Golf on Long Island

Family-operated Spring Lake Golf Club celebrating its 50th anniversary

Fifty years ago, with the Long Island golf industry in the midst of a boom period, a local farmer turned his attention away from the fields and toward the fairways, setting the groundwork for a new family business that would provide a half-century worth of golf to players in and around Middle Island.  That's the boiled-down story of the Spring Lake Golf Club, a fixture on the local golf scene since 1967, as described by Newsday's Mark Herrmann earlier this month in a profile of the public course in its 50th-anniversary season..

Charles Jurgens, along with his brothers Fred and Herman and course designer Charles K. Martin, built the course in the late 1960s, a decade that saw dozens of new public and private golf facilities pop up in Nassau and Suffolk to accommodate the new suburbanites flocking east to Long Island.  Three generations later the family business of running the 18-hole Thunderbird course and nine-hole Sandpiper course remains successful.

[Jurgens'] life’s work involved putting in the original irrigation system and outlining the fairways, pacing off yardages from Martin’s intricate pencil drawings (which still exist and were out on a clubhouse table yesterday).  His nephew Rick started working at Spring Lake as a teenager and is now the manager.  Rick’s son Tyler is a key member of superintendent Don Amsler’s greens staff and is married to the head pro, the former Cristy Grzymala.  Their two children, five and one, are well known to the golfers who keep showing up.

“Being a family business, it becomes personal,” Cristy said. “They look forward to hearing about our lives and what’s going on.”

The Jurgenses have built and/or owned other courses, including Indian Hills, Heatherwood, Swan Lake and Cherry Creek.  But Spring Lake — with its 18- and nine-hole courses — is the flagship, still doing 50,000 rounds a year despite a national decrease in golf participation." -- Mark Herrmann, Newsday, 9/14/2017

Spring Lake's parkland setup, with trees closely hugging just about every hole, has been given a boost over the past few seasons thanks to faster green speeds.  A new drainage system has the course in "the best shape it has ever been in,” Rick Jurgens told Newsday.  “The greens are a lot quicker than they’ve been, a lot smoother than they’ve been in the past.”

For more on Spring Lake, check out the Thunderbird and Sandpiper flyovers.

Fall aeration schedule at Bethpage

Fall has arrived on Long Island, and fall's aeration season will soon make its way to the Bethpage golf courses, among others.

Two courses -- Blue and Yellow -- were aerated in August, but the other three will close for maintenance in October, with the Black first up on the schedule.

Courses will close on the following dates, according to the park's posted schedule:

Black Course: Tuesday, October 10 to Thursday, October 12
Green Course: Wednesday, October 18 and Thursday, October 19
Red Course: Tuesday, October 24 to Thursday, October 26.

Call the park hotline at (516) 249-0707 for the latest updates.

Observations: Lido Golf Club, now under Hempstead Town control

Lido Golf Club closed for several weeks this past June as the Town of Hempstead took control of the course from longtime operator Double Eagle Golf.  The course reopened just as the summer began with a number of additions and minor changes to the course grounds and facilities.

Last month, Golf On Long Island's Lido veteran Anthony Dimino visited the South Shore course for the first time since its reopening under Hempstead control and documented some of the changes:

• All previously dirt/gravel cart paths have been infilled with recycled glass (pictured)
• Yardage markers added to driving range
• New range balls
• Landscaping, new paint and LED overhead lighting added to the range
• New counter in clubhouse for check-in, separate from the old check-in at the Pro Shop
• Fairway slimmed down on the 10th
• Cart bridges rebuilt -- two on #16 and one between #16 and #17
• No alcohol sold on the course; bar was not in use
• Improvements to exterior of halfway house; bathroom fixtures changed out, metal doors, etc. (includes the bathrooms near the 12th green/15th green)

"Fairways, greens and tee boxes were all in excellent shape.  Rough was thick throughout; a couple of patchy spots, otherwise solid.  Bunkers, as always, need work -- not much change from before.

"Teed off at roughly 8:40 a.m. and finished at 1:20 p.m.  Waited on a few holes, but for a Sunday morning round, under five hours was good."

