[NOTE: Spy Ring GC is now open. Read more about the course in the Spy Ring flyover.]
Gone are the sounds of hammering construction and the roar of heavy machinery. In their place, in a pristine golf and residential complex in Setauket, are the soft whispers of fairway sprinklers and quiet music drifting from an apartment terrace.
Soon those sounds will be joined by the echoes of a purely struck iron and the cheers from a well-deserved par.
Spy Ring Golf Club, Long Island's newest public course and arguably the most ambitious public-golf project on the Island in a quarter century, is steadily progressing toward a soft opening this fall. Designed by Tyler Rae, Spy Ring is a modern nine-hole course featuring big, uniquely contoured greens, hefty bunkers and a startling amount of elevation change. The course plays around newly built Heatherwood residences on a property that for nearly 60 years was the site of Heatherwood Golf Club, an executive-length 18.
Jimmi Conway, the longtime golf director and now vice president of golf operations at both Spy Ring and Pine Hills in Manorville, says the Spy Ring team is taking the opening slow to make sure the grounds are fully prepared for the rigors of play. Even though the course looks like a finished product, Conway and Heatherwood president Chris Capece say they have the luxury of time to let the course mature ahead of its unveiling to the public.
"We want to do this the right way," Conway says. "We don't want the course to get beat up before it's ready."
Still, to the naked eye that sees nothing but smooth fairways, freshly cut rough and rippling greens, it's hard to put aside the urge to drop a few balls and give the course a test run. The par-3 seventh is the looker, a 145-yard shot over a row of four surprisingly large sand traps. Rae built "fun" greens with plenty of pinnable space, and here on #7, a front-right tongue and a rear plateau set up some very interesting pin positions.
From #7 tee the entire back half of the course is in view -- the downhill par-3 fifth, the punchbowl-style green on #6, the elevated green on #8 and the down-then-up par-5 closer. Many of the greens feature broad entrances that allow for running and bounding approaches, a rarity for Long Island publics. And the sandy base will allow the course to play firm.
A small patio overlooks the first tee and a huge, sloped practice green. A practice bunker is nearby as well. Conway loves the intimacy of the pro-shop setup, where he's close enough to the first tee to applaud someone who opens their day with a perfect drive -- or razz someone who needs to take an early mulligan. Inside, the pro shop offers a small collection of Spy Ring apparel and features a black-and-white mural depicting Heatherwood's original grand opening in the early 1960s.
As for the site's 2023 opening, growing conditions this summer and early fall will ultimately determine when the course sends its first groups out for limited play. As of yet there is no determination on green fees.
For more on Spy Ring and its design, check out our GOLI feature from last May:
Coming Soon: Heritage Spy Ring GC, Long Island's first shot at the Sweetens Cove model
I loved this course, and am so excited for the new one! How can I find out about getting one of those early times?… and a logo ball for the display? Can't wait for this!
Posted by: Ryan McArthur | May 26, 2023 at 11:13 AM