Golf on Long Island

End of season approaching at many Long Island golf courses

December is closing time on the Island, meaning the busiest and most bizarre Long Island golf season in the recent past is coming to an end, at least for those courses that operate on a seasonal basis.  This week is the last opportunity to book rounds at a handful of popular public courses in the area.

This Sunday, December 13, the following courses will close at the end of play:

• Eisenhower Red
• Harbor Links
• Brentwood Country Club
• Holbrook Country Club
• Cherry Creek - Woods Course

The following courses will close later this month:

• Middle Bay (12/20)
• Timber Point (12/27)
• Bay Park (date TBD)
• Christopher Morley Park (date TBD)

Some courses have already shut down for 2020, including:

• Bethpage Black
• Bethpage Red
• Bethpage Green
• Harbor Links - Executive Course
• Oyster Bay

The majority of Long Island golf courses remain open through the winter.  For more information on Long Island's winter season, stay tuned for our annual Winter Golf On Long Island primer.

Bethpage Black to close November 16, Red and Green to follow

[UPDATE: Bethpage Black will remain open an extra week until November 22, thanks to favorable weather conditions.]

Normally the sights and sounds of Augusta inspire the first rusty golf swings of a new season.  In the bizarre golf year of 2020, Bethpage Black will shut down for the winter in the week following The Masters.

The last day to play the Black Course at Bethpage is Sunday, November 15, and if you want to get out on the Red Course, you have until Sunday, November 29.  The Green Course will close at the end of play on November 29 as well.

Golf's pandemic-aided resurgence included a steep rise in play at Bethpage and its NYS Parks brethren at Montauk Downs and Sunken Meadow.  Even with a choppy start to the season thanks to changing state health guidelines, total rounds at Bethpage were up 20% over last year, according to a Newsday report last month.

The Blue and Yellow courses will remain open through the winter.  Call the park at (516) 249-0700 for updates on course availability during the offseason.

Fall aeration underway around Long Island

We're at the height of fall aeration season on Long Island's public courses.  Fall maintenance is underway or recently completed at many local courses, so be aware of potentially sandy greens and fairways when booking tee times this month.

The Red Course at Eisenhower Park is currently closed for aeration and will reopen for play on Friday, September 18.  The White will be aerated starting Monday 9/21; Blue on Monday 9/28. 

Bethpage Blue will be closed today and tomorrow 9/16, followed by Yellow, Red and Black later this month.  (See the previous Bethpage aeration post for dates.)  The Green Course was aerated earlier this month.

Timber Point will close one of its nine-hole courses over the next three days, beginning with the Red Course today, Blue tomorrow and White on Thursday.

Sunken Meadow is currently aerating its Red nine, followed by the Green nine next week.  The Blue nine was aerated last week.

The Town of Oyster Bay municipal course will complete two days of aeration this afternoon and reopen for play tomorrow.

Glen Cove's municipal course is closed through tomorrow and will reopen for play on Thursday 9/17.

At Cherry Creek in Riverhead, the Woods Course will close for aeration tomorrow 9/16, followed by the Links Course next Wednesday 9/23.

Pine Hills in Manorville is aerating today and tomorrow 9/16; all tee times must be made directly through the pro shop.

Island's End in Greenport was aerated on September 14.

For information on other aeration/maintenance dates, special rates and more, contact the courses directly.

Fall aeration starts next week at Bethpage

The calendar turns to September next week and Bethpage State Park is wasting no time beginning fall aeration across its five golf courses.

The Green Course will be the first Bethpage 18 to temporarily close for seasonal maintenance.  Green will be out of the rotation on September 2 and 3.

Bethpage's other four courses will close as follows:

• Blue Course: September 15-16
• Yellow Course: September 23-34
• Red Course: September 28-29
• Black Course: September 30-October 1

Be sure to call the park office at (516) 249-0700 for updates on course availability.

Bethpage still in recovery mode following Isaias

More than a week since Tropical Storm Isaias powered through the northeast, Bethpage State Park remains in recovery mode, with the Yellow Course and part of the Blue still shut due to extensive tree damage.

In the hours following last Tuesday's storm, fallen trees were a common sight across Long Island communities, a good indication that areas like Bethpage -- no stranger to post-storm tree damage -- would be heavily impacted.  The park slowly reopened its courses over the next few days, but Yellow and Blue were hardest hit.

"All tree damage and hanging branches," says Andrew Wilson, Bethpage's director of agronomy.  "We're working our way through the courses."

