Golf on Long Island

2022 Summer Golf Camps on Long Island

The rise in golf demand during the 2020 and 2021 pandemic seasons has not only led to a rush on tee times across Long Island, but also heightened interest in space for juniors at local summer camps.  Experienced juniors and the many new teen and tween players are seeking guidance from local coaches and pros in order to make a smooth entrance and progression into the sport.

Not surprisingly, some summer golf programs have already sold out before the dawn of spring.  Limited slots at other junior camps are filling up fast.

Luckily there is a wealth of local options for parents who are eager to have their young players start building the foundation for lifelong interest in golf.  Many public courses in Nassau and Suffolk feature summer camp programs that school young players 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 years of enjoyment on the course.

The following is a general overview of 2022 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):  Four weekly sessions run from Monday to Thursday, 8:00 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 11.  Register for full-day ($775) and half-day ($500) sessions at the Bethpage / Golf Channel Academy website.

Cedars Golf Club (Cutchogue):  The Cutchogue course offers two separate month-long sessions with start dates of June 29 and August 1.  Campers meet Mondays and Wednesdays for four weeks, with separate times for age 6-to-10 groups and age 11-to-15 groups.  All participants receive a Cedars camp shirt and a full-season Junior Pass.  Cost is $650/675 per session.  Register in person or e-mail ken@cedarsgolfclub.com, and check the Cedars website or for full details.

Cherry Creek (Riverhead):  Cherry Creek camp programs will be available in July and August.  Specific 2022 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 June 27, 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.

Glen Cove Golf Club (Glen Cove):  From the week of June 27 to Labor Day weekend, Glen Cove is offering ten weekly sessions for juniors age 8 to 16.  Camps run from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and cover all parts of the swing, plus rules and etiquette.  Cost is $400 per camper, with daily lunch included.  Sign up at the Glen Cove Golf Camps website.

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 June 27, 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 week-long sessions that include lessons, lunch, prizes, golf gear, skills contests and on-course competition.  Camps are open to boys and girls of all skill levels between the ages of 7 and 16.  Specific program information to follow.  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 (9:00/9:30 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 and Wind Watch, and $369 for Babylon, 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 11.  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.  Discounts available for siblings and multiple sessions.  Call (516) 766-1880 for pricing, program details and additional information.

Mill Pond (Medford):  Camps are available in 4-day and 2-day sessions beginning July 5.  The longer programs are designed for teen golfers age 12 to 16 and focus on all aspects of swing technique and fundamentals, plus course management, rules and etiquette.  Each session concludes with a Friday team competition held at the Rolling Oaks Golf Course in Miller Place.  Shorter programs meet Tuesday and Wednesday and are geared toward beginners age 6 to 11 with a focus on swing fundamentals.  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 20 to the week of August 22.  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 $629 per session.  Visit the Poxabogue website for info and registration.

Smithtown Landing (Smithtown):  The town-owned municipal course runs a popular summer camp each year (canceled in 2021 due to Covid) under the instruction of Hall of Fame teacher Michael Hebron.  Visit the camp website or call (631) 979-6534 for 2022 information.

Stonebridge Golf Links (Hauppauge):  Starting in mid July, full- and half-day programs are available for beginners through intermediate players.  Half-day sessions (9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Monday to Thursday) are geared to beginners age 6 to 10 and focus on fundamentals, rules, etiquette and course/club basics.  Full-day camps (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday) help experienced players age 10 and up improve on skills and knowledge through on-course play and instruction.  Cost is $229 for half day and $499 for full day.  All campers receive a Puma string bag.  Discounts available for siblings and multiple sessions.  Call (631) 724-7500 or visit the Stonebridge website for session schedules and registration info.

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 9 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 Tuesday through Friday beginning July 5.  Cost is $350 per half-day session and $450 for full-day.  Visit the PGA Junior Camps site for complete information.

Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course (Woodbury):  Oyster Bay's Lucas Golf Center typically offers full- and half-day camps for boys and girls age 6 and up.  Teaching pros cover chipping, putting, rules and etiquette, and instruction takes place on and off the course.  Specific 2022 program information to follow.  Call (516) 364-3600 or visit TOB's Lucas Golf Center website for information and registration.

West Sayville Golf Course (West Sayville):  Four sessions meet Monday to Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and will run the weeks of July 11, July 18, July 25 and August 1.  Sessions are open to new and experienced juniors age 8 to 14.  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.  Visit the West Sayville junior camp page for info and registration.

2022 golf course reopen dates on Long Island

Spring can't come soon enough for the Long Island golfing community now that we've reached the tail end of a second straight winter season that has been, for the most part, a bust.

A blizzard knocked out a couple of playing weeks on its own, and poor ground conditions led many golf courses to remain closed even when sunshine and warm temps occasionally drew crowds of offseason golfers to any tees that were open.

But when March approaches, the new spring season comes into view, and seasonal courses have begun posting their 2022 opening dates.  Most reopenings start around St. Patrick's Day and continue for several weeks until Bethpage Black lifts the curtain and signals the full start of golf season in mid-April.

The following is a list of tentative 2022 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 March for the latest info.

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

2022 GOLF COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Woods Course at Cherry Creek -- March 11
• Town of Oyster Bay GC -- March 11
• Timber Point -- March 15
• Indian Island -- March 15
• West Sayville -- March 15
• Holbrook CC -- March 16
• Brentwood CC -- March 16
• Bergen Point -- March 17
• Harbor Links - Championship/Executive -- March 19
• Bethpage Green -- March 19
• The Golf Club at Middle Bay -- April 1
• Bethpage Red -- April 1
• Eisenhower Red -- April 8 (tentative)
• Bethpage Black -- April 15

[This post was updated on March 25 2022.]

Resurrecting long-lost Lido golf -- the Lido Springs Par-3 course

Turns out it's true.

Down in Lido Beach, a small oceanfront community that plays a giant role in golf history, there is an old, lost golf course, after all.  It's right next door to the present-day Lido Golf Course, and its features, drawn up by one of Long Island's most influential golf builders, remain almost fully intact.  One putting green is split by a knob in its back half, another sits with rimmed edges.  Raised tees, buried beneath a tangle of tree branches and weeds, rest amid overgrown hazards and muddy ponds, waiting to be found.

No, this isn't the glorious hallucination of the most ardent Lido Club enthusiast.  Plenty of golf historians have studied those hallowed grounds, and some have even walked the streets and Lido Beach dunes, knowing they'll never stumble across some trace of the famous pre-World War II masterpiece.  This other course, well, nobody's trying to find it.  And if they are, they better be toting bug spray.

No, this is the story of Lido Springs, a short-lived par-3 course that came and went, following dozens of other little-known area golf courses that also came, went and made a few memories along the way.  It was lit up for night play and pitched side attractions like mini golf and a game room -- not exactly the type of place commemorated in club histories or sepia-toned coffee-table books.  Yet there's some history worth exploring, and for now it holds a very unique distinction in Long Island golf history.  Lido Springs is likely the only instance of a long-gone local golf course sitting untouched, undeveloped, right out there among all of Long Island's hustle and bustle.

And thanks to modern technology, plus help from one of the key figures involved in next year's resurrection of that other lost Lido course, we can see Lido Springs today, down to the finest detail, as if unobstructed by 40 years of physical neglect.

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When Lido Springs opened in the summer of 1963, the big Robert Trent Jones layout next door -- today's municipal Lido course -- was just a few seasons old.  And it had been only two decades since the famed original, C.B. Macdonald's Lido Club, was repurposed for military use in the early years of World War II.  That renowned course was to the west.  Lido Springs, on the other hand, played along Lido's eastern flank, its nine short par-3s wedged into a little triangular parcel dotted with five ponds.

"New Golf Course Opens at Lido," read the headline in The Leader, a Freeport newspaper, on July 11.  "Golf pros of the Nassau County clubs, as well as many other luminaries of the golf world were present at the opening," the article said.

