Golf on Long Island

Expect short rough and deep tees at next year's Ryder Cup, say Bethpage, Cup officials

Prepare to see massive drives and aggressive lines at next fall's Bethpage Black Ryder Cup.

The Black Course's notoriously lush rough, what the pros typically encounter during championship play at Bethpage, will be rocking quite the buzzcut when the Ryder Cup tees off nearly a year from now in late September 2025.  More notably, it will be clipped shorter than what sleep-in-the-car Bethpage golfers experience when they set out on their Tuesday morning foursome. 

At a press event for members of the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association on Tuesday, longtime Black Course superintendent Mike Hadley said he expects the rough will be cut to a "thick but more playable" 2 1/4 inches during the three-day international tournament.  Bethpage Black's rough typically measures 2 1/2 to 3 inches during regular public play, Hadley said, and more than 4 inches for events like the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

"With shorter rough you get more birdies, which means more action," Hadley said.

The relatively tame rough will accommodate Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and the "team of bombers" he is expected to put together on the American side, one that has little interest in gouging irons out of a 5-inch tangle.  Bradley also wants to tee off from as deep as the holes allow, Hadley said, the only exception being the par-3 17th.  There, a stadium-style setup will include bleachers on the back of the teebox that envelop the American and European players and set up a potentially raucous conclusion to the tournament.

At #1, the newly built lower tee should coax many players, especially the Americans, to take a run at the green.  The official Ryder Cup yardage on the dogleg-right opener is 397 yards.

Ryder Cup championship director Bryan Karns said a spacious grandstand will occupy the current #1 teebox and wrap completely around the first tee and 18th green.  The setup will elevate the Ryder Cup's "one-of-a-kind first-tee experience," Karns said.

In addition to the tweaks already made on the Black Course, specifically this spring's bunker expansion and relocation on holes 5 and 13, Hadley said the sixth and seventh fairways could be widened per Bradley's preference.  Rough will be maintained short throughout the 2025 season, meaning Long Island's public players will get a rare break on the course during the spring and early summer.

Bethpage park director Scott Matson said the Black Course will likely close six weeks prior to the Ryder Cup.  Plans and schedules related to the other four Bethpage golf courses will be determined early next year.

The 2025 tournament will be played from September 26–28 and is the second Ryder Cup to be hosted at a New York course (Oak Hill, 1995).

Bethpage Red, Montauk Downs highlighted on Golf Magazine's affordability list

Two of Long Island's top public golf courses known for being hard on scorecards recently earned some praise from Golf Magazine for going easy on golfers' wallets.

Bethpage State Park's Red Course and Montauk Downs both made the cut in Golf Mag's 2024 list of America's best golf courses for $100 or less, "where memorability meets affordability," as determined by Golf's course raters and editors.  The list features 101 golf courses in four different regions of the country where peak-season weekend walking rates do not exceed $100.  The selected courses "represent exceptional bang for the buck."

In addition to the green-fee requirement, selected courses must be open to the public and offer "the kind of golf experience you’d recommend to a friend."  

Of the 19 golf courses representing the Northeast region, five are from New York State.  Bethpage Red and Montauk Downs are joined by En-Joie in Endicott, Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs and Seven Oaks in Hamilton.  The Northeast has the lowest regional representation, mostly due to high costs around metropolitan areas, according to Golf editors.  Approximately 40 percent of the featured courses are municipally owned.  List editors praised "those public officials who understand the value and importance of funding exceptional public golf."

Bethpage Red and Montauk, of course, are fixtures on another annual list, the "Best Courses You Can Play" ranking published by Golfweek.  That list highlights the best publicly accessible golf courses in all 50 states.  In the 2024 Golfweek ranking, the Red Course landed at #6 with Montauk Downs one spot behind at #7.

[PICTURED: The signature par-3 12th at Montauk Downs.]

Bethpage summer and fall aeration dates

Thinking about fall course aeration is depressing when it's still the heart of summer, but you can't ignore the fact that seasonal maintenance is just around the corner.  And since most of the aeration at Bethpage will be done during what's technically summer, we can call the brief two-day closures "summer breaks" if it makes us feel any better about the calendar.

