Great Rock Golf Club, the Wading River course that closed in 2019 and was sold to new owners last year, could reopen for play this spring, possibly by Memorial Day, according to staff.
The course, now dormant for nearly two and a half years, has undergone renovation and modification projects since its sale last May. In addition to general upkeep of the fairways and greens, maintenance crews have improved the irrigation and drainage systems, upgraded facilities to accommodate a new fleet of electric carts, and renovated bunkers and other areas of play. Trees have been removed from parts of the course, as well. The layout of the course is unchanged.
Still to come is a rebuild of the driving range. Visitors to the site today will find a driving range with torn-up grounds and tattered netting. The first and 18th holes appear to be in playable condition.
"When everything is finished, the course will be much better than what was here before," the staffer said.
Local owners Chris Vene and Anthony Lomangino purchased the course in May 2021, according to the Riverhead News-Review. Vene has an ownership stake in the nearby Baiting Hollow Golf Club in Baiting Hollow and The Vineyards Golf Club in Riverhead, as well as a golf course maintenance company. He told the News-Review that one of his goals is to provide Great Rock's players with a "member for the day" experience.
“So you go to Great Rock and you’re a member for the day,” he said. “You have a great facility, and you have access to the locker room, the sauna, the showers, the driving range. You can hit as many balls as you want and then, hopefully, get a great meal at the restaurant.”
The restaurant issue remains unsettled. Pure North Fork closed prior to the course's shutdown in 2019, four years after a major investment that transformed the dining space previously occupied by Blackwells into a modern, locally focused bistro.
Great Rock's return will be a much-needed win for local players in a part of Long Island that has lost several courses in recent years, most notably Tallgrass in 2017. Great Rock opened in 2001 on hilly terrain north of Sound Avenue in Wading River and came to be known for extremely fast greens and an upscale yet laid-back atmosphere. Its namesake rock, dug up during the course's construction, sits next to #10 green. The course briefly closed in the 2013-14 offseason and reopened a few months later under new owners.
In 2019, word started to circulate that the conditions at Great Rock were deteriorating. Dozens of local players posted reviews and photos on platforms like Golf Advisor detailing a neglected golf course with crabgrass-covered fairways and bunkers, bare greens and unmowed rough. In October, Great Rock suddenly closed for the year with little notice. Aside from a vague Facebook post last spring about a potential reopening, the course has remained silent.
[Pictured: Great Rock clubhouse in March 2022.]
Course was in terrible shape before finally closing a cow pasture at best , hopefully will return to the beautiful challenging course of old
Posted by: Kevin | May 06, 2022 at 03:30 PM