John Brennan, a writer who chronicled the development and construction of Long Island's golf courses for various publications in the 1950s and '60s, indicated in one of his "Off the Fairway" columns that the new Lido Springs was built as an annex to RTJ's neighboring 18.  "Lidoites feel the addition of the short course will help take some of the load from the big course, with some of the older men members ... being detoured to the par-three layout," he wrote prior to its opening.

Players could enjoy a round well after sundown thanks to the "newest and finest daylight illumination on Long Island," according to the Leader.  Advertisements that ran in Newsday highlighted night golf as a selling point, and the course, at least in its early years, was open until midnight.  Rounds after dark were a novelty, and many who played Lido Springs fondly recall them.  Some just remember swatting the gnats and mosquitoes.

"It was so well lit, you saw the ball all the way up in the air and down to the green," says Jeffrey Bernstein, who moved from Brooklyn to Atlantic Beach in 1966.  Summers for Bernstein included trips to the driving range on the south side of Lido Boulevard, and eventually nine holes at Lido Springs.  He would grab one or two clubs and a putter and bike with friends from one end of the barrier island to the other.  Sometimes they'd leave the bikes home and hitchhike to the course instead.

Other elements set Lido Springs apart from the typical pitch-and-putt course.  It was initially planned as a semi-private club with memberships, tee times and an on-site pro.  Most notably, the design of its nine short holes was credited to William Mitchell, the golf course designer whose frequent work in the 1960s and early 1970s altered Long Island's golf landscape the same way Macdonald, Seth Raynor, Devereux Emmet and others left their marks in the early 20th century.

By July 1963, Long Island's second golf building boom was already well underway, and Mitchell played a big part.  His course at Pine Hollow Country Club in 1955 was the first to be built in the region since the end of the Depression and ensuing war years.  When a dozen new courses opened locally in 1961 and 1962, Mitchell's hand was on at least two of them -- Old Westbury and Woodcrest.  Mitchell would come to be known as golf's "public defender" -- he felt strongly about designing courses public players could take pride in, with features that were fair to the average high-handicapper.  He was a proponent of executive-length courses for their smaller demand on time and land use, and his goal was to eventually build a women's golf course on Long Island.  (Plans had already been drawn when Mitchell passed away in the early '70s.)

It's hard to know exactly how much time and energy Mitchell invested in the Lido Springs layout (his 18-hole course at Noyac in Sag Harbor opened the same year), but it certainly incorporated many of his design principles.  Greens featured some interesting contours, though nothing too "gimmicky," as he described movement that could potentially penalize good shots and reward bad ones.  For the less-skilled player, bunkers were in full view, mostly fronting greens.  ("I don't like to hide a trap," he often said.)  A series of small ponds came into play on all but two or three holes.  As far as time and land use, the nine holes took up less than ten acres and likely no more than an hour to play.

"It was a real golf course, just scaled way down," says Rob Koff, a lifelong area resident who recalls many night rounds there, complete with burgers and fries at the snack bar.  "The greens were legitimate, and the fairway areas were kept in great shape."

"They took care of it," Bernstein says.  "It was in better condition than Lido next door." 

Beyond the initial grand opening, and some newspaper advertisements that ran through the '60s and '70s, there's not much else that officially documents the course's 20-year run, which ended with its abandonment sometime in the early '80s.  It's not mentioned in any profiles or retrospectives about Mitchell's design career, and there are no reports of its closure.  Yet signs of it are still as clear as day to anyone driving down Lido Boulevard or up the 12th fairway at the current Lido course.  The light poles that illuminated so many summer nights and brightened so many memories still stand tall and slightly crooked above the overgrowth.  One that towered over the ninth green is just steps from the boulevard, not far from the rusted remnants of a chain-link fence that separated the course from the parking lot.

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That's the fascinating thing about Lido Springs.  It's still there, waiting to be found.