First to close for conditioning late next month will be the Blue Course.  Don't worry about availability on the Black Course — it won't close for aeration until October.

Here is the full aeration schedule for the park's five golf courses:

• Blue Course:  August 26–27
• Green Course:  September 10–11
• Yellow Course:  September 18–19
• Red Course:  October 8–9
• Black Course:  October 15–17

Be sure to call the Bethpage golf office at (516) 249-0700 for the latest info on course availability.

Bethpage, Montauk Downs listed among Golfweek's 2024 Best Courses You Can Play

There are certainties in Long Island golf life — group photos at the Black Course warning sign, wind at Montauk Downs, and Bethpage and Montauk ranked highly in Golfweek's list of the region's top public golf courses.

Golfweek's 2024 Best Courses You Can Play rankings were published earlier this month and Bethpage Black finds itself on familiar ground atop the local list, followed closely by its next-door neighbor Bethpage Red and its New York State sister course at Montauk Downs.  The Best Courses You Can Play list ranks the elite publicly accessible courses in all 50 states.  The three courses are typically locks for New York's top eight with the Red Course and Montauk Downs jockeying for position.  This year the Red Course at #6 edged out Montauk by a spot.

Also of local interest, Bally's Ferry Point (formerly Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point) in the Bronx is ranked third behind only the Black Course and Leatherstocking in Cooperstown.

Bethpage Black is featured prominently on Golfweek's broader lists as well.  The Black moved up one spot to #9 on the national Best Courses You Can Play list, jumping ahead of the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island.  It also held its #26 spot on the Best 200 Classic Courses list, which ranks public and private courses built before 1960.  That list showcases Long Island's enormous depth of internationally renowned golf courses, with three courses in the top 10 (Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links and Fisher's Island) and a total of 15 courses overall.

For many years, Golfweek included a fourth Long Island course in its annual Best You Can Play — Tallgrass Golf Course in Shoreham.  Tallgrass is gone, of course, but another "lost" course with local ties — sort of — did crack the list.  The resurrected Lido at Sand Valley in Wisconsin lands at #15 on the national list and #2 in the state.  That course is a nearly identical replica of C.B Macdonald's original Lido Club located on Long Island's south shore from 1917 to 1942.

For more on the three Long Island publics, including a Closer Look breakdown of Red #13 (and Tallgrass #8, just for old time's sake), check out the course flyovers via the above links.

[PICTURED: Bethpage Black #5 in spring 2024.]

Citing "unprecedented demand," Bethpage announces changes to reservation system and tee-time policies

Bethpage State Park has heard the ongoing complaints about the fairness and circumvention of its tee-time reservation policies and is now taking steps to address them.

In an email distributed earlier today, Bethpage announced several changes to its reservation system and policies, all scheduled to go into effect next Monday, June 24.  The main change, according to the email, is the creation of a new booking type called "Verified NYS Resident - Bethpage," which will continue to allow tee-time reservations up to seven days in advance.  In order to make this change, the park conducted a months-long audit of its reservation system and removed all duplicate golfer accounts.  Residents in good standing will be automatically reclassified under the new verified booking type.

Starting next week, however, any new registrants, plus golfers who have been locked out due to multiple accounts or violations, will have to verify their resident account by emailing a copy of their NYS driver's license or identification card to the park.

The park cited "unprecedented demand for tee times" as motivation for the system change as well as other policy updates.  Players will now be restricted to eight cancellations in a calendar month to limit the ability to make and transfer tee times.  "Unfortunately, we have seen a trend of many users reserving tee times with no intent of using them, but instead booking for friends, family members and playing partners by trying to coordinate those cancellations," the email said.

Reservations on the Red Course will be limited to one every 14 days, similar to the current restriction on the Black Course, where tee times are limited to one every 28 days.

"We know some of these changes may cause some initial consternation amongst the golfing public," the email said, "but we are hopeful that these changes may allow more users to obtain reservations moving forward."

