Golf on Long Island

Sandy Pond Links debuts new routing, state-of-the-art mini golf course

Two years into its rebrand in Riverhead, Sandy Pond Links continues to spruce up its nine holes on Roanoke Avenue all while it cuts the ribbon on a newer and much shorter 18 right next door.

The first of two planned attractions at Sandy Pond made its debut last week, a state-of-the-art miniature golf course complete with in-play waterworks, a snack bar and a locally brewed house beer.  Sandy Pond's new clubhouse, the second development in the works on the north end of the property, is tentatively scheduled for a 2026 grand opening.

On the course, crews remain busy installing new irrigation and refurbishing Sandy Pond's nine greens.  When new ownership took over during the 2022-23 offseason, much of their focus was on restoring the greens to their original size.  Time and maintenance changes had reduced the greens to small, circular targets, far from what co-owner Brian Stark recalled from his early days living near and working on the course.  "You can still see areas where the contours were lost, and how the greens have shrunk significantly over time," Stark told Golf On Long Island in 2023.  "They used to have more character and pin positions."

The most startling change at the moment is the rerouting of the course to accommodate the new starter's booth, currently housed at the mini-golf course until it's eventually relocated to the clubhouse.  Players now start on the former ninth hole, continue to the old opener and finish on what had long been #8.  Along the way they'll pass the landmark red shack, which will likely stay in place.  Players will also have access to a patio near the first tee that's lined with Adirondack chairs, yard games and even a mini version of the iconic Big Duck down the road in Flanders.  The snack bar is stocked with a house IPA from Riverhead's Long Ireland Brewery, and cupholders built into each mini-golf hole sign serve as handy beer caddies.

Co-owner Earl Truland says the mini-golf 18 will be a family-friendly destination that doubles as a community gathering spot and a vehicle for revenue to cover upgrades on the par-3 course.  The mini golf includes uphill and downhill holes and a series of waterfalls, one of which flows into an in-play stream that carries balls under a bridge and onto the tenth green. 

"We've had people tell us they'd love to play mini golf while they wait to tee off," Truland says.  "Now instead of passing by when we have leagues on Wednesday mornings, they can come in and spend time here before they play."

Plans for Sandy Pond's future clubhouse include a simulator room, a small bar and food service, Truland says.  The structure still needs approval form the Town of Riverhead, and ownership hopes to break ground by spring 2025.

For more on the planned changes at Sandy Pond Links, see this post from January 2023.

Street Names: The Ghosts of Long Island Golf's Past, Part 7 — Dix Hills Golf Club

Street names can give clues about a community's past.  That's especially true with golf courses.  When Long Island streets are tagged with golf-related terms, it often means that buried beneath sidewalks and front lawns are the remains of a long-forgotten (or fondly remembered) course.

This series of posts looks back at courses that have been lost — some for a few years, some close to a century — and whose presence is only marked by what developers scratched on road maps and signs.  To see other courses in the "Street Names: The Ghosts of Long Island Golf's Past" series, click the links at the bottom of the post.

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Tucked away amid winding, wooded roads in western Suffolk County is a small, newly built residential community made up of nearly two-dozen luxury homes.  The homes, each carrying a price tag comfortably north of $2 million, stand tall and glamorous along a pair of dead-end streets.  By the sound of it, the developer in charge is not the type to lay up on par-5s.

Appropriately, the two streets — Long Drive Court and Eagle Court — end at cul-de-sacs of the exact shape and size of a putting green.  From beginning to dead end, or let's call it tee to green, Long Drive is laid out like a double-dogleg par-5, roughly 500 yards in total.  The only hiccup in the planning is that Eagle Court runs the length of a mere par-3.

And, coincidence or not, the development, titled Oak Hill Estates, shares its name with the renowned Rochester, New York golf club and famed championship venue.

Just a few years ago, though it wasn't yet Oak Hill Estates, the property was home not only to long drives and eagles but a dogleg par-5 oddly similar to what is now Long Drive Court.  Back then, local golfers knew the site as Dix Hills Golf Club, the lengthier, more challenging alternative to the nine-hole Dix Hills Park Golf Course nearby.  It was a par-35 with nine holes totaling around 2,600 yards.

The non-municipal beginner course has become an endangered species on Long Island, but before it closed in 2012, Dix Hills GC filled that niche across six decades.  Built in the 1960s, Dix Hills was bookended by par-5s, and a series of short par-4s and unique par-3s filled out the middle.  Its most prominent feature was the deep gully that cut across the front section of the course.  Shots to the green on holes #3 and #5 needed to carry the pit or settle somewhere far below.  It also featured deep, sticky rough that complicated what were otherwise simple holes.  Like a lush, well-fed (future) Oak Hill lawn, the rough could snatch and turn a clubhead with ease.  

