Golf on Long Island

Heatherwood Golf Club remains closed amid real estate fight

A years-long battle over a proposed senior housing complex in Centereach that would cut the Heatherwood Golf Club from 18 holes to nine has instead reduced the entire course to overgrowth as the future of the development dims.  Heatherwood has been closed since early 2020, and it appears likely the course will stay closed for good.

Heatherwood slowly grew into an eyesore along busy Nesconset Highway during its abandoned 2020 season, Kyle Barr of TBR News wrote in October.  At one point a sign that read "What Should We Build?" was erected over the dormant golf course.

The deserted course and weedy lot are the culmination of a lengthy struggle pitting the Town of Brookhaven against a Commack-based real estate developer that wants millions of dollars in tax breaks to build 200 housing units for seniors on part of the golf course property.  Arguing that tax breaks would take revenue away from local school districts, the Brookhaven Town Industrial Development Agency rejected several requests in 2019 for economic-aid packages for the developer, Heatherwood Golf and Villas, ranging from $2 million to $7 million in exemptions.  Heatherwood contends that the project -- which would keep nine of the club's 18 holes -- is dependent on the tax breaks.

The developer was originally granted a zoning change for the project in 2014 and already has most of the approvals it needs to start construction of the housing complex, according to Newsday.   Local residents and civic associations spoke out against the development at the time, and after continued opposition, some feel that the abandonment of the golf course is a "vindictive" counter to the town's aid rejection, Barr reported.

As for Heatherwood Golf Club, part of the Long Island public-golf scene for more than 50 years, it filled a niche as the Island's only 18-hole executive-length course.  The 4,100-yard course featured six par-4s and a dozen par-3s, most of which played longer than 150 yards.  Its signature hole was the 148-yard ninth, where shots to a deep green needed to sail over a small pond.

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."

2021 golf course reopen dates on Long Island

Every couple of seasons, Old Man Winter takes his frustration out on Long Island golfers, blanketing area golf courses with snow and ice, then blowing in a chill that freezes all that sloppy gray in place.  The 2020-21 winter golf season has been a bust, and it doesn't appear it will turn around anytime soon.

The good news -- if you squint hard enough, as in really hard, you can kind of see the first blurry signs of the 2021 season way up there on the horizon.

By the middle of March, Long Island's seasonal golf courses begin to shake off the winter freeze and welcome players back to the first tee.  Reopenings trickle in from the lead-up to St. Patrick's Day through early April; Bethpage Black is typically the last course to get back to business by Tax Day.

The following is a list of tentative 2021 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.)  Given last year's golf boom and this year's housebound winter, these could be the busiest reopening dates in recent memory.  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.

2021 GOLF COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Town of Oyster Bay GC -- March 1
• Timber Point -- March 12
  
• West Sayville -- March 12
• Brentwood CC -- March 13
  
• Holbrook CC -- March 13
  
• Woods Course at Cherry Creek -- March 12
• Bergen Point -- March 19
• Harbor Links - Championship/Executive -- March 20
• Bethpage Green -- March 20
• The Golf Club at Middle Bay -- April 1
• Bethpage Red -- April 1
• Eisenhower Red -- April 8 (approx.)
• Bethpage Black -- April 15

The following courses typically reopen in mid- to late March:

• Christopher Morley Park

The following courses typically reopen in April:

• Bay Park 

[This post was updated on March 28, 2021.]

Crab Meadow renamed to honor former Huntington supervisor

The Crab Meadow Golf Course in Northport will be renamed for Robert J. Flynn, the former Huntington supervisor whose work in acquiring parkland paved the way for the town's two municipal golf courses, according to a press release. 

The Huntington Town Board unanimously approved the rededication of the 18-hole course, which will now be formally known as Robert J. Flynn Crab Meadow Golf Course.  Flynn's tenure as town supervisor from 1959 to 1965 included the creation of Suffolk County's first municipal parks system and led to the creation of the public Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Park golf courses.

In a 2016 profile, Jeff Neuman of The Met Golfer said Crab Meadow's launch during the early-1960s course-building boom was a result of Flynn's "forward thinking."