Eisenhower Park to close with limited golf access during next month's Cricket World Cup

[UPDATE: Eisenhower Red and Blue will both reopen for play on Thursday, June 13.]

Long Island golfers will have limited access to the golf courses at Eisenhower Park next month while local and visiting cricket fans take in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, part of which will be held at the Nassau County park from June 1 to June 12.

Signs informing local players about park and course access have been posted at the golf office and driving range, though they only tell part of the story.  Eisenhower Park's White Course will be the only 18 open for play during the event.  Tee times during the special-event period are available by reservation only.

The Red and Blue courses, along with the rest of the park facilities, will be closed.  No reopening dates are currently available for the two courses.

Players with tee times on the White will be required to park in the lot just north of the course at Stewart Avenue and Salisbury Park Drive.  There will be no access to the main golf parking area.

The cricket event will be held at a temporary 34,000-seat stadium built south of Park Boulevard, adjacent to the miniature golf course.  In addition to a June 1 exhibition match between Bangladesh and India, the stadium will host tournament matches involving India, Pakistan, Canada, Ireland, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Bangladesh, Netherlands and the United States.  

Call the park golf office at (516) 572-0327 for the latest information.

2024 Summer Golf Camps on Long Island

As golf participation continues to rise, more and more young golfers are filling up driving-range stalls and looking to take live swings on local courses.  With valuable instruction and guidance from Long Island's wealth of teaching professionals, they will be hooked on golf for life. 

Many public courses in Nassau and Suffolk feature summer camp programs that school players of all ages and skill levels in golf's key fundamentals, the various types of swings and strokes, as well as rules, etiquette and course safety.  Kids work closely with teaching pros on the course, at the range and around practice greens and bunkers; in some cases, the pros working with your young golfer have been recognized nationally for their work as junior instructors.  Campers leave each session with skills and knowledge in place for lifelong enjoyment on the course and as overall fans of golf.

The following is a general overview of 2024 summer golf camps offered at various public golf courses around Long Island.  For more information, follow the links below to the course websites and junior camp pages. 

(Please note this list only includes camp programs hosted at public golf courses.  This does not include golf programs held at general summer camps or any type of private instruction.)

Bergen Point (West Babylon):  Weekly sessions run from Monday to Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon, and are open to kids age 7 to 17.  Instruction includes short-game practice, driving range, on-course play and daily contests and competition.  Cost is $300 per session.  Sign-up forms are available on the Bergen Point website.

Bethpage State Park (Farmingdale):  Bethpage's Summer Junior Golf Program is open to players of all skill levels from age 6 to 17.  Half-day programs are geared toward younger players, while full-day camps are designed for intermediate and advanced players with on-course experience.  A monthly program with tournament play is also available for competitive juniors.  All programs feature a combination of skills development and performance-related training and fitness.  Sessions begin the week of July 8.  Register for full-day ($775) and half-day ($500) sessions at the Bethpage / Golf Channel Academy website.

Cherry Creek (Riverhead):  Cherry Creek camp programs are typically available in July and August.  Specific 2024 program details to follow.  Call (631) 506-0777 for the latest information.

Eisenhower Park (East Meadow): PGA Junior Golf operates a series of camps for all ability levels, including advanced camps for competitive juniors.  The program includes full-day camps for players age 11 to 17, modified full-day camps for experienced players age 8 to 12, and half-day camps for beginners and intermediates age 7 to 11.  There is also a special 90-minute session for "Wee Ones" age 6 to 8.  All regular camps include hours of hands-on instruction led by certified PGA professionals.  Full-day camps include on-course play and teaching.  Weekly sessions for all programs begin July 1, and discounts are available for Nassau County residents and First Tee participants.  Visit the PGA Junior Golf Camp site for full information on pricing, session dates and available discounts.

