Golf on Long Island

New Crab Meadow golf operator details course and clubhouse improvement plans

The Florida-based company that is now operating both the Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Park golf courses will improve the practice facilities, modernize dining options and make changes to course maintenance procedures, according to company e-mails sent to local golfers this month.

Integrity Golf Company, which won a bid in November to operate the two Town of Huntington courses for five years, detailed its improvement plans in three separate e-mails distributed earlier this month to members of Crab Meadow's mailing list.  The letters from executive vice president of golf operations Kenny Nairn, executive vice president of food and beverage operations Arto Rahmani and regional director of agronomy Steve Schendel outline the new operator's vision for the facilities both on and off the course.

Crab Meadow's practice area will undergo a "first-class facelift" with new driving-range mats, additional target areas and redesigned putting greens, according to Nairn. 

"Another change being evaluated is having the hitting area lighted, heated and canopied, making Crab Meadow one of the top year-round practice facilities in the New York Met market," Nairn said.

A new fleet of golf carts will be available at Crab Meadow by the spring, in addition to new pull carts, range balls and ball dispensers.  At Dix Hills, the range will also get new practice balls and target areas.

Schendel said Integrity will collaborate with the Town of Huntington's maintenance staff to continue improving conditions at both courses.  "One example of some cultural programs Huntington is open-minded in trying are use of plant growth regulators and the practice of using greens rollers," Schendel said, "both of which should enhance the consistency and speed of Crab Meadow's greens."

Food and dining options will be upgraded at Crab Meadow and Dix Hills, according to Rahmani.  Crab Meadow's restaurant will have a new look and menu, and the pro shop will offer more "grab-and-go" food items.  Family-oriented Dix Hills will offer simple items like pizza, hot dogs, pretzels and ice cream.  Community food and dining events are also in the works.

Nairn added that he hopes to introduce The First Tee junior golf programs to Crab Meadow.

Integrity Golf, based in Winter Garden, Florida, won the bid to operate the municipal courses in November.  According to Newsday, Integrity will pay the town $559,500 or 10 percent of gross annual revenues as part of its five-year contract.

For more on Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Park, check out the course flyovers.

Indian Island Country Club to begin irrigating with treated wastewater in 2016

In an effort to protect the Peconic River from nitrogen pollution and conserve water, Suffolk County will begin a new program in 2016 that will divert 350,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day into the irrigation system of the Indian Island Country Club golf course, Newsday reported last week.

The program at the Riverhead course will be "the first of its kind in Suffolk County," according to county legislator Al Krupski.  The Riverhead Sewer District plant, located just west of the golf course, will link up with Indian Island's watering system during irrigation months and pump nearly half of its normal daily output to the course rather than into the Peconic River, which is polluted with high nitrogen and low oxygen levels.

Besides pollution control, the program will lessen the need to use water from underground aquifers for irrigation purposes.

Sewer District Superintendent Michael Reichel said the wastewater will be treated "to the limits of technology" and be "better than the water they're pumping from the ground." He said municipalities often reuse wastewater in arid states, but the practice is rare in New York. -- Newsday, Will James, 1/9/2015

The program is a byproduct of a $24 million infrastructure upgrade at the plant that is due for completion next year.  According to the Riverhead News-Review, the program -- a joint endeavor between town and county government -- was first discussed in the 1980s and has been planned since 2004.  Up until the plant's upgrade, however, wastewater could not be treated to a level suitable for irrigation.  Watering will be done at night when the course is empty to limit any odors noticeable to golfers.

Indian Island is one of four Suffolk County-operated municipal golf courses.  Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon is also located beside a sewage treatment plant.

Golf Galaxy to close its Westbury store at The Source Mall

Golf Galaxy announced in an e-mail this week that its retail store at The Source Mall in Westbury will close for business on Saturday, January 17.  The Source location is Golf Galaxy's only Long Island outlet.

The store was scheduled to remain open through January, according to the company e-mail, but the closing date was moved up by two weeks.  The sharp decline of The Source Mall, combined with the recent opening of the nearby PGA Tour Superstore (and the ongoing presence of Golfsmith in Carle Place), likely hampered the Westbury branch. 

Golf Galaxy has locations across the country, each offering simulators and services like regrips, fittings and club repair.