GOLI reader Steve C. also chimed in via Facebook:  "I have played both courses (Lido and Merrick Road Park GC) for well over 30 years and they are in the best condition I have ever seen."

One downgrade since the change has been Lido's web presence.  Lido's former website -- www.lidogolf.com -- is no longer operating, and its Twitter page only seems to exist to spit out weekly promotions for car-rental discounts.  A basic tee-time interface can be found at a new URL -- www.lidogolfcourse.com.

Pine Hills greens aeration on September 12-13

Pine Hills Golf and Country Club in Manorville will aerate its greens on Tuesday, September 12 and Wednesday, September 13.  Discounted rates will be available during aeration and through the rest of the week.

Book special-rate tee times online at the Pine Hills website or call the course at (631) 878-7103.

Surf & Turf golf special at Spring Lake

Spring Lake Golf Course is bringing a bit of a date-night vibe to the fairways and greens later this month.

The Middle Island course is hosting its second annual Surf & Turf special on Friday, September 15.  Meals at the Spring Lake restaurant include lobster tails, filet mignon and live music, in addition to a complimentary cigar or wine tasting.

Couples who play nine holes with cart prior to dinner get all golf, food and entertainment for a total of $175.  Cost for dinner-only guests is $70 per person or $120 per couple.  Dining and entertainment is scheduled for 5:00 to 9:00 p.m.

Make a reservation by calling (631) 924-8844.

September Golf & Dine special at Cherry Creek Woods

Late-summer, late-afternoon golf comes with delicious perks this month  at The Woods Course at Cherry Creek.

The Woods is offering separate Golf and Dine specials for nine- and 18-hole afternoon rounds played Wednesday through Monday in September.  The 18-hole special, valid after 12:30 p.m., is $75 and includes golf, cart and a $30 dinner voucher at Stonewalls, the course's on-site restaurant.  Nine-hole specials start at 3 p.m. and cost $50.

Golf and Dine tee times must be booked through the Woods pro shop.  Call (631) 506-0777 to reserve.

For more on Cherry Creek Woods, see the course flyover.

Special September rates at Brentwood and Holbrook CCs

Even before their summer specials came to an end, Brentwood CC and Holbrook CC announced a new slate of discounts for September golf.

The two Town of Islip municipal courses are offering specials on all rounds scheduled for 11:00 a.m. or later until the end of September.  On weekdays, 18-hole rounds with cart and reservation fees included are $38 per player ($32 for seniors).  On weekends and holidays, cost is $42 (and $38 for seniors).

Walking golfers can play 18 holes without a cart for $24 after 11 a.m. and $20 after 2 p.m.

Contact Brentwood and Holbrook directly for additional info on discount rates.

Nine & Dine special at Mill Pond on September 8

Birdies, bogeys and BBQ are on the menu at Mill Pond Golf Course for a special Nine & Dine event planned for Friday, September 8.

For $65, golfers can play a late-afternoon nine-hole round and chase it with a buffet of burgers, hot dogs, chicken, ribs, beer and plenty more.  Tee time is 4:30 p.m., with food and drinks served from 7:00 to 9:30.

Register for the event by calling Mill Pond at (631) 732-8249.  Pre-payment is required.

For more on Mill Pond, check out the course flyover.

Dental Mission to Madagascar Golf Outing scheduled for September 17 at Pine Ridge

Pine Ridge Golf Course in Coram will host the 2018 Dental Mission to Madagascar Golf Outing, an event to support students of the Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine.  The outing raises money to send a team of dental students and faculty members on an annual mission to the isolated African country to perform sometimes life-saving dental work free of charge.  All proceeds go to the Madagascar Outreach Fund.

This year's event is scheduled for Sunday, September 17 with a 1:00 p.m. tee time.  Format for the event is four-person scramble.  The $185 entry fee includes golf, cart, dinner, open bar and entertainment.  There will be putting, long-drive and closest-to-the-pin contests, prizes for low individual and team scores, plus the chance to win raffles and auction prizes. 

Players and sponsors can register online, and learn more about Stony Brook's charitable efforts in Madagascar, at the Dental Mission to Madagascar website. 

Pine Ridge is one of Long Island's newer courses, built through former pine forest in Coram.  To learn more about the course, check out the Pine Ridge flyover.