Harbor Links Golf Course (Port Washington):  Harbor Links offers a wide variety of programs led by teachers all named U.S. Kids Golf Certified Instructors.  Camps begin the week of July 1, with sessions available through August.  Weekly programs for kids age 6 to 9 run Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and include games and drills that help develop important skills and fundamentals, in addition to a skills competition and gift packet.  Separate programs for teens age 10 to 16 are split into four-hour AM and PM sessions and run Monday to Friday.  These cover the full swing, short game, course management, rules and etiquette, and conclude with a two-day "Junior Scramble" team tournament.  A "Birdie Program" is also available for advanced juniors looking to improve for competition.  Rates vary based on age group and time of sign-up.  For all program information, schedules and registration forms, visit the Harbor Links website.

Indian Island Country Club (Riverhead):  Indian Island's annual golf camp consists of ten sessions that include lessons, lunch, golf gear and on-course competition.  Camps are open to boys and girls of all skill levels between the ages of 7 and 15.  Week-long sessions run from late June through the end of August.  Each weekly camp ends with a scramble competition and dinner on Friday afternoon.  Registration is $625 per session with multiweek and family discounts available.  See the Indian Island website or call (631) 727-7776 for details.

Long Island Golf Camps / Mike Reilly Golf Academy (Massapequa, Deer Park, Hauppauge):  Long Island Golf Camps runs programs at three public courses — Peninsula Golf Club (Massapequa), Heartland Golf Park (Deer Park) and Wind Watch Golf & Country Club (Hauppauge).  The Peninsula and Wind Watch camps are week-long, full-day programs (9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.) with sessions beginning in late June.  They include instruction on different aspects of the swing, on-course play and daily lunch.  The Deer Park camp sessions run Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  Instruction takes place on the course, at the driving range and in the short-game area.  Enrollment is $695 for Peninsula, $795 for Wind Watch and $369 for Heartland, with discounts available before May 1.  For schedules and registration, visit the Long Island Golf Camps website.

Middle Bay (Oceanside):  Six full-week sessions begin on July 8.  Campers meet Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m and receive instruction on the range and the course, with snack and lunch included.  Registration is $549 per week with discounts available for siblings and multiple sessions.  Call (516) 766-1880 or visit the Middle Bay junior golf page for pricing, program details and additional information.

Mill Pond (Medford):  Beginning the week of July 8, Mill Pond is offering a Junior Golf Academy program for players age 12 to 16 and a Junior Development program for kids age 6 to 11.  The 12-to-16 sessions meet four days a week and focus on all aspects of swing technique and fundamentals, plus course management, rules and etiquette.  Each session concludes with a Thursday team scramble held at the Rolling Oaks Golf Course in Miller Place.  The 6-to-11 sessions meet Tuesday and Wednesday at Mill Pond and Thursday at Rolling Oaks, with focus on swing fundamentals and sportsmanship.  Discounts for Town of Brookhaven residents are available.  Visit the Mill Pond website or call (631) 732-8249 for info on registration, pricing, schedules and program format.

Poxabogue Golf Center (Sagaponack):  A total of ten sessions run from the week of June 17 to the week of August 19.  Sessions are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and are open to boys and girls from age 7 to 16.  Campers will learn basics of the full swing, short game, course management, rules and etiquette, and will receive golf gear, snacks and giveaways.  Cost is $679 per session.  Visit the Poxabogue website for additional info and registration.

Shelter Island Country Club (Shelter Island):  Starting June 27, boys and girls age 7 to 16 will meet once a week on Thursdays for instruction from teaching pros and on-course play.  Younger campers age 7 to 10 will meet from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.; age 11 to 16 will meet from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.  Camp dates are 6/27, 7/11, 7/18, 7/25 and 8/1.  Tuition is $75 for the five-session program.  Visit the Shelter Island CC website for details.

Smithtown Landing (Smithtown):  Smithtown Landing's 2024 camps will meet once a week for six consecutive weeks beginning at the end of June.  Campers meet for one hour at select times on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.  Programs focus on all aspects of the swing, including grip, alignment and address, plus one-on-one instruction adapted for camper skill level.  Registration is $300 per session.  Visit the camp website or call (631) 979-6534 for information.