All Peter Flory needed was an aerial photo and some public data to bring Lido Springs back to life.  Followers of Lido golf history might recognize the name -- Flory, a Chicago-area golfer who counts digitally reconstructing lost golf courses as a hobby -- is serving as an advisor for the Lido Club restoration at Sand Valley in Wisconsin.  He spent three years meticulously generating incredibly detailed renderings of the Lido Club by piecing together clues from aerial photos, ground-level images and written works, then posted them on Golf Club Atlas to be studied and scrutinized by fellow historians and designers.  His work drew the attention of Tom Doak, then Sand Valley's Mike Keiser, who used his images to pitch a restored Lido to prospective members.  That highly anticipated course is scheduled to open in 2023.

Resurrecting Lido Springs took Flory about two days.  An inquiry at the Long Beach Historical Society found its way to Flory, by now established as a trusted Lido Beach golf-architecture historian.  Using archived and current aerial images, he was able to quickly estimate and sketch the location of tees and greens, and publicly available LiDAR data allowed him to paint the picture.  The precise surface elevation data not only revealed that all but one green remain on the ground at Lido Springs, it also pulled up all of their ridges and slopes.  Once plugged into his golf-design software, the LiDAR exposed the surface as if it was bare ground with no overgrowth.  Flory used his judgment to flesh out rough and short grass around the holes, but the greens needed no manipulation. 

"The contours that you're seeing on the image are actually there on the ground," Flory says.

So we know now that the first hole was around 80 yards, give or take a few by tee placement, with a pond short left.  "There's a very cool pocket on the right side of the green," Flory says.  Only three of the holes went beyond 100 yards.  One of them, the fourth, had ponds long and right, and a front bunker with a raised lip.  The 121-yard ninth required a pond carry to a green with a back-half knob and raised shoulders.  By the looks of it, misfires there could easily find themselves lost onto Lido Boulevard.

With the three-dimensional model finished, Flory can make Lido Springs playable on a gaming PC, PlayStation, XBox and even some golf simulators.  It's something Flory did with his Lido Club renderings, complete with his digital self decked out in vintage golfwear, hickory clubs in hand.

As far as playing it again outside under the Lido Beach sun (or stars), technically it's not that far-fetched.  Anyone with a few million dollars handy and the stomach for a battle with the Town of Hempstead or Nassau County could conceivably resurrect the course in real life.  The property has been up for sale for years and is zoned to allow municipal recreation.

Bernstein thinks of the course every time he walks the fairway of the adjacent 12th hole at Lido.  Just a few paces away, on the other side of a fence, Bernstein once stood on a raised tee, looking across the entire Lido Springs course lit up in full view from one end to the other.

"You saw fathers and sons, groups of friends, kids with six-packs," he says.  "People from all walks of life out there just having a lot of fun."

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[PICTURED (click to enlarge): TOP -- Rendering of Lido Springs #1; MIDDLE -- Advertisements printed in Newsday in May and September 1966.  The course advertised in the paper throughout the '60s and '70s and typically promoted night golf; MIDDLE RIGHT -- Aerial photo of Lido Springs, the triangular property at center, as seen in 1966.  Lido Golf Course is to the left, and the Lido Beach Nike missile base is seen to the right; BOTTOM RIGHT -- The full Lido Springs routing, as interpreted using public LiDAR data.  All greens remain intact on the site except #2.  The rendering of #9 shows a bunkerless green with raised shoulders and a knob at back center.  Lido Boulevard was located directly behind the hole.]

The digital renderings published here are the intellectual property of Peter Flory.

For more reading on Lido golf history, see previous Golf On Long Island entries below:

• The Golfer's Journal podcast and magazine piece examine past, present and future of Lido-inspired golf
• Lido Golf Club, famed Macdonald masterpiece, to be recreated in Wisconsin
• A brief look back at the original Lido Golf Club in its "centennial" season
• Street Names: The Ghosts of Long Island Golf's Past, Part 2 (Lido Club)
• Original Lido Club featured on Golf Channel, golf history podcast
• Newsday slideshow features 11 places that were formerly golf courses
• Closer Look: Lido Golf Club #16

Winter Golf on Long Island: 2021-22 Edition

Christmas morning on Long Island, there are a great many local golfers opening up new "toys," whether it be a box of balls or a new putter, looking forward to the spring when they can debut them on the course.  Then there's the small subset of local golfers scrolling through five-day forecasts and tee-time lists to see how soon they can take that brand-new, freshly unwrapped driver for a test...drive.

