Golf on Long Island

Winter Golf on Long Island: 2020-21 Edition

Sometimes Long Island's winter golf season gets off to a blazing start -- sunny skies, temps in the 60s, a comforting feel of October golf in December.  Other times it's ... well, it's not so great.  And the winter of 2020-21 has started off as one of the latter, only fitting since Mother Nature had been so kind and accommodating through the fall.

What's most important though is that there is a Long Island winter golf season.  It might not seem that way when you're pushing slush and slop off the porch in the lead-up to Christmas, but even after a snowy start, playable fairways and greens are just a big melt away.

Here's the deal -- while many Northeast golfers pack the clubs away once the leaves have fallen, there is a determined minority that still seeks out open tees from January through March.  Long Island's handful of seasonal golf courses typically close sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas and reopen around St. Patrick's Day, while the rest remain open year-round and welcome cold-season golfers.

Winter golf on Long Island is chilly and occasionally unpleasant, but there are benefits.  Crowds are sparse, meaning you can work on your game or simply enjoy free time with no pressure.  Green fees are lighter, so you can introduce a newcomer to the course without a blow to the wallet.  Ground conditions tend to resemble autumn until met with prolonged freezing temps and snow cover. 

The big wild card this winter is what role the ongoing pandemic will play -- specifically, will the heightened interest in golf this past summer and fall carry over at all into the cold-weather season?  Whether it does or not, just know that with most clubhouses and indoor dining still closed, there won't be a warm respite throughout the day, no hot chocolate or coffee to restore feeling in your hands.  Just you, your clubs and the elements.  And a quick check of offseason rates reveals that discounts this winter might not be as penny-saving as in the past.

See also: Winter Golf on Long Island overview

Check back with Golf On Long Island throughout the winter for information on special rates and other course offerings.  Also be sure to follow local courses on social media for the latest on weather closures, frost delays and more.

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.

Shotgun outings at Wind Watch, Willow Creek on Thanksgiving

Sister courses Wind Watch in Hauppauge and Willow Creek Mount Sinai will host Thanksgiving shotgun outings this Thursday morning, November 26.

First to tee off is Willow Creek, where the shotgun start is scheduled for 8:00 a.m.  The Wind Watch outing will tee off an hour later at 9 a.m.  Both events are $69 per player and can be booked online.

For more on either golf course, visit the Wind Watch and Willow Creek flyovers.

Thanksgiving-themed outings coming up at Cherry Creek, Pine Hills

Riverhead-area golfers can roll out of bed and onto the tee at Cherry Creek this Thanksgiving morning, with a shotgun start planned bright and early next week.

Cherry Creek's annual Turkey Shootout will begin at 8:00 a.m. next Thursday, November 26 on the Links Course, home of Long Island's only par-6.  The outing includes hot breakfast and the opportunity to win raffles and prizes.  Entry fee is $65 per player with cart and range balls.

Register for the Turkey Shootout by calling the Links at (631) 369-6500.

Those who prefer to stay in bed a little later can opt for the annual Black Friday Shootout at Pine Hills in nearby Manorville.  Tee time is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on November 27.  The $75 entry fee includes cart, range, contests and golf balls. 

Call (631) 878-7103 to sign up (a cash deposit per player is required).

Thanksgiving Day Scramble at Timber Point

Not long after one "Tradition Unlike Any Other" at Augusta comes another one on Long Island -- Thanksgiving Day golf outings.

Timber Point will host its annual holiday scramble at 9:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning, November 26.  Format is four-person scramble played over nine holes, with pro shop gift cards given to the top team and winners of closest-to-pin and longest-drive contests.  (There will be no pre-round putting contest at this year's event because of crowding concerns.)

Entry fee is $50 per player.  Players can register online through the Timber Point website.

Due to Covid, there will be no pre- or post-round refreshments available, so players are asked to bring their own food and beverages, if necessary.

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.

Kids play free at Spring Lake this summer

Spring Lake Golf Club is reaching out with a deal that offers two benefits in the pandemic summer of 2020 -- it gets the kids out of the house and you onto the golf course.

On Wednesdays and Thursdays in July and August, kids under the age of 14 play for free with one paying adult.  The special covers nine holes on Spring Lake's Sandpiper Course, home to the facility's namesake lake and signature hole.

Call the course at (631) 924-5115 for additional info and booking.  Presently, all rounds at Spring Lake must be booked in advance -- no walk-up tee times are available.  The pro shop and restaurant are open with masks required.

For more information on Spring Lake's Sandpiper Course, check out the course flyover.

Nine courses participating in Golfing Mag's 2020 "Free Golf" Program

As the unique, contact-free Long Island golf season of 2020 hums along, a familiar figure of pre-pandemic normalcy -- Golfing Magazine's "Free Golf" certificate -- makes its way to area mailboxes once again.

Golfing Mag's 2020 Free Golf program includes nine Long Island golf courses, ranging from nine-hole munis to the region's most scenic waterfront layouts.  For $54, subscribers to the magazine's annual promotion are entitled to "free" green fees for one round at each of the program's participating courses.  It also includes a one-year digital subscription to Hicksville-based Golfing Magazine.

This year's Free Golf certificates cover rounds at Brentwood Country Club, Gull Haven Golf Course in Central Islip, Holbrook Country Club, Island's End Golf & Country Club in Greenport, Mill Pond in Medford, Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa, Rolling Oaks in Miller Place, The Golf Club at Middle Bay in Oceanside and Willow Creek Golf & Country Club in Mount Sinai.

Taking advantage of the promotion is simple -- bring your Free Golf 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 $54.  Certificates are valid until December 31, 2020.  To subscribe online, visit www.GolfingMagLI.com.  And for descriptions of the participating Long Island courses, click the links above to read the course flyovers.