Golf on Long Island

Double Play spring special again on offer at Cherry Creek's Woods and Links courses

Cherry Creek's "Double Play" spring special will be back in 2019. 

Double Play cards are available for purchase at the Woods and Links clubhouses, entitling players to discount rounds at the two Riverhead courses.   For $75 golfers can play one 18-hole round at each of the two courses with cart included.  The deal is valid for weekday rounds from April 1 through May 17.  (Rounds can be played on separate days.)

For more information, call the Woods at (631) 506-0777 or the Links at (631) 369-6500.  And for details on the two Riverhead courses, check out the Woods and Links flyovers.

St. Patrick's Day "Shamrock Open" on the holiday slate at Pine Ridge

Pine Ridge Golf Club will ring in the March holiday and the new 2019 golf season with a special "Shamrock Open" set to tee off on St. Patrick's Day morning.

Shotgun tee time at the Coram course is 11 a.m., and when the round is over, the celebration continues with a late-afternoon dinner party.  The $65 entry fee covers golf and Irish-themed festivities, which include beer, wine, live music and raffles.  Party-only guests can also register for $35.  Sign up online at the Pine Ridge website.

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

Tentative opening dates announced for Bethpage State Park golf courses

This promises to be a spring unlike any other at Bethpage State Park, where work and preparation for this May's PGA Championship on the Black Course carried on through the winter and will soon continue amid the din of refreshed Long Island golfers.  Local players will have to make a few sacrifices, however, before play at the park returns to normal following the tournament.

New York State recently announced reopening dates at the park along with information on modified holes impacted by PGA infrastructure.  The Green Course will reopen on Saturday, March 16 with temporary tees on holes #1 and #18.  Also reopening on March 16 is the Yellow Course, which will be available only for nine-hole play.  Yellow is typically open all winter but closed in late fall for PGA prep.

Bethpage Red will reopen on Friday, March 29 with temporary tees on #1 and #5.

The Blue Course -- the only course to remain open this winter -- will have a temporary tee on #1.

As for the Black Course, the park plans to offer restricted walk-up play from Saturday, April 13 to Sunday, April 28, weather permitting.  Normal play is expected to resume on Saturday, May 25.

For more info, call the park at (516) 249-0700 or check the NYS reservation website.

Mill Pond planning pre-St. Patrick's Day outing on March 15

In addition to parades, green-tinted bagels and adult beverages, St. Patrick's Day is known, at least to local golfers, as the unofficial start of holiday-themed outing season.  A handful of Long Island courses celebrate the dawn of a new golfing year by inviting players to chilled fairways for golf and a side of corned beef and cabbage.

Mill Pond Golf Course will hold its annual St. Patrick's Day Golf Classic a bit early, with a 10:00 a.m. shotgun tee time scheduled for Friday, March 15.  Format for the outing is four-person scramble.  Entry fee is $79 (pre-payment required) and covers golf, cart and range balls in addition to a hot Irish buffet, draft beer and wine.  Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams and winners of closest-to-pin and long-drive contests.

To register for the St. Patrick's Day Golf Classic, call (631) 732-8249.  In the event of inclement weather, the outing will be canceled and all registrants will be refunded.

For more on Mill Pond, check out the course flyover.

2019 public golf course reopenings on Long Island

We're almost out of the winter free of blizzards, clear of long blocks of time with closed courses.  Offseason golfers have had plenty of days to tee it up while the rest stay put until spring.

Well, spring now appears on the horizon, and with March about to arrive, it's reopening season on Long Island.  The big reopening story in 2019, of course, is Bethpage State Park, which is hosting the PGA Championship in May.  That's great news for fans of professional golf's major tournaments, but a buzzkill for locals who'd rather have the Bethpage courses to themselves come spring.  There will be more on the reopening plan at Bethpage as the spring draws closer.

As for the rest, it's mostly reopen-for-business as usual.  Long Island's seasonal golf courses get back up to speed from mid-March through early April.  By the time The Masters whets everyone's golf appetite, most if not all area courses are typically open for play.

The following is a list of tentative 2019 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 February and March for the latest info.