Winter golf is a thing on Long Island, to the surprise of the warm majority who take a pass at golf below 50 degrees.  But if you can tolerate cold, there is a whole season of golf to enjoy, complete with open tee times, clear fairways, reduced rates, two-and-a-half-hour rounds and hastily slurped hot chocolate staining the front of your new quarter-zip.

Here's a brief overview -- while many Northeast golfers pack the clubs away around the time rakes come out, there is a hardy set of players who carry on from January through March.  And there are plenty of local courses that are happy to accommodate them.  Long Island's handful of seasonal golf courses typically close sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas and reopen around St. Patrick's Day, but the rest remain open year-round as the weather allows.

It's not all sunshine and birdies, though.  Besides the cold and wind, you've got to deal with frost delays, some temporary tees and greens (less so now than in years past), and typically sloppier and muddier conditions as the elements take their toll later in the season.  Some years, if the bad weather arrives early and often, the winter season can be a complete dud.

This late fall and winter have been good to players so far, and generally, conditions hold up as long as heavy snow holds off.  After a couple of snow melts, the experience tends to become a bit more unpleasant.  But through the years we've seen it all -- playing nine at North Woodmere through hail on New Year's Eve; a hazy 65 degrees at Bethpage Yellow on New Year's Day; frozen hazards and greens at Middle Island in late November; and winds that never cease during dozens of winter rounds at Lido.

Like last year, factor in the pandemic when venturing out to play.  Some courses are operating near full speed, while others might just be offering 18 holes without any of the trimmings -- no bar, no grill, no coffee at the turn.  Check ahead if that is important to you. 

Golf On Long Island regularly posts information on winter rates and other course offerings throughout the offseason.  Keep up by checking out GOLI's Winter Golf on Long Island overview.  Also be sure to follow local courses on social media for the latest on weather closures, frost delays and more.

Seasonal Long Island golf courses set to close for '21

The middle of December is when the curtains come down and the house lights come up for Long Island's seasonal public golf courses.  There are only a few days left to squeeze in nine- or 18-hole rounds on these courses, most of which are municipal facilities.  You can expect nearly all of them to reopen again in March (Bethpage Red and Black reopen in April).

The following golf courses are preparing to close for the season this month:

• Brentwood Country Club -- December 13
  
• Holbrook Country Club -- December 13
  
• West Sayville -- December 15
• Timber Point -- December 19
• Bergen Point -- December 19
• Middle Bay (date TBD)
• Harbor Links (date TBD)
• Cherry Creek - Woods Course (date TBD)
• Bay Park (date TBD)
• Christopher Morley Park (date TBD)
• Sumpwams Creek (date TBD)

Some courses have already closed for 2021, including:

• Bethpage Black
• Bethpage Red
• Bethpage Green
• Harbor Links - Executive Course
• Island's End
• Eisenhower Red

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.

Aeration updates around Long Island

[This schedule was updated on September 19, 2021]

September is aeration month at Long Island golf courses, and maintenance dates are good to know for local players planning their late-summer and fall rounds.

The following public golf courses will be closed for play (unless otherwise noted) while undergoing fairway and/or greens aeration:

• Eisenhower White -- September 20
• Island's End -- September 20-21 (course open)
• Pine Hills -- September 21-22
• Cherry Creek (Woods) -- September 21
• Cherry Creek (Links) -- September 23
• Eisenhower Blue -- September 27
• Eisenhower Red -- October 4
• Bethpage Red -- October 5-6 
• Bergen Point -- October (dates TBA)

Some golf courses have already aerated, so be aware that conditions might not be optimal.

