptly shut down and is now decaying in plain sight on Edwards Avenue.  McCaffrey wrote that any rumors spread by "fellow competitors, disgruntled former employees or unknowing patrons" will be disputed.

Cherry Creek sits on the doorstep of Long Island's North Fork and is home to the Island's only par-6.  Golf On Long Island visited the Woods Course this spring.  Click the link for the Woods Course flyover, or read more about the Links Course and its 644-yard closer.