Golf on Long Island

August aeration at Timber Point, Bethpage

Long Island golf courses are beginning to schedule aeration for late summer and fall, with some about to get underway this month. 

Timber Point Golf Course will aerate its three nines this week, beginning with the Blue Course on Tuesday, August 20.  The courses will close as follows:

August 20:  Blue Course
August 21:  Red Course
August 22:  White Course

At Bethpage, the Blue Course is first on the aeration schedule and will close for maintenance on August 27 and 28, followed by:

September 4-5:  Yellow Course
September 17-18:  Green Course
October 10-11:  Black Course
October 16-17:  Red Course

Check back during August and September for aeration updates.

August specials at Brentwood, Holbrook CC

Brentwood Country Club and Holbrook Country Club are offering their typical summer specials this August.

Discounts are available for walkers and late-morning/afternoon golfers at each of the two Town of Islip courses.  After 11 a.m., rates are $42 per player, with cart and reservation fees included.  Twilight rate (after 3 p.m.) is $38 to ride plus reservation fee.

For those walking instead of riding, 18 holes are $24 after 11 a.m. and $20 after 3 p.m.  Brentwood is closed most Mondays and Holbrook most Tuesdays for private outings.

For more on the Town of Islip munis, check out the course flyovers at the above links.

Junior golfers play free this Saturday at New York State Parks courses

Take your junior golfers to the nearest state park for nine or 18 holes this Saturday -- New York State is picking up the green fee.

This Saturday, July 20, is Free Youth Golf Day, a statewide event that Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this spring as New York welcomed the PGA Championship to the crown jewel of NYS Parks golf courses, Bethpage Black.  All players 18 and under are entitled to a free round of golf at all state parks, five of which are on Long Island -- Bethpage, Montauk Downs, Robert Moses, Sag Harbor and Sunken Meadow. 

"We want to encourage and grow the sport of golf in New York.  To help encourage that, the State is going to sponsor an event on July 20 where anyone under the age of 18 years old can golf for free at any of our state facilities," Governor Cuomo said back in May. "It's a nice way to get young people out to experience the game, and I think once they experience it and they understand it, they will be hooked."

Golfers must be New York State residents to participate.  Cart fees, range balls and food/drinks are not included in the promotion.

For a full list of state-park golf courses, see the Free Youth Golf Day info page.

Pine Ridge planning Hawaiian-themed golf outing and party on July 13

The sounds of Oahu will filter through the pines of Coram next weekend when Pine Ridge Golf Club hosts a Hawaiian Luau Golf Classic on Saturday, July 13.

Guests are encouraged to sport their Hawaiian-style beachwear as they play 18 on Pine Ridge's challenging, tree-lined layout, beginning with a shotgun start at 2 p.m.  After the round, a 7 p.m. dinner and luau includes an authentic Hawaiian buffet with beer and wine, plus live music.

Registration for the full event is $75 per golfer with cart and range balls, and $35 for party-only guests.  Sign up online at the Pine Ridge website or call the course at (631) 331-7930.

For more on Pine Ridge, check out the course flyover.

National Women's Golf Day events planned at Willow Creek, Sunken Meadow

Tomorrow is National Women's Golf Day, and here on Long Island, a couple of facilities have on-course and off-course events on the schedule for women of all skill levels.

Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai is offering a $40 tee-time special valid between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m.  In the evening, head golf pro Thomas Berry and general manager Robin Rasch will host a ladies' golf clinic at the range, which includes complimentary wine, for $25 per person.  The day will also include an open-forum discussion from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. with beer and wine tastings.  Reserve a spot by calling (631) 474-9200.

At Sunken Meadow State Park in Kings Park, for $50 golfers can choose either a nine-hole round with cart or a two-hour clinic with course staff, followed by some light bites and a social hour with fellow golfers.  Reserve a spot by calling (631) 544-0036.

Sunken Meadow is also hosting "Chicks, Chip and Sip Socials" on June 7 and June 21, bringing together short-game practice and wine.  Contact the course for details and reservations.

National Women's Golf Day is a one-day international event giving girls and women the opportunity to practice or play golf in a fun, relaxed environment and engage with others interested in golf.  For more information, visit the Women's Golf Day website.

Willow Creek offering free green fee for PGA Championship ticketholders

Here's an added perk for locals and visitors who will be on site at Bethpage to see the world's best golfers compete in the PGA Championship.

Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai is offering a free round to PGA ticketholders during Championship week, May 13-19.  Just show your official PGA ticket or pass and all you will pay is a cart fee.  The deal is valid all day Monday through Friday, and after 2 p.m. on the weekend.