"Flynn believed in protecting open space as part of a strong parks system, and he led the fight for a bond act passed in 1962 that funded the purchase of 700 acres of land for town parks large and small. ... Crab Meadow is bordered to the north and west by wetlands that might have been filled and sold for development in those pre-EPA days had the town not gotten involved." -- Jeff Neuman, The Met Golfer, Nov/Dec 2016

Crab Meadow opened to the public in 1965, the design work of William Mitchell, who's credited with many of Suffolk County's municipal golf courses and considered golf's "public defender."  The history of golf on or near the Crab Meadow property actually dates farther back to the early 1920s, when famed designer Devereux Emmet built the short-lived Northport Country Club beside the wetlands and Sound.

For more on Crab Meadow, check out the course flyover.

Winter Golf on Long Island: 2020-21 Edition

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

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

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

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

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

See also: Winter Golf on Long Island overview

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

End of season approaching at many Long Island golf courses

December is closing time on the Island, meaning the busiest and most bizarre Long Island golf season in the recent past is coming to an end, at least for those courses that operate on a seasonal basis.  This week is the last opportunity to book rounds at a handful of popular public courses in the area.

This Sunday, December 13, the following courses will close at the end of play:

• Eisenhower Red
• Harbor Links
• Brentwood Country Club
• Holbrook Country Club
• Cherry Creek - Woods Course

The following courses will close later this month:

• Middle Bay (12/20)
• Timber Point (12/27)
• Bay Park (date TBD)
• Christopher Morley Park (date TBD)

Some courses have already shut down for 2020, including:

• Bethpage Black
• Bethpage Red
• Bethpage Green
• Harbor Links - Executive Course
• Oyster Bay

The majority of Long Island golf courses remain open through the winter.  For more information on Long Island's winter season, stay tuned for our annual Winter Golf On Long Island primer.

Shotgun outings at Wind Watch, Willow Creek on Thanksgiving

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanksgiving Day Scramble at Timber Point

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

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

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

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

Origins: Bergen Point Golf Course

Golf On Long Island's "Origins" series explores the history and development of those local golf courses whose backstory is a bit more unique than most.  Stay tuned for more as the season progresses.

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At first glance there's not a whole lot that's noteworthy about the 1972 opening of Bergen Point Golf Course in West Babylon.  It can be summed up pretty succinctly:

In the mid 1960s, Suffolk County announced plans to develop a series of public parks and outdoor recreation venues, including new golf courses in West Babylon, West Sayville and Riverhead.  Across Long Island, the biggest course-building boom since the 1920s was underway, and dozens of public and private golf layouts had sprouted up since the turn of the decade.  Suffolk's plan set the stage for a new wave of Long Island municipal golf courses.  Its West Babylon course would be built on 168 boggy acres near Great South Bay; in West Sayville, the new muni would take over an old bayside estate, and the Riverhead site would be laid out over what was, way back when, an Indian Island duck farm.

By May 1968, West Sayville was ready to welcome Suffolk County residents and their guests.  It was the design work of William Mitchell -- long known as golf's "public defender" -- and the following season, Mitchell's eighteen at Bergen Point was just about ready to go.  And that's when the Bergen Point story diverges from the norm.  Why did it take until 1972 for the course to open to the public?

You know that big treatment plant that separates Bergen Point from Great South Bay?

Around the same time Mitchell and building crews were putting the final touches on the county's new municipal golf facility, Suffolk's attention was focused less on contoured greens and more on construction of the taxpayer-funded sewage treatment plant right next door.  The plant was going up along the water south of the course, with original plans calling for it to be partially built over the bay on landfill.  Golf at Bergen Point would have to wait until the plant was complete.

But during construction, $10 million in cost overruns and a looming fight with conservationists turned the landfill part of the proposal sour.  For the much lower price tag of $300,000, the county could simply extend the plant property away from the bay instead -- onto 30 acres already occupied by the new golf course.

So in 1971, Suffolk County paid that price -- more than half of the original $500,000 cost to build the new muni from scratch -- to modify a golf course that, before it ever opened for play, lost three of its southernmost holes and parts of others.  If you've ever thought to yourself that the holes near the bay have a bit of an awkward feel, specifically the two sharp-turning dogleg par-5s, this late-stage redesign is likely the reason.

Bergen opened in 1972 with some added acreage on the north end, which today is the site of the course's driving range.

[PICTURED -- A map that ran alongside a Newsday article on January 16, 1971 with the headline, "Revised Sewer Plant Will Cut Golf Course." (Courtesy Newsday)]

OTHER POSTS IN THE "ORIGINS" SERIES:
Bay Park -- June 2019
Town of Oyster Bay -- March 2019
The Golf Club at Middle Bay -- January 2019
Wind Watch Golf & Country Club -- May 2018