The Rock came back to Wading River, and in a surprise move earlier this month, the club turned heel.
Just two months after its long-awaited reopening, The Rock Golf Club has slammed the door shut on the public players that it wooed back with promises of an all-inclusive member-for-a-day experience and elevated perks. The course is fully private and will remain so beyond this season. Golf director Bill Mackedon confirmed the course is no longer open to the public.
Prospective members can join The Rock for a $25,000 initiation fee and $10,000 in annual dues starting in 2023.
The decision to make it a members-only facility, Mackedon told Golf On Long Island, was made after its July reopening. Back in June, with the course preparing to welcome golfers again for the first time since October 2019, Mackedon said the club's goal was to provide a memorable experience "for the person who might only be able to get out and play a few times during the season, where everyone feels like they belong."
That spirit of belonging and inclusivity only lasted until Labor Day, however. Then, players who called to book tee times were instead told the club was available only to members.
Given the optics and timing of such a drastic change of course, it seems more likely that public players -- some of whom spent several hundreds of dollars to play The Rock during its abbreviated summer season -- were simply used as beta testers before a planned decision to turn private. Some players told Golf On Long Island they felt duped, especially since the course had been dropping hints of its return for well over a year.
In May 2021, new owner Chris Vene told the Riverhead News-Review that the concept for the rejuvenated course would be a club-level experience for those without the time to play a lot of golf or the means to afford membership costs. "So you go to Great Rock and you're a member for the day," Vene said.
The majority of those who played the course this summer and were surveyed by Golf On Long Island praised its greens, which have long been the strength of The Rock's layout. But many also agreed that the rest of the course remains in need of significant improvements, especially its bunkers and uneven tee boxes. Others pointed to ongoing irrigation issues and limited amenities. Recalling the problems that plagued Great Rock in its final seasons, some players suggested the course needs to take more time to address its underlying turf and maintenance issues. "They need to close for another year," said one player who logged multiple rounds there even after the course turned private. "It's basically a glorified municipal course right now."
Bill Scherer said he enjoyed his four rounds at The Rock this summer (at $75 per) and was glad it reopened since it's so close to his home in neighboring Shoreham. "It plays the way it used to," he said. "I was disappointed when they told me I could no longer play."
The restaurant, Pulcinella's On The Green, remains open to the public.
For more on Great Rock's closure, sale and subsequent reopening as The Rock, see GOLI's write-up from this past June.
[PICTURED: The Rock's downhill ninth prior to the course's 2022 opening.]