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

GOLF COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Harbor Links - Championship/Executive -- March 23

The following courses typically reopen in mid-March:

• Timber Point
• Brentwood CC
  
• Holbrook CC
• Sumpwams Creek Par-3
• Christopher Morley Park

The following courses typically reopen in late March or early April:

• Woods Course at Cherry Creek
• Town of Oyster Bay GC
  
• Glen Cove
• The Golf Club at Middle Bay
  
• Eisenhower Red
  
• Bay Park
• Poxabogue

[This post was updated on February 24, 2019.]

Early Bird discount available for 2019 Free Golf Program

Golfing Magazine's annual Free Golf Program is open for registration, and if it's still too cold for most players to hit the fairways, then it means the mag's Early Bird discount is available.  From now through April, Long Island golfers who take part in the program can save even more on heavily discounted green fees.

Participants in the Free Golf Program receive a one-year subscription to the Hicksville-based magazine, as well as a certificate that entitles holders to discount golf at nearly a dozen Long Island courses, for $49.  Early Bird subscribers get in on the deal for just $39.

The 2018 program included nine courses -- Brentwood Country Club, Cherry Creek's Woods Course, Gull Haven, Holbrook Country Club, Island's End, Middle Bay, Mill Pond, Rolling Oaks and the Executive Course at Harbor Links.  In past seasons, the program has also included free sessions at indoor golf facilities.

Once the courses for the 2019 program are set, a certificate is sent to each subscriber, valid for a single use at each of the participating facilities.  Only a cart fee is due on the day of play (other restrictions on dates and tee times may apply). 

The certificate also gives subscribers the opportunity to sample golf courses around the Northeast.  It is valid at dozens of courses across upstate New York and New England.  A full list of courses on and off Long Island will be available when the program officially tees off in May.  Certificates are valid until the end of the year.

Visit the Golfing Magazine website or call (516) 822-5446 to sign up.

Sunken Meadow planning "Halfway There" golf outing on Super Bowl Sunday

Rare is the golf outing scheduled during the winter months on a Long Island course.  Sunken Meadow, however, is preparing to open up the playbook a bit, fittingly on Super Bowl Sunday.

The state-park muni plans to mark the midpoint of winter with a "Halfway There" event (yes, outside) on Sunday, February 3.  For $50, golfers can layer up and head to Kings Park for nine holes along with food, drinks and prizes.  Cart and range balls are included.

Tee time is 12 noon.  Sunken Meadow staff will monitor the forecast and cancel in advance if necessary.  Register in person at the Sunken Meadow pro shop or e-mail themeadows@pga.com to reserve a spot.

2018-19 Winter Rates Roundup I

The first weekend of 2019 is about to arrive toting temperatures somewhere in the 40s along with a little early rain.  Sounds like favorable winter golf conditions to us.

Golf On Long Island loves winter golf, and you should too, if only for the chance to play quality courses with limited crowds for a discount price.  Below is a sampling of this offseason's 18-hole rates at area courses.  For full details about rates and course conditions, contact the course pro shops or visit their websites.  Note that these do not represent discounted rates at all courses.

For offseason rates from previous years and a primer on winter golf in general, refer to Winter Golf on Long Island: 2018-19 Edition and our Winter Golf on Long Island overview.

• Cherry Creek Links:  $25 to walk and $35 to ride on weekdays; $35 to walk, $45 to ride on weekends and holidays (nine-hole rates also available)
• Rock Hill:  $32 to walk and $45 to ride on weekdays; $42 to walk, $55 to ride on weekends; all days $35 to ride after 2 p.m.
• Spring Lake: $44 to walk, $56 to ride weekday mornings, $38/$46 in the afternoon; $48 to walk, $65 to ride weekends until 11 a.m., $38/$50 after (nine-hole rates also available)

Winter Golf On Long Island: 2018-19 Edition

The winter of 2018-19 has arrived with buckets of rain that will keep Long Island's offseason golfers away from the course for a saturated day or two, though it could always be worse.  Drop the temperature by 20 degrees or so and turn that rain into snow and you have a dreaded December blizzard potent enough to wipe a winter golf season right off the calendar. 

Scrutinizing the snow forecasts is as common to local winter golfers as frost delays, hand warmers and jamming tees (unsuccessfully) into frozen turf.  For those who can bear the brisk breezes, the wide-open fairways and green-fee discounts are worth the slight discomfort. 