Elsewhere, Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon is waiving tee-time restrictions for the month of May.  Residents and non-residents can book a round at the Suffolk County muni by calling the course directly at (631) 661-8282.  (Online tee times are still subject to residency rules.)

Swan Lake flips its two nines, now draws to a watery close

The course at Swan Lake Golf Club looks the same as always this 2019 season, with its roomy fairways and even roomier greens, but its scorecards sure don't.  Swan Lake flipped its front and back nines in April, a change sure to take many by surprise upon their first visit of the new year. 

Perhaps the most significant effect of the new routing is that it now concludes with what is arguably Swan Lake's most intimidating hole.  The new 18th, formerly #9, is a 373-yard par-4 with water along the entire right side.  The hazard even reaches across the far end of the fairway, serving as a deterrent for long drives and an ominous, penal presence on the round's final approach shots.

Swan Lake's equally testy -- albeit drier -- par-4, now arrives early in the round as #3.  The former 12th features an incredibly slim green sandwiched by two side bunkers.

For more on Swan Lake, check out the course flyover.

[PICTURED: Swan Lake's former seventh hole, a sharp-looking par-3 with hazards short and left, is now #16.]

Golfing Magazine's 2019 Free Golf Program covers rounds at ten courses

We're inching closer toward peak golf season on Long Island, and while peak rates are starting to kick in, you can still pay like it's December thanks to another season of "free golf" courtesy of Golfing Magazine.

Golfing Mag announced this past week that ten Long Island golf courses are taking part in the 2019 "Free Golf Program," an annual discount promotion that allows subscribers to pay nothing in green fees for rounds at select courses around the Island.  Eight of this year's layouts are holdovers from last season.  Two courses are new to the program in 2019 -- Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa and Pine Ridge Golf Club in Coram.

In addition to that twosome, Free Golf certificates cover rounds at Brentwood Country Club, Gull Haven Golf Course in Central Islip, Harbor Links Executive Course in Port Washington, Holbrook Country Club, Island's End Golf & Country Club in Greenport, Mill Pond in Medford, Rolling Oaks in Miller Place and The Golf Club at Middle Bay in Oceanside.

Also included is one hour of simulator time at Simplay in Hauppauge, plus a one-year subscription (five issues) to Golfing Magazine.

Subscribers will soon receive their Free Golf certificate in the mail.  Taking advantage of the promotion is simple -- bring the certificate with you to the course and all you pay is a cart fee (and reservation fee, in some instances).  The certificate is honored only once at each course, at designated times during the week and on Sundays.  Availability varies by course.  (Specific terms for each course are listed on the certificate and can be viewed at the Golfing Magazine website.)  Be sure to double-check all terms and conditions when reserving your round.  Tee times must be made in advance.

As an added bonus for those who travel across the Northeast, certificates are also valid at dozens of golf courses across upstate New York and New England. 

Players can subscribe throughout the season for only $49.  Certificates are valid until December 31, 2019.  To subscribe, contact Golfing Magazine at (516) 822-5446 or visit online at www.GolfingMagLI.com.  And for descriptions of the participating Long Island courses, click the links above to read the course flyovers.

Bethpage State Park golf courses to close for PGA Championship on May 6

Bethpage Black has already closed in advance of this month's 2019 PGA Championship, and its four sibling courses at Bethpage State Park will soon follow suit.

The Blue, Green and Red courses will all close to the public on Monday, May 6 to make way for tournament prep and play.  (Yellow will be aerated on May 2 and remain closed thereafter.)  All courses, including the Black, are tentatively scheduled to reopen for play on Saturday, May 25.

After the tournament clears out, temporary tees will remain in use on Green #1 and #18, Red #1 and #5, and Blue #1.  The Yellow Course will continue to be available only for nine-hole rounds, as well.

Call the park office or visit the NYS Bethpage reservation website for updated information.

Seasonal outings on tap at Pine Ridge

Pine Ridge Golf Club is celebrating the arrival of spring weather with, well, a spring-themed outing open to all.  And following just a few weeks later, the Coram course will host another outing to coincide with one of the season's trademark events.

Pine Ridge's "Spring Fling" tees off shotgun-style at 12 noon this Saturday, April 20.  After 18 holes, participants can stick around for a 5:00 p.m. dinner with beer, wine and live music, as well as raffles and prizes.  Cost for the outing is $65 for golf and party.

On Saturday, May 4, Pine Ridge's "Kentucky Derby Open" will also storm out of the gates with a 12 noon shotgun start.  The 18 holes will wind down just in time for a Derby viewing party, complete with dinner and a Best Hat contest.

Register for both events at the Pine Ridge website.  And for more information on the tree-hugged Coram course, see the GOLI flyover.