• Bethpage Black -- September 13
• West Sayville -- September 13
• Indian Island -- September 13-14
• Bethpage Green -- September 9-10
• Poxabogue -- September 7-8
• Timber Point -- September 7-9
• Holbrook CC -- September 7
• Bethpage Yellow -- September 2-3
• Bethpage Blue -- August 31-September 1

For courses not listed, contact them directly for the latest maintenance schedule.

Newsday: Florida buyer would preserve, upgrade Peninsula GC upon sale

The Florida-based buyer who has offered more than $4 million to purchase Peninsula Golf Club in Massapequa told Newsday this week that he plans to keep the property a golf course and make improvements to the grounds and facilities upon acquisition of the site.

Holding up the sale, however, is Oyster Bay Town's own rumored plans to seize the golf course through eminent domain, a move town representatives claim would maintain the longtime covenants that protect the property from outside development.

Richard Schaub, Jr., owner of Great American Properties, told Newsday he is willing to to work with Oyster Bay to ensure the property remains a public golf course, but town officials are unwilling to discuss it.  Schaub's vision for the public nine-hole course focuses on improved conditions, including "perfectly sculpted" sand traps, and a larger, modernized clubhouse that's attractive to the surrounding Nassau Shores community.  Two holes would be adjusted to protect nearby homes.

[Schaub] said he also wants to invest a yet-to-be determined amount in expanding the clubhouse to be "a place where neighbors could come in for a hamburger and a beer" and watch a game on television.

In an Aug. 10 letter to the Oyster Bay Town Board, Schaub wrote he had been unable to comment on his plans previously due to a confidentiality agreement with the current owner, P.G.C. Holding Corp., but sought to reassure the board of his intentions.

"We are purchasing it as a golf course, and as a golf course only," Schaub wrote.  Schaub said he received no response from the town. -- Ted Phillips, Newsday, 8/26/2021

Peninsula Golf Club was founded in 1946 on the site of the defunct Nassau Shores Country Club, and the deed between Nassau County and the club's ownership group included covenants that prohibit residential development, farming and any other uses other than a public golf course.  Earlier this year, Peninsula's shareholders voted to sell the course to Schaub's firm for $4.4 million. 

Oyster Bay then floated the possibility of eminent domain, saying an outside developer could theoretically get around the covenants and leave the property vulnerable to private development.  Nassau County Executive Laura Curran has said Nassau will enforce the covenants upon sale of the property.

"That property is not going to be a housing subdivision," Schaub told Newsday.  "That property should remain green."

2021 Summer Golf Camps on Long Island

[Looking for this year's camp info?  See the Guide to 2022 Summer Golf Camps on Long Island.]

Golf participation at the junior level is up during the coronavirus era.  The sport's socially distanced nature led many new, young players onto the course in 2020, and according to many local course pros, the demand for structured camp programs for kids was greater than expected as well.

Now that more kids are on the course, the next step for many of them is learning the right way to swing and manage a round of golf.  Luckily teens and tweens (and younger) in our area have plenty of places close by to find a qualified teaching pro with the skills to help put the building blocks in place for a swing that could last a lifetime.

On Long Island, in addition to the many outlets the casual or advanced golfer can turn to for instruction, summer golf programs for junior players are designed to transform the youngster, whether new to the sport or experienced, into a skilled golfer.

Many public courses in Nassau and Suffolk feature summer camp programs that school young players 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, in 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 years of enjoyment on the course.

The following is a general overview of 2021 summer golf camps available and open for registration at various public 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.)

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 June 28.  Register for full day ($775), half day ($500) and full-month sessions ($2,900) at the Bethpage / Golf Channel Academy website.

Cedars Golf Club (Cutchogue):  The Cutchogue course offers two separate month-long sessions with start dates of July 5 and August 2.  Campers meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with times varied by age group.  Juniors age 6 to 10 benefit from group instruction and on-course play, and also receive a ten-round Cedars Junior Pass.  Campers in the 11-to-15 group receive private instruction each week in addition to on-course play, group work and a full-season Junior Pass.  Cost is approximately $600 per four-week session.  Call (631) 734-6363 or e-mail ken@cedarsgolfclub.com to register or for full details.