Spring Lake (Middle Island):  Spring Lake and Swan Lake (Manorville) will be offering a joint camp program this summer led by pros Cristy Jurgens and Peter Cowan.  Four separate three-day sessions are open for registration: July 23-25 and August 13-15 at Spring Lake, and July 30-August 1 and August 6-8 at Swan Lake.  Programs cover all facets of the swing plus course management.  Cost is $315 per session or $1,100 for all four sessions.  Full registration details can be found at the Spring Lake website.

Sunken Meadow (Kings Park):  PGA Junior Golf operates half-day camps for players of all skill levels from age 7 to 13, and modified full-day camps for juniors age 10 to 16.  In each camp, players are divided into groups based on experience and receive hands-on instruction led by certified PGA professionals.  Weekly sessions meet Monday through Thursday beginning June 24.  Cost is $375 per half-day session and $550 for full-day.  Visit the PGA Junior Camps site for complete information.

Swan Lake (Manorville):  Swan Lake and Spring Lake (Middle Island) will be offering a joint camp program this summer led by pros Cristy Jurgens and Peter Cowan.  Four separate three-day sessions are open for registration: July 23-25 and August 13-15 at Spring Lake, and July 30-August 1 and August 6-8 at Swan Lake.  Programs cover all facets of the swing plus course management.  Cost is $315 per session or $1,100 for all four sessions.  Full registration details can be found at the Swan Lake website.

Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course (Woodbury):  Oyster Bay's Lucas Golf Center offers full-day camp for juniors age 10 to 16 and half-day camps for boys and girls age 6 to 10.  Teaching pros cover the full swing, chipping, putting, rules and etiquette, and instruction takes place on and off the course.  Camp dates and times will be announced in late April.  Call (516) 364-3600 or visit TOB's Lucas Golf Center website for information and registration.

West Sayville Golf Course (West Sayville):  West Sayville offers four sessions that meet Monday to Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. during the weeks of July 8, July 15, July 22 and July 29.  Sessions are open to new and experienced juniors age 8 to 13.  Under lead instructor Sean McLaughlin, head golf coach at Sayville High School, campers learn all aspects of the swing, plus rules and etiquette, and practice on the golf course daily.  A special competition camp for advanced juniors is also available the week of June 24.  Cost for all sessions is $450.  Visit the West Sayville junior camp page for info and registration.

Bethpage Black opens 2024 season with bunker tweaks, irrigation upgrades

Players who went looking for a one-on-one fight with Bethpage Black on the golf course's opening day were instead met with an ambush by briskly cold temperatures and a brutal, relentless wind.  But the surprises weren't all bad — waiting on the first tee for some of the park's morning players was the Ryder Cup, perched on a pedestal in all its golden glory.  Representatives from the PGA of America were on hand to give away hats and let players from all five courses pose for photos.

The trophy's presence at Bethpage Black's grand 2024 opening was a gleaming reminder that Long Island is just a year away from hosting the famed international tournament and that Bethpage's accomplished staff continues its years-long effort to prepare the course for the global spotlight.

This offseason the Black Course received another set of upgrades, the most important of which, according to director of agronomy Andrew Wilson, was the completion of its irrigation system.  Longtime Black Course superintendent Mike Hadley led the effort to install new irrigation on holes 13 and 18, and with those two holes finished, the staff now has precise control of water usage throughout the course.  "The building blocks of a successful course are the irrigation and drainage systems," Wilson says, "so we are excited for the work to be done."

Up on ground level, players will find one notable change at #13.  Wilson says the crew "leapfrogged" the two fairway bunkers on the bending par-5, filling in the near trap and creating a new one just beyond the far bunker.  The new alignment will better defend against longer drives.  From the tees likely to be used in the Ryder Cup, the two traps will sit between 300 and 350 yards away.  Regular players will encounter them roughly 260 to 300-plus yards from the middle tees.