Slowing down the recovery process is regular maintenance and mowing that can't be interrupted even by a powerful storm.  "Grass doesn't get the hint, so we do have to keep up mowing," Wilson says.  "We can't let tees, fairways and greens go a week without it."

There is no update yet on when the Yellow and Blue front nine will reopen.  Stay tuned for news.

Several courses remain closed due to storm recovery

A handful of Long Island's public golf courses remain closed as a result of the widespread tree damage and power outages caused by Tropical Storm Isaias, which blew through the area with powerful winds on Tuesday.

Most notably, the five courses at Bethpage State Park, which is prone to fallen trees amid tropical storms and hurricanes, are closed Thursday for cleanup. 

The following courses are closed Thursday or until further notice:

• Bethpage
• Brentwood Country Club
• Glen Cove
• Smithtown Landing
• Sunken Meadow
• Town of Oyster Bay

Swan Lake in Manorville is open despite loss of power.  Transactions are cash only and golf carts might not be available.

Contact courses directly for the latest updates or questions regarding canceled tee times.

Bethpage Black to close for NYS Open in late August

The annual New York State Open will be held at Bethpage State Park's Black Course next month after receiving the green light from state government to play the tournament amid the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, the Black Course will be closed to the public from Monday, August 24 through Thursday, August 27.  The course will reopen on Friday, August 28 unless tourney play is pushed back an extra day due to weather.

The other four courses will remain on a regular schedule.

Contact the park at (516) 249-0700 for schedule updates or changes.

Coronavirus Update: State, county munis begin to reopen

New York State municipal golf courses on Long Island -- Bethpage, Montauk Downs and Sunken Meadow -- will reopen for play on Monday, April 27, with social-distancing guidelines in place.

Bethpage's Black Course will follow with its 2020 reopening on Friday, May 1.  Starting that day, four Bethpage courses will be open daily.

On the county level, Nassau County announced that the Eisenhower Park golf courses and driving range, plus the nine-hole courses at Cantiague Park, Christopher Morley Park and North Woodmere Park are currently open.  The Cantiague Park driving range is open as well.  No word on Bay Park.

The Suffolk County municipal course at Bergen Point reopened today.  Its fellow munis at Timber Point and West Sayville are still listed as closed; phone calls to Indian Island were not answered.

[EDIT: The other Suffolk munis will begin to reopen on April 27.]

As previously posted, the Town of Oyster Bay muni reopened on Friday.

State courses will have 16-minute intervals between tee times (18 on the Black) and there will be no motor carts or pull-cart rentals available.  All reservations must be made online and payments must be made over the phone prior to play. 

Full details can be found for each course on the NYS Parks website.

Coronavirus Update: Oyster Bay muni open, Cedars sells first tee time

While New York State, Nassau County and Suffolk County municipal golf courses remain closed, along with other city- and town-owned courses around Long Island, the Town of Oyster Bay will reopen its 18-hole muni in Woodbury today, weather permitting.

First tee time at Oyster Bay will be 7:00 a.m.; twilight rates will be offered from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. 

Cedars Golf Club, the little nine-hole course tucked away in a residential area of Cutchogue on the North Fork, will reopen Saturday.  Of note there is that in order to conform to the state's social-distancing regulations, Cedars is selling tee times for the first time in its 55-year history, according to co-owner Tim McManus.  The course opened in 1965, though some of the grounds have been a part of Cutchogue-area golf as far back as the 1920s.

As for the state and county munis, there are no reopening dates as of yet.  According to a recent Newsday article, Suffolk County is following the lead of New York State as far as reopening its courses.

Coronavirus Update: All golf courses now closed through April

Long Island and New York State golf is shut down until the end of the month and in some places longer after the state added golf courses to its ever-changing list of non-essential businesses earlier today.

The announcement seemingly puts an end to the short, strange and bustling early-spring season that saw thousands of golfers take advantage of open golf courses around the Island, even with a host of social-distancing measures in place.  Some courses reported they had to turn away hundreds of golfers on nice days in order to conform to safety measures like stretched-out tee times and reservation-only policies.

While many courses announced they would be closed until April 29 under the state's NYS on Pause policy, the state-park system itself posted that its municipal courses -- Bethpage, Sunken Meadow and Montauk Downs -- will be closed through May 7.

If previous announcements by the state regarding parks and golf courses are any indication, all of this is subject to change.  Be sure to check Golf on Long Island for updates this month.