Golf on Long Island

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.

Long Island's future Topgolf taking shape in Holtsville

Just weeks before the world was turned upside down by Covid-19, Topgolf quietly publicized specific details about its planned Long Island location.  Included in that announcement was a broad target opening date of early 2021.

Whether or not that exact timeline still stands (the company did not respond to requests for a schedule update), here in early summer 2020, after several years of rumors and governmental hurdles, there is a structure in Holtsville that's starting to resemble a Topgolf facility.  The shell of the main building and its three driving-range tiers have been erected about a 1/4 mile west of Nicolls Road.

Topgolf broke ground on its new Holtsville facility in January, and in mid-February a company press release offered golfers a glimpse of New York's first Topgolf venue -- 102 bays spread out on three tiers, live-music events, year-round lessons, upscale dining and more.  On the economic side, Topgolf expects to bring 500 jobs to central Suffolk County.

From the press release:

"Topgolf's mission centers around building and connecting communities and we have been working very hard with the Suffolk County community to design a custom venue that fits their needs including added vegetation, updated fencing and more," said Topgolf Chief Executive Officer Dolf Berle. "We're looking forward to not only entertaining Guests here, but also being a good neighbor to the community through volunteer projects, fundraising efforts and other events geared toward giving back to local organizations.  We truly can't wait to open our first venue here in the state of New York."

Topgolf also added Long Island to its list of "Coming Soon" locations, complete with photo renderings and other info.  Topgolf Holtsville will be located at 5231 Express Drive North, just off the Long Island Expressway near exit 62.

Coronavirus Update: Motor carts permitted at county, town courses

Motor carts for single riders only will be available as soon as Saturday at some Long Island county and town golf courses, according to Newsday's Jeff Williams.

The Suffolk County municipal courses at Bergen Point, Indian Island, Timber Point and West Sayville will allow the use of motor carts for golfers age 65 and over, and disabled players of all ages, beginning this Saturday. 

Town-owned golf courses at Brentwood Country Club, Holbrook Country Club, Gull Haven, Mill Pond, Rolling Oaks and Smithtown Landing will also permit single-rider carts under Suffolk County's guidelines.

In Nassau County, all players can rent single-rider carts beginning Monday, May 11, at Eisenhower Park's Blue and White courses.

Following the reopening of golf courses in late April, seniors and players with disabilities complained that New York State's walking-only restriction prevented them from returning to the course.  Under the state's revised business guidelines, as a non-essential business, golf courses can allow play with only security and maintenance personnel on site.  With no golf employees, facilities like the clubhouse, pro shop and presumably a cart shed are to remain closed.

However, municipal facilities are exempt from the state's essential and non-essential classifications.  There is no word yet on when non-municipal public courses will be able to rent motor carts.

Business regulations are expected to be loosened when the state's "NYS On Pause" shutdown expires on May 15.

Coronavirus Update: More courses set to reopen May 1

By the end of this week all but a tiny handful of Long Island's public golf courses will be open for play with a variety of social-distancing measures in place.

This Friday, May 1, Island's End Golf Course in Greenport and the Town of Huntington municipal courses at Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Park will reopen.  All three had been open at times in March and April and closed based on the state's changing business guidelines.

The Town of Islip municipal courses at Brentwood CC, Holbrook CC and Gull Haven are scheduled to open for the first time this season.

Reservations must be booked online and social distancing must be followed.  Unlike the guidelines in place at most other area courses, Brentwood and Holbrook posted that they will be allowing single-rider motor carts and on-site payment (credit cards only).

Coronavirus Update: Suffolk County munis reopening this week

A recent Newsday article indicated that Suffolk County would follow the lead of New York State when it came to making golf courses open again for play, and that's exactly how the county's golf relaunch is taking place.

Following the state's decision late last week to reopen its golf courses, Suffolk County announced that West Sayville and Indian Island will reopen for play tomorrow, April 27.  Timber Point will reopen on Wednesday, April 29.

Bergen Point, the other of the four Suffolk munis, already reopened on Saturday.

There will be no motor carts available and no walk-ups -- reservations must be made and prepaid online.  Tee times will be 15 minutes apart and social-distancing regulations are in effect.

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: Public courses announce openings following NYS relaunch

The second leg of Long Island's spring golf season will soon be underway as public golf courses plan for reopenings following New York State's business revision that permits play during the "NYS on Pause" shutdown.

By early Sunday afternoon, a handful of local courses began to announce reopen dates, including Cherry Creek and Swan Lake, both of which will open tomorrow.  Sandy Pond, the nine-hole course in Riverhead already familiar with "honor system" green fees when the clubhouse is empty, posted Sunday afternoon that it is open effective immediately with under-the-door payments accepted.  Other reopening dates were announced by Peninsula (Wednesday) and Stonebridge (Thursday).

Even though play is permitted, golf is still designated as a non-essential business according to Empire State Development guidelines, meaning employees cannot be on site and facilities like clubhouses and locker rooms cannot open.  Maintenance and security personnel can be present, however, and security (in many cases a golf pro or starter) will be responsible for letting players onto the course and enforcing social-distancing measures.  No motor carts will be available, and tee times must be reserved and prepaid online.

Also today, an alert on the NYS Parks golf website was amended to say that "state parks will continue to evaluate the situation and will announce any change in status."  The alert previously read that all park courses were closed until May 15.  Expect the new date to be much sooner.

There will likely be a steady stream of reopening announcements.  Check back here for the latest updates.

Coronavirus Update: New NYS language indicates private clubs can allow member play, but not publics

In the latest nonsensical twist to New York State golf in the age of the coronavirus, it seems that private clubs are now permitted to allow member play on the sly, while public golf courses are to remain shuttered.

Empire State Development, which kept golf courses open for weeks before categorizing golf courses as non-essential just eight days ago on April 9, updated its language this afternoon to read that courses remain non-essential, though "private operators may permit individuals access to the property" provided social-distancing measures are followed and no employees are on site.  However, golf pros or starters can work on site as "security."

While that new language seems vague, Mike Dougherty, golf writer for the The Journal News (@lohudgolf on Twitter), provided some additional context by citing a Friday e-mail from the New York State Club Association that indicates the following measures were approved by New York State, among others:

• No employees within the golf operation except for security, which is responsible for ensuring members adhere to the CDC mandate for social distancing.  Security can be a golf pro or starter.
• All club facilities are to remain closed, including clubhouses, locker rooms and pro shops.
• No caddies.  No carts, except for pull or push carts. 
• Admission of guests is to be determined by the security personnel on the golf course.

Meanwhile, in line with Governor Andrew Cuomo's Thursday extension of the current "NYS on Pause" regulations, the NYS Parks website indicates all state golf courses are closed through May 15.  As outlined by Golf On Long Island since the start of the pandemic, Long Island's public golf courses have followed the lead of NYS municipal courses, specifically Bethpage.

The situation will undoubtedly change again in the next few days.  Check back at Golf On Long Island for updates.

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.

Coronavirus Update: Middle Bay opens

As the early spring moves closer and closer to ideal golf weather amid the coronavirus pandemic, the vast majority of Long Island public golf courses are open for play.  One more reopened for the 2020 season this morning.

The Golf Club at Middle Bay in Oceanside is now open with 16-minute tee-time intervals and a host of other social-distancing precautions in place. 

Elsewhere, it seems the Town of Huntington has changed its stance on allowing play at Crab Meadow Golf Course in Northport.  The town muni reopened last week following a brief closure during which the town issued a press release advising residents to report social-distancing violations at parks and golf courses.  The other town muni at Dix Hills Park remains closed.