Also on #13, Wilson says the fairway has been widened by about 10 yards leading up to the traps.  "Over the past year or two we have widened fairways on many holes so running balls will not get caught in the rough," Wilson says.  "Now they could run into the bunkers."

The massive fairway bunker on the par-4 fifth will be even more intrusive this season.  Crews widened that trap a bit and made some improvements designed to prevent flooding.

As for Ryder Cup preparations, Wilson says there will be no changes to the Black Course's routing, as some have speculated.  The course will be played in order, from 1 to 18, starting at the Black's recently built Ryder Cup tee.  Other changes could be in the works as this season progresses.  

"We will see once the Ryder Cup captain is chosen," Wilson says.

[PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Wilson]

Golf Channel Academy with Kelley Brooke steps in as program operator at Hempstead golf courses

The Town of Hempstead golf courses at Lido Golf Club and Merrick Road Park are getting a bit of a refresh at the hands of one of Long Island's most prominent golf figures.

Golf Channel Academy with Kelley Brooke is the new operator of the pro shops and instructional programs at the two Hempstead municipal courses, part of a 10-year contract with the town that also includes new logos, expanded web and social media marketing, and a rebranding of Merrick's course as "The Nine at Merrick."  Brooke, the 2018 LPGA Professional of the Year and longtime contributor to The Golf Channel and several regional golf publications, currently operates similar programs at Bethpage and Montauk Downs.

GCA announced the agreement on social media earlier this week by posting new minimalist-style logos for Lido and Merrick, which will be featured on apparel and other course items, Brooke says.  Players will notice changes immediately as work gets underway to revamp Merrick's long-barren pro shop.  Brooke says the updated shop should be up and running as soon as next week.  New course websites are set to launch this month and, like at Bethpage, there will be a heightened focus on connecting with area golfers through social media.  

At Lido, the Town of Hempstead tore down the course's dilapidated clubhouse facility last season and currently has no permanent structure on the site.  Brooke says a temporary trailer will be used this season to house a moderately sized pro shop.

GCA's wide variety of camps, lessons and other instructional offerings will be available at both sites, including kids' summer camps, adult 101 clinics, PGA Junior leagues and LPGA Girls Golf programs.  Private lessons will be available from GCA pros.

The arrangement does not include any changes to the golf courses themselves or operation of the courses, Brooke says.

Brooke and Golf Channel Academy took over pro-shop and instructional operations at Bethpage State Park in 2018 and immediately bolstered the facility's social media presence and marketing reach.  Several seasons later she became operator at Montauk Downs.  Brooke has managed golf facilities across New York City and Long Island and launched programs for children with special needs and the economically disadvantaged, among other developmental initiatives.  

For more on Golf Channel Academy with Kelley Brooke and available instruction, visit the GCA website.

Bethpage posts reopen dates, preps new online payment system

Bethpage State Park's seasonal golf course trio — Green, Red and Black — will soon begin its gradual reopening for 2024, starting with the Green Course on Saturday, March 16.

The Red Course will reopen for play on Saturday, March 30, and Bethpage Black will follow two weeks later on Saturday, April 13.  Bethpage's Blue and Yellow courses have remained open year-round.

New to the park in 2024 is the rollout of a system that will allow online payments for advance tee-time reservations.  (No need to double-check your calendar — it's indeed 2024, not 2004.)  The park sent out notices earlier this month outlining the new system, which will debut with a test run on Yellow Course reservations in mid-March.  If all goes well, the park plans to expand the service to other courses throughout the season.

Players will be able to pay and check in for their tee times via a link in their email confirmation.  There are conditions, however.  Among them:

• Payments can only be made on the day of play
• The reservation holder must pay for the entire group
• Online payments cannot be made on groups with mixed price points (ex. residents and non-residents; seniors and non-seniors)
• When the weather is dicey, the park recommends making payments in the office.  Credit card refunds will not be issued for inclement weather.

The online check-in allows players to go directly to the starter booth as long as they don't need to rent a motor or pull cart.  Those players will still need to go inside for service.

Additional info is available by calling the golf office at (516) 249-0701.