The future of Stonebridge Golf Links and Country Club suddenly appears to be in doubt.
A proposed plan to build additional homes at the Hauppauge course would modify or eliminate several golf holes and remodel Stonebridge into two separate layouts, said attorney David Altman at a March 20 meeting of the Smithtown Planning Board. If the town board does not approve amendments to longtime covenants attached to the property, said Altman, who spoke on behalf of Stonebridge ownership, the alternative might be closure of the golf course.
The project, as outlined in a presentation by Altman and Islip-based architect Jerry Rumplick, calls for 28 houses and a new access road to be constructed along the property's western perimeter, which is currently occupied by several holes on the course's back nine. Maps and renderings indicate the plan would eliminate the existing 17th hole, heavily modify holes 11, 16 and 18, and shorten Stonebridge's western half into an executive-length course. The eastern section of the course would likely remain as part of a full-length nine.
However, development at the site is limited by covenants put in place in 1999 when Stonebridge, an 18-hole semi-private course that surrounds a 105-home residential community, took over the former Hauppauge Country Club. The covenants restrict further homebuilding and particular changes to the golf course and membership.
Altman's project overview did not explicitly raise course closure as a possibility, but when pressed by a board member to explain how the plan benefits Smithtown residents, Altman said the alternative was loss of the golf course.
More than a dozen residents of the course community and neighboring areas spoke out against the plan, citing concerns over the course alterations, environmental impact, proximity to the adjacent county park and decline in home value. They also argued the covenants were integral factors in their decisions to buy or stay in their homes on the property and should not be amended to accommodate major changes to the site.
Stonebridge and the previous Hauppauge Country Club, both full-length 18-hole courses, have occupied the property along Veterans Highway since the 1950s. Community resident Sue Stavrakos told the board that keeping a par-70 golf course on the site is required by the covenants. Another resident who lives next to the tenth hole said golfers and potential members have little interest in playing an executive-length course and advised the town board to take steps to protect Smithtown's golf courses, similar to recent zoning changes enacted in the Town of Brookhaven. Several homeowners said the site is too compact as is, leading to property damage, overcrowding during clubhouse events and, in some cases, severe injuries to residents.
According to renderings, the current 17th hole would be eliminated by the new home sites and #18 would be shortened and reoriented. Rumplick said other changes would be made to improve safety in general and reduce ball strikes on the existing homes. The par-4 16th would be split into two par-3s, one of which would feature a newly built island green. At #10, new tees would be built parallel to the line of homes in order to cut down on property strikes. Same at #2, a long par-4 on the other side of the course that would be shortened with new tees relocated ahead of an existing pond.
There is no timetable for a decision by the planning board, but several attendees at the March 20 meeting urged the board to schedule a second public hearing given the number of people who were turned away due to capacity limits.
Stonebridge is unique among Long Island's public courses as it is comprised entirely of template holes made famous by renowned designers C.B. Macdonald, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks. Macdonald biographer and historian George Bahto redesigned the previous Hauppauge Country Club course to include replicas of holes typically found at early-20th-century clubs. The troubled 17th hole, for example, is modeled after Macdonald's "Eden" par-3s. Other replicas include the Redan at #4, Biarritz at #7 and Hog's Back green at #16.
For more on the course, see the Stonebridge flyover.
[PICTURED: The 16th hole, which would be split into two par-3s under a proposed course remodeling.]
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