Golf on Long Island

Bethpage posts reopen dates, preps new online payment system

Bethpage State Park's seasonal golf course trio — Green, Red and Black — will soon begin its gradual reopening for 2024, starting with the Green Course on Saturday, March 16.

The Red Course will reopen for play on Saturday, March 30, and Bethpage Black will follow two weeks later on Saturday, April 13.  Bethpage's Blue and Yellow courses have remained open year-round.

New to the park in 2024 is the rollout of a system that will allow online payments for advance tee-time reservations.  (No need to double-check your calendar — it's indeed 2024, not 2004.)  The park sent out notices earlier this month outlining the new system, which will debut with a test run on Yellow Course reservations in mid-March.  If all goes well, the park plans to expand the service to other courses throughout the season.

Players will be able to pay and check in for their tee times via a link in their email confirmation.  There are conditions, however.  Among them:

• Payments can only be made on the day of play
• The reservation holder must pay for the entire group
• Online payments cannot be made on groups with mixed price points (ex. residents and non-residents; seniors and non-seniors)
• When the weather is dicey, the park recommends making payments in the office.  Credit card refunds will not be issued for inclement weather.

The online check-in allows players to go directly to the starter booth as long as they don't need to rent a motor or pull cart.  Those players will still need to go inside for service.

Additional info is available by calling the golf office at (516) 249-0701.

Oyster Bay Golf Course to reopen April 1 with irrigation, tee-box upgrades in progress

The Town of Oyster Bay is investing in an upgraded irrigation system and newly built tee boxes at its municipal golf course in Woodbury, though the ongoing work will not delay the course's spring debut.  Oyster Bay is scheduled to reopen for the 2024 season on Monday, April 1.

While the fairways and greens will be ready to go next month, the renovated tee boxes will not, so players will start all 18 holes from temporary tees until early June, according to town officials.  The irrigation work, which includes full replacement of plumbing, electrical systems and other components, will continue throughout the season but is not expected to affect play.  Cost for the two projects is approximately $5 million.

“We strive to deliver a great experience for all golfers at our course and these improvements will certainly enhance the playing experience once complete,” said Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joe Saladino.

Oyster Bay, formally known as the Honorable Joseph Colby Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course, is Long Island's only Tom Fazio design.  It covers a tree-lined Woodbury site that was previously a Gold Coast estate known as "Woodlands."  The course features narrow fairways, dramatically contoured greens and holes that play up and down the property's steep hills.  Its uphill fourth hole (pictured above) is considered one of the toughest par-4s on the Island and was selected for GOLI's "Nassau 18" in 2020.

For more on Oyster Bay, check out the course flyover.

2024 golf course reopen dates on Long Island

It took an extra day to get here this year, but today is the start of Reopening Month.  March is when Long Island's seasonal golf courses put the pro-shop lights back on, stick the pins into the cups and start taking tee times.  Except for Bethpage Black, just about every golf course on Long Island will be open for play by the end of March.

Reopenings typically begin around St. Patrick's Day, so if the weather warms up on March 8, you'll still need to head to one of Long Island's many year-round courses.

The following is a list of tentative 2024 opening dates for Long Island's seasonal golf courses.  (Year-round courses remain open as the weather allows and are not included in this list.)  Courses will be added or updated as information becomes available.  Be sure to check back through March for the latest info.

*All dates listed below are subject to change.  Call the courses directly for updated dates and times.

2024 GOLF COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Sandy Pond Links – March 1
• Woods Course at Cherry Creek – March 14
• Timber Point – March 15
• Bergen Point – March 15
• Holbrook CC – March 15
• Brentwood CC – March 15
• West Sayville – March 15
• Bethpage Green – March 16
• Harbor Links - Championship/Executive – March 23
• Bethpage Red – March 30
• The Golf Club at Middle Bay – March 29
• Town of Oyster Bay GC – April 1
• Bethpage Black – April 13

DATES TBA:

• Eisenhower Red 
• Sumpwams Creek

[This post was updated on March 12, 2024.]