Winter golf on Long Island isn't for everyone -- most Long Island golfers call it a season long before Thanksgiving -- but it's nothing to sneeze at (the sneezing might begin a day or two later, though).  Ground conditions usually hold up until the first prolonged snow cover, and the empty tee sheets mean you can play in peace or bring a newcomer to the course to get a first taste of live play with no pressure from trailing groups.  Rounds are cheaper, too.

The winter scene is slightly different this year.  With the PGA Championship coming up at Bethpage State Park in May, only one course -- the Blue -- will remain open full time over the winter.  The Yellow Course, typically Bethpage's other winter option, is undergoing PGA-related preparation that will keep it either closed or shortened to nine holes. 

See also: Winter Golf on Long Island overview

Elsewhere, the handful of seasonal golf courses have already closed or are preparing to shut down for the winter.  Most of them will reopen in March.  The rest keep the tees open year-round.  To keep winter golfers up to date on playing options around the area, Golf On Long Island will periodically post available discount rates and specials through the offseason.  At some courses, winter rates can be as low as two bucks a hole.  Some include lunch.  Check back for updated specials throughout the winter.

In addition, as Long Island golf courses very slowly begin to dip their toes in the social-media pool, a few have made life a little easier for winter customers.  Munis like Bethpage (@BethpageGolf on Twitter) and Sunken Meadow State Park (@TheMeadowsPGA on Facebook) regularly post updates on frost delays, opening times and course conditions.  Other public courses send rate updates and open tee times by e-mail blast.  

For a full primer on offseason golf, check out the Winter Golf on Long Island page, which will feature some of this season's special rates in addition to offers from previous years.

Buffet of holiday golf events planned around Long Island this Thanksgiving

Only a handful of golfers, outside the most frost-hardy Long Island players, associate Thanksgiving -- the holiday of turkey and football -- with November golf -- the sport of turtlenecks and foot-warmers.

However, golf comes with all the trimmings on Thanksgiving -- tournaments, prizes, open bars and sometimes an actual turkey.  It's the last call of the Long Island golf season before the winter players set their sight on frozen fairways and the rest head indoors until The Masters.  

The 2018 Thanksgiving slate is another smorgasbord of holiday tournaments, shotgun starts and other outings.  All are designed to get you home to the family with enough time to sneak appetizers.  Some tee off before or after Turkey Day.  Listed below are most of this year's outings, presented in alphabetical order (all outings are on Thanksgiving unless otherwise noted):

Brentwood Country Club is a typically early riser on Thanksgiving.  Shotgun tee time is scheduled for 7:30 a.m.  Rates are $42 for 18 holes and cart ($38 for seniors).  Complimentary roll and coffee included.  Call (631) 436-6060 to reserve a spot.

Cherry Creek Links is offering golf, cart and continental breakfast for $50.  Breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m., with shotgun start following at 9:00.  Call (631) 369-6500 to reserve.

Harbor Links will host its 12th annual holiday Turkey Shoot.  Registration and breakfast begin at 8:00 a.m., followed by a 9:00 shotgun tee time.  Golf, cart and breakfast are $65 for Town of North Hempstead residents; $75 for non-residents.  Call (516) 767-4816.

Mill Pond (pictured above) will kick off its 12th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Shootout at 8 a.m.  The event almost always sells out fast.  Click the preceding link for full info.  [UPDATE: This event has been canceled due to weather.]

Pine Hills Golf & Country Club saves its annual holiday outing for Black Friday, November 23.  Shotgun tee time is 9:30 a.m.  The $65 entry fee includes cart, range, raffles, contests and a sleeve of golf balls.  Call (631) 878-7103 to sign up.

Pine Ridge Golf Club will celebrate Thanksgiving early with a golf and dinner party on Saturday, November 17.  For $65, golfers enjoy 18 holes with range access, followed by a holiday dinner and party with beer, wine, raffles and prizes.  Tee time is 11 a.m.  Register online at the Pine Ridge website.

Spring Lake Golf Club will again host its annual holiday scramble, which includes a hot breakfast buffet at 7 a.m. and an 8:00 tee time.  Call (631) 924-5115 for a spot.

Timber Point Golf Course is hosting a nine-hole scramble complete with prizes for "nearest to the pilgrim" (pin) and "longest turkey" (driving contest).  Bagels, coffee and juice are included along with cart and range balls for $55 per player.  Tee time is 9:30 a.m.  Register by Tuesday, November 20 either online or at the Timber Point pro shop.