Golf on Long Island

Newsday: Florida buyer would preserve, upgrade Peninsula GC upon sale

The Florida-based buyer who has offered more than $4 million to purchase Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa told Newsday this week that he plans to keep the property a golf course and make improvements to the grounds and facilities upon acquisition of the site.

Holding up the sale, however, is Oyster Bay Town's own rumored plans to seize the golf course through eminent domain, a move town representatives claim would maintain the longtime covenants that protect the property from outside development.

Richard Schaub, Jr., owner of Great American Properties, told Newsday he is willing to to work with Oyster Bay to ensure the property remains a public golf course, but town officials are unwilling to discuss it.  Schaub's vision for the public nine-hole course focuses on improved conditions, including "perfectly sculpted" sand traps, and a larger, modernized clubhouse that's attractive to the surrounding Nassau Shores community.  Two holes would be adjusted to protect nearby homes.

[Schaub] said he also wants to invest a yet-to-be determined amount in expanding the clubhouse to be "a place where neighbors could come in for a hamburger and a beer" and watch a game on television.

In an Aug. 10 letter to the Oyster Bay Town Board, Schaub wrote he had been unable to comment on his plans previously due to a confidentiality agreement with the current owner, P.G.C. Holding Corp., but sought to reassure the board of his intentions.

"We are purchasing it as a golf course, and as a golf course only," Schaub wrote.  Schaub said he received no response from the town. -- Ted Phillips, Newsday, 8/26/2021

Peninsula Golf Club was founded in 1946 on the site of the defunct Nassau Shores Country Club, and the deed between Nassau County and the club's ownership group included covenants that prohibit residential development, farming and any other uses other than a public golf course.  Earlier this year, Peninsula's shareholders voted to sell the course to Schaub's firm for $4.4 million. 

Oyster Bay then floated the possibility of eminent domain, saying an outside developer could theoretically get around the covenants and leave the property vulnerable to private development.  Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has said Nassau will enforce the covenants upon sale of the property.

"That property is not going to be a housing subdivision," Schaub told Newsday.  "That property should remain green."

Fall aeration scheduled at Bethpage

Aeration season is set to get underway at Bethpage State Park, and first up for the hole-punch treatment is the Blue Course, which will close for fall maintenance on August 31 and September 1.

Its neighbor, the Yellow Course (pictured), will close for aeration September 2 and 3.

Bethpage's other three courses will close according to the following aeration schedule:

• Black Course: September 7 and 13
• Green Course:  September 9-10
• Red Course:  October 5-6

Be sure to call the Bethpage golf office at (516) 249-0700 for the latest info on course availability.

Crab Meadow renamed for supervisor who helped develop town golf courses

Huntington Town has renamed Crab Meadow Golf Course to honor the former town supervisor who played a key role in developing Huntington's parks system and two municipal golf courses.

Robert J. Flynn, Huntington supervisor from 1959 to 1965, was instrumental in the town's creation of municipal parks and recreational facilities in the early 1960s, preserving open space for public use rather than private development.  The Northport golf course was rechristened Robert J. Flynn Crab Meadow Golf Course in a Friday ceremony with government officials and Flynn family members on hand, per Newsday.

Flynn's early vision of a town parks system eventually led to a 1962 referendum that paved the way for golf courses at Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Park.  Crab Meadow was built on the grounds of the former Northport Country Club, a 1920s-era Devereux Emmet course that was abandoned for nearly two decades before Flynn's push for a new centerpiece golf course.  William Mitchell designed the course, which opened in 1965.

From Newsday:

Flynn served as a supervisor until 1965. Along with revitalizing Crab Meadow, now named the Robert J. Flynn Crab Meadow Golf Course, Flynn adopted the first master plan of any town in New York State and a town ethics code.

Calling Flynn "the founding father" of the town’s park system, Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said the Bronx native’s vision for Huntington "ensured open space, protection of our environment and quality of life for future generations." -- Keldy Ortiz, Newsday, 8/13/21

Flynn passed away in 2013, and the town board passed a resolution to honor Flynn with the name change this past December.

X-Golf indoor simulator venue to open Westbury location in November

Topgolf is not the only national golf and entertainment chain planting its first flag on Long Island this season.

California-based X-Golf, an industry leader in golf simulator technology with more than 20 indoor golf centers nationwide, will open a Westbury location this November at Samanea New York, formerly known as the Mall at The Source, according to Newsday.  It will be the first X-Golf franchise in New York.

Its arrival will be followed in December by a second Long Island location slated to open in Commack.

X-Golf venues combine the company's state-of-the-art simulators with food and beverage service in a casual, beginner-friendly setting.  Many offer league play, professional instruction and lounge-style amenities.  X-Golf simulators feature advanced innovations like adjustable ground slope and automated ball retrieval.

The Westbury location will take over a 6,300-square-foot space previously occupied by David's Bridal in the Source Mall, a shopping center that has sat mostly empty for the past decade.  (Golf Galaxy closed its site at the mall in 2015.)  The center's renovation and rebranding as Samanea New York under new ownership includes attracting lifestyle- and experience-focused tenants.  Another entertainment venue called Empire Adventure Park is scheduled to open there in 2022, per Newsday.