Cherry Creek (Riverhead):  Cherry Creek camp programs will be available in July and August.  Specific 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 10 to 13, and half-day camps for beginners and intermediates age 8 to 11.  There is also a special 90-minute session for "Wee Ones" age 6 and 7.  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 6.  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 June 28, 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.  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 week-long sessions that include lessons, lunch, prizes, golf gear, skills contests and on-course competition.  Camps are open to boys and girls of all skill levels between the ages of 7 and 16.  Fees are $550 per week, per camper, with family, returnee and multi-week discounts available.  Week-long sessions begin June 28 and continue until Labor Day weekend.  See the Indian Island website for all details.

Long Island Golf Camps / Mike Reilly Golf Academy (Massapequa, Babylon, Hauppauge):  Long Island Golf Camps runs programs at three public courses -- Peninsula Golf Club (Massapequa), Sumpwams Creek/E. Donald Conroy Golf Course (Babylon) and Wind Watch Golf & Country Club (Hauppauge).  The Peninsula and Wind Watch camps are week-long, full-day programs (9:00/9:30 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.  Babylon camps run Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; afternoon sessions might be available based on demand.  Instruction takes place on the course and in the short-game area.  Enrollment is $645 for Peninsula and Wind Watch, and $289 for Babylon, with discounts available before May 1.  For schedules and registration, and for information on a fourth camp program held at the private Colonial Springs Golf Club in East Farmingdale, visit the Long Island Golf Camps website.

Middle Bay (Oceanside):  Six full-week sessions begin on July 12.  Campers meet Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  Call (516) 766-1880 for pricing, program details and additional information.

Mill Pond (Medford):  Camps are available in 4-day and 2-day sessions beginning July 6.  The longer programs are designed for teen golfers age 12 to 16 and focus on all aspects of swing technique and fundamentals.  Each session includes a team competition on Friday held at Rolling Oaks in Miller Place.  Shorter programs are geared more toward beginners age 6 to 11 with a focus on swing fundamentals, rules and etiquette.  Discounts for Town of Brookhaven residents are offered.  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 21 to the week of August 23.  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 $549 per session, with family and multi-week discounts available.  Visit the Poxabogue website for info and registration.

Stonebridge Golf Links (Hauppauge):  Starting in mid July, full- and half-day programs are available for beginners through intermediate players.  Half-day sessions (9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.) are geared to beginners age 6 to 10 and focus on fundamentals, rules, etiquette and course/club basics.  Full-day camps (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) help experienced players age 10 and up improve on skills and knowledge through on-course play and instruction.  Cost is $215 for half day and $385 for full day.  All campers receive a Puma string bag.  Discounts available for siblings and multiple sessions.  Call (631) 724-7500 or visit the Stonebridge website for session schedules and registration info.

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 9 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 Tuesday through Friday beginning July 6.  Cost is $299 per half-day session and $425 for full-day.  Visit the Sunken Meadow site for full information.

Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course (Woodbury):  Full-day camps (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) for boys and girls age 10 to 16, and half-day camps (12 noon to 4 p.m.) for boys and girls age 6 to 10, are available starting June 29.  Camps meet Tuesday through Friday.  Teaching pros cover chipping, putting, rules and etiquette, and instruction takes place on and off the course.  Full-day camp is $650; half-day camp is $475.  Referral discounts are available.  Call (516) 364-3600 or visit TOB's Lucas Golf Center website for information and registration.

Tee times will be a hot commodity again at local golf courses in 2021

On this first morning of spring, the season of new beginnings, opening day at Bethpage Green was slowed by a frost delay.  It was a fitting way to follow a winter season that was largely snowed out.

The cold thaw will do little to dampen local golf enthusiasm though, or the prospects for 2021.  The rush on tee times that became one of the main storylines in the pandemic-affected Long Island golf season of 2020 is likely to carry over through this year, Newsday golf writer Jeff Williams said in a St. Patrick's Day column, as more and more courses begin to shake off the winter freeze.  Harbor Links also reopened on Saturday, joining courses like Timber Point and Cherry Creek Woods that raised the curtain on 2021 last week.

