Golf on Long Island

Original Lido Club featured on Golf Channel, golf history podcast

Amid its wall-to-wall PGA Championship coverage at Bethpage Black earlier this week, the Golf Channel aired a short but fascinating six-minute feature on a lesser-known Long Island golf powerhouse, one that's long gone but certainly not forgotten by followers of golf history.

The segment covered the original Lido Club (1914-1942) with insight provided by Connor Lewis of the Society of Golf Historians and golf architect Jim Urbina, both of whom have extensively researched the C.B. Macdonald classic, a course considered by many during its brief peak to be among the greatest golf courses ever built.  Last year, Lewis walked the routing of the original club, tracing the locations of its famous holes that are now buried beneath Lido Beach homes and schools or part of Lido West Town Park.  Lewis even teed up a few shots on the site of the oceanfront par-3 eighth, now a public beach.  Lewis and Urbina walk through some of these locations in the segment.

Bringing all the black-and-white historical imagery to life are incredibly detailed computer renderings of the Lido produced by Peter Flory, a Michigan-based golfer with an appreciation for lost golf courses.  His work on the Lido has spanned hundreds of hours recreating the course using available photos, models and aerial images.  Much of his work to date has been published on the Golf Club Atlas discussion forum.

View the feature on the Golf Channel website.

This weekend, Lewis and Urbina went into deeper detail on Rod Morri's TalkinGolf History podcast:

In the podcast, Lewis, Urbina and Morri discuss the history of Lido as well as their exploration of the current site, efforts to recreate the course elsewhere, and the search for long-lost course photos taken by the family owners right before its WWII-era demise.

For additional info on the group's work, visit the Society of Golf Historians Twitter page.

And be sure to check out Golf On Long Island's previous coverage of the Lido Club:

A brief look back at the original Lido Golf Club in its "centennial" season
Street Names: The Ghosts of Long Island Golf's Past, Part 2 (Lido Club)
Newsday slideshow features 11 places that were formerly golf courses
Closer Look: Lido Golf Club #16

Also, the Lido Club is prominently featured in the photo-history book "Images of America: Long Island Golf" by GOLI's Phil Carlucci.  Follow the preceding link for more info or click the book image at the top of the page.

Willow Creek offering free green fee for PGA Championship ticketholders

Here's an added perk for locals and visitors who will be on site at Bethpage to see the world's best golfers compete in the PGA Championship.

Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai is offering a free round to PGA ticketholders during Championship week, May 13-19.  Just show your official PGA ticket or pass and all you will pay is a cart fee.  The deal is valid all day Monday through Friday, and after 2 p.m. on the weekend.

Elsewhere, Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon is waiving tee-time restrictions for the month of May.  Residents and non-residents can book a round at the Suffolk County muni by calling the course directly at (631) 661-8282.  (Online tee times are still subject to residency rules.)

Swan Lake flips its two nines, now draws to a watery close

The course at Swan Lake Golf Club looks the same as always this 2019 season, with its roomy fairways and even roomier greens, but its scorecards sure don't.  Swan Lake flipped its front and back nines in April, a change sure to take many by surprise upon their first visit of the new year. 

Perhaps the most significant effect of the new routing is that it now concludes with what is arguably Swan Lake's most intimidating hole.  The new 18th, formerly #9, is a 373-yard par-4 with water along the entire right side.  The hazard even reaches across the far end of the fairway, serving as a deterrent for long drives and an ominous, penal presence on the round's final approach shots.

Swan Lake's equally testy -- albeit drier -- par-4, now arrives early in the round as #3.  The former 12th features an incredibly slim green sandwiched by two side bunkers.

For more on Swan Lake, check out the course flyover.

[PICTURED: Swan Lake's former seventh hole, a sharp-looking par-3 with hazards short and left, is now #16.]

Golfing Magazine's 2019 Free Golf Program covers rounds at ten courses

We're inching closer toward peak golf season on Long Island, and while peak rates are starting to kick in, you can still pay like it's December thanks to another season of "free golf" courtesy of Golfing Magazine.

Golfing Mag announced this past week that ten Long Island golf courses are taking part in the 2019 "Free Golf Program," an annual discount promotion that allows subscribers to pay nothing in green fees for rounds at select courses around the Island.  Eight of this year's layouts are holdovers from last season.  Two courses are new to the program in 2019 -- Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa and Pine Ridge Golf Club in Coram.

In addition to that twosome, Free Golf certificates cover rounds at Brentwood Country Club, Gull Haven Golf Course in Central Islip, Harbor Links Executive Course in Port Washington, Holbrook Country Club, Island's End Golf & Country Club in Greenport, Mill Pond in Medford, Rolling Oaks in Miller Place and The Golf Club at Middle Bay in Oceanside.

Also included is one hour of simulator time at Simplay in Hauppauge, plus a one-year subscription (five issues) to Golfing Magazine.

Subscribers will soon receive their Free Golf certificate in the mail.  Taking advantage of the promotion is simple -- bring the certificate with you to the course and all you pay is a cart fee (and reservation fee, in some instances).  The certificate is honored only once at each course, at designated times during the week and on Sundays.  Availability varies by course.  (Specific terms for each course are listed on the certificate and can be viewed at the Golfing Magazine website.)  Be sure to double-check all terms and conditions when reserving your round.  Tee times must be made in advance.

As an added bonus for those who travel across the Northeast, certificates are also valid at dozens of golf courses across upstate New York and New England. 

Players can subscribe throughout the season for only $49.  Certificates are valid until December 31, 2019.  To subscribe, contact Golfing Magazine at (516) 822-5446 or visit online at www.GolfingMagLI.com.  And for descriptions of the participating Long Island courses, click the links above to read the course flyovers.

Bethpage State Park golf courses to close for PGA Championship on May 6

Bethpage Black has already closed in advance of this month's 2019 PGA Championship, and its four sibling courses at Bethpage State Park will soon follow suit.

The Blue, Green and Red courses will all close to the public on Monday, May 6 to make way for tournament prep and play.  (Yellow will be aerated on May 2 and remain closed thereafter.)  All courses, including the Black, are tentatively scheduled to reopen for play on Saturday, May 25.

After the tournament clears out, temporary tees will remain in use on Green #1 and #18, Red #1 and #5, and Blue #1.  The Yellow Course will continue to be available only for nine-hole rounds, as well.

Call the park office or visit the NYS Bethpage reservation website for updated information.

Visitor information for the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage State Park

The famous Black Course at Bethpage State Park will host the 2019 PGA Championship from Monday, May 13 to Sunday, May 19.  For those who will be in attendance at any point during tournament week, there is plenty to be aware of in advance.

For official transportation information, including LIRR, Uber, car and pedestrian access, see Here's How to Make Your Way to the PGA at Bethpage.

For info on discounts and perks offered during PGA week at other area golf courses, click here.

For detailed information on Bethpage Black, check out our Golf On Long Island flyover.

And if you're a Long Island novice with an interest in playing a round or two while you are here for the championship, be sure to peruse GOLI's Visitor's Guide to Long Island Golf, updated for 2019.