Golf on Long Island

Thanksgiving 2023 golf events scheduled around Long Island

[This list was updated on November 7, 2023.]

We haven't even started trick-or-treating yet, but it's time to focus on Thanksgiving golf.  That is, if you want to actually lock down a spot in what are usually very popular events.

Local players know Thanksgiving is essentially "last call" for Long Island golf season.  Conditions might not be the greatest — hello frost delays, hand warmers and triple layers of heat gear — but it's a final hurrah before a turbulent golfing winter.  Sometimes the golf gods send a warm 60-degree morning before it's time to cut the turkey.

Golf On Long Island will update the 2023 Thanksgiving slate of scrambles and shotgun starts as information is made available.  All outings are designed to get you home at a reasonable time for family and football.  Listed below are many of this year's special holiday events (all are on Thanksgiving, November 23, unless otherwise noted).  These outings tend to sell out very quickly, so it's best to book early.

Brentwood Country Club has scheduled a shotgun start for 9:00 a.m.  The $54 fee covers golf and cart.  Call (631) 436-6060 to reserve a spot.

Cherry Creek is offering 18 holes on the Links Course with cart, range balls, hot breakfast, raffles and on-course contests for $79 per player.  Shotgun tee time is 8:30 a.m.  Call (631) 369-6500 to register.

Harbor Links will host its 17th annual holiday Turkey Shoot.  Registration and breakfast begin at 8:00 a.m., followed by a 9:00 shotgun tee time.  Golf, cart and breakfast are $70 for Town of North Hempstead residents; $80 for non-residents.  Call (516) 767-4816 to sign up.

Middle Island Country Club has a shotgun start scheduled for 8:30 a.m.  The $79 entry fee includes golf, cart and a hot breakfast buffet that opens at 7:30.  Call (631) 924-3000 to reserve a spot.

Mill Pond (pictured) will host its 16th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Shootout.  Format is four-person team scramble, and the $84 entry fee includes cart, range balls, hot breakfast and a drink.  Tee time is 8:00 a.m.  The event almost always sells out fast; book in person or by calling (631) 732-8249.

Pine Hills Golf & Country Club continues its tradition of hosting a holiday outing on Black Friday (November 24).  This year's event includes cart, range, breakfast and prizes for $85.  Shotgun start is 9:30 a.m.  Call (631) 878-7103 or visit the pro shop to sign up.

Spring Lake Golf Club will host its annual Thanksgiving Day Shotgun, which includes breakfast and 18 holes.  Tee time is 8:00 a.m.  Cost is $78 per player.  Call (631) 924-5115 for a spot.

Swan Lake's holiday outing begins with 7:00 a.m. breakfast and an 8:30 shotgun start.  Beverages and BBQ will be available until 1:00.  Entry fee is $65 and covers golf and cart only (food and drinks not included in fee).  Call (631) 369-1818 to sign up.

Check back through November for updated information.

Bethpage Black to close for the season November 12

This morning begins one of the final weekends of the 2023 season for the Black Course at Bethpage State Park.  And for once it's not pouring rain.

Bethpage posted its November schedule last week, which includes closing dates for the Black, Red and Green golf courses.  The Black Course will close at the end of play on Sunday, November 12.  It will also be closed for a regular maintenance day on Monday, November 6.

The Red and Green courses will follow two weekends later and shut down for 2023 on Sunday, November 26.

As usual, the Blue and Yellow courses will remain open for winter golf as weather permits.  Call the Bethpage golf office at (516) 249-0700 for the latest info on course conditions and availability.

Former Links at Shirley golf course now site of 100-acre Patriots Preserve park

A large portion of the former Links at Shirley golf course has sat frozen in time for more than a decade, and last week it finally began its second life serving the community as a town park.

Patriots Preserve, a 100-acre Town of Brookhaven park, opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 9 that formally reintroduced local residents to the grounds that once housed the public Links at Shirley.  The park features a playground, walking trails and a floating bridge over the 8-acre pond that previously was the golf course's central water hazard.  Brookhaven Town spent $2 million on the new park and plans to invest another $4 million over the next 10 years on future construction and upgrades, according to Newsday.

"This is going to be one of the last great regional parks in the Town of Brookhaven," Brookhaven Supervisor Ed Romaine told Newsday.

Like many East End courses that were built to ride the late-'90s Tiger wave, the Links at Shirley had a brief, roller-coaster run with its own goal of setting a high bar for public golf on Long Island.  Opened in 2000, the course — a full 18 plus a short nine-hole layout — turned what had been Shirley woodland along William Floyd Parkway into an immaculate layout with daring water holes, waste-area bunkering and private-club conditions.  As a result, it also featured some of Long Island's highest green fees.  When the boom slowed down, Shirley began to struggle amid whispers of an eventual sale and development.

In 2009 the course hosted a record number of rounds and the MGA Public Links Championship, but they weren't enough to stabilize the Links' future.  In spring 2010 it posted a closed sign on the front gates and never reopened. 

A residential development eventually took over the clubhouse area while the bulk of the course was left abandoned until construction began recently on Patriots Preserve.

October aeration at Eisenhower Park

The three municipal golf courses at Eisenhower Park will be aerated this month, beginning with the White and Blue courses.

Aeration on those two courses will begin this coming Monday, October 16, and last through the week.  The Red Course will be aerated the week of Monday, October 23.

Players should expect partial closings on the three courses throughout their respective aeration weeks.

For the latest updates, call the Eisenhower Park golf office directly at (516) 572-0327.