And with sunny skies and temps projected in the 50s and 60s this week, expect a preview of this spring and summer's run on reservations.  Pent-up demand helped one Suffolk County course send out 150 players as far back as a sunny, freshly snow-thawed March 3.

"Tee sheets filled up in an instant, a week in advance or more," Williams said of 2020.  "And that trend isn't showing any signs of slowing down."

It's not just the push for golf itself that is driving demand for reservations.  "Tee times are like gold," Sunken Meadow head pro Judy Alvarez told Golf On Long Island in the fall, because most courses are still not allowing walk-up play amid the focus on pandemic safety.  Just about everyone needs a reservation to get onto any local first tee.  Players accustomed to dropping by a nearby course to join a group, or who might decide to sneak in nine holes one afternoon on a whim, are now at a severe disadvantage.  

Courses like the nine-hole Nassau County munis at North Woodmere, Bay Park, Cantiague and Christopher Morley are offering tee times for the first time ever, and without walk-up play, the difference is clear.  On a warm weekend last November, every tee time at North Woodmere was booked in advance from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon.  "Normally on a nice fall Saturday like this I'd come down here at 9:00 and get on after a little wait," said one Woodmere golfer.  "Today I can't get out."

As of noon today (Saturday), a search for Sunday tee times turns up almost nothing for twosomes at North Woodmere and Cantiague.  (The other two courses are still closed for winter.)  Singles can find three slots in total before 2 p.m.

At Cedars Golf Club in Cutchogue, the neighborhood nine-hole course transitioned in 2020 from a fully walk-up facility to prepaid tee times.  "We expect to keep the tee-time system going forward based on positive feedback from customers," said Cedars co-owner Tim McManus, who added indoor simulator play at Cedars was booked every weekend this winter.

The Golf Club at Middle Bay still has some time before the course opens on April 1, but the tee sheets are filling fast.  "We have a very limited number of tee times available for sale on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays," said golf director Ronnie Wright.

Once on the course though, golfers should find the experience well worth the fight for their spot on tee.  Pine Hills golf director Jimmy Conway told Newsday that faster rounds were one of the byproducts of pandemic-era golf in 2020.

"For the first time we saw four-hour rounds being played on weekends. That brought joy to a lot of people’s games," Conway said.  "A tee time on Saturday wasn’t so bad anymore."

Peninsula Golf Club owners considering sale to Florida firm

Peninsula Golf Club shareholders will meet next week to discuss the potential sale of the Massapequa nine-hole golf course to a Florida firm, Newsday reported on Thursday.

On the table is a $4.4 million offer from the Florida company for the 50-acre property, which must remain a public golf course, according to Nassau County covenants.  The shareholder meeting is scheduled for March 18.

In a Feb. 15 letter to shareholders of owner P.G.C. Holding Corp., company president Nicholas DeSibio, a Hewlett-based attorney, wrote that a $4.4 million offer had been made for the approximately 50-acre, nine-hole golf course.

"Our board members and officers believe that the ‘time has come,’ as we are having difficulty devoting the time to manage the operation," DeSibio wrote.

DeSibio said in an interview Thursday that the price was good "only as a golf course" but he wanted to see whether the stockholders agreed. The proceeds would be distributed to its 68 stockholders, according to the letter. -- Ted Phillips, Newsday, 3/11/21

At least one shareholder has already voted against the current offer and asked the ownership company president for a renegotiated price.

Both the golf course itself and the golf club that operates it have roots as far back as the 1920s.  Originally the Nassau Shores Country Club, the golf course emerged during the 1920s building boom and fell victim to post-Depression financial distress -- the club went bankrupt in the 1940s and the course was neglected.  Meanwhile, a group of Nassau County golfers who formed their own club while caddying at Rockaway Peninsula golf courses in the 1920s -- hence the name Peninsula -- swooped in to purchase the Nassau Shores course in 1946.

For more on Peninsula, see the course flyover.