Dix Hills' vibe was quaint and laid-back.  An old-fashioned cottage with shuttered windows served as the clubhouse, shaded and nestled comfortably beneath tall trees.  Players parked in a gravel driveway out front.  The course, rising and falling over the hills and densely wooded in spots, had a pastoral feel.

The par-3s at Dix Hills were certainly diverse.  The tiny fourth could be mistaken for a sled hill had there not been a green at the bottom.  A generous 116 yards on the scorecard, the hole dead-ended abruptly at a fenced corner of the property.  Ahead at #5, short or middle irons needed to clear the gully to reach a little green ringed by thick rough.  And #8, listed at 239 yards, played nearly as long as the course's par-4s.

Quietly, with little notice to anyone beyond the inner circle of Dix Hills-area players, the course closed up shop in 2012.  For more than two years it sat in a state of decay — behind the roadside entrance sign, weeds overtook the gravel driveway and obscured the empty cottage.  By 2015, the future Oak Hill development was formally announced and broke ground on the site.

The course is remembered as a place where local players got their initial taste of golf.  And its beginner-friendliness wasn't confined to its casual routing and vibe.  One of Dix Hills' local rules — in the course's later years, at least — said bad misses to the right on the two par-5s (as in over the trees onto adjacent holes) could be picked up and dropped on the correct side of the tree line with no penalty. 

All the more reason to go hard after long drives and eagles.

[PICTURED — TOP: Dix Hills' shaded cottage clubhouse. LEFT: Next to the clubhouse, #3 green sat behind a deep gully.  The course's dense rough was cut close to the greens.  BOTTOM: Dix Hills, as seen shortly before its closing in 2012, with the present-day roads depicted.  (Image credit: Google Earth.)  Long Drive Court is laid out on nearly the exact footprint of the par-5 ninth.  Also, the course's 2009 scorecard.]

SEE OTHER STREET-NAME POSTS:
Part 1: Cedar Point/Meadowlawn/Westwood — North Woodmere
Part 2: The Lido Club — Lido Beach
Part 3: Valley Stream Country Club — Valley Stream
Part 4: Sayville Golf Club — Sayville
Part 5: Riverhead Country Club — Riverhead
Part 6: Mill Pond East — Medford

Long Island Golf Junkies hosting July Social outing at The Hamlet Golf & CC

The Long Island Golf Junkies players group, one of the largest and most active groups in the region, will hold a July Social outing next month at The Hamlet Golf and Country Club in Commack.  Event date is Monday, July 15 with a shotgun start scheduled for 10:00 a.m.  The LIGJ outing is open to all players.

Entry fee is $155 per golfer for 18 holes and cart.  Format is individual stroke play with contests for closest to the pin and longest drive, plus raffles and prizes.  Visit the LIGJ website to reserve spots for singles and groups and for full registration guidelines and details.

The Hamlet is a private club redesigned in the 1990s by Stephen Kay.  It is a par-70 with heavily bunkered fairways and greens and several prominent water hazards.  

LIGJ hosts several formal outings, casual rounds and social/networking meet-ups each season at both public courses and private clubs.  Interested local golfers can become members via the Long Island Golf Junkies Facebook group.

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.]

Newsday: Stonebridge Golf Links ownership withdraws on-course housing proposal

A development plan that would have built 28 additional homes at Stonebridge Golf Links and Country Club in Hauppauge and shortened its 18-hole golf course into abbreviated nines has been withdrawn by ownership, according to Newsday.  All that remains now are lingering questions and concerns about the future of the current golf course.

Newsday's Jean-Paul Salamanca reported last week that Stonebridge representatives sent a letter of withdrawal dated May 7 to the Town of Smithtown's Planning Board, roughly six weeks after a public hearing in front of the board and members of the community.  At that March 20 meeting, attorney David Altman and Islip-based architect Jerry Rumplick presented a plan for new houses along Stonebridge's western perimeter.  To build the proposed homes, Stonebridge asked the planning board to consider amending the longtime covenants that restrict new development on the site. 

The most notable exchange took place near the end of the meeting when board member Rick Lanese pressed Altman to explain how Smithtown residents would benefit from a plan that adds housing to an environmentally sensitive site and negatively impacts the existing Stonebridge course.  Altman said they benefit because the alternative would be total loss of the golf course.

Now that the plan has been withdrawn, that back-and-forth between Altman and the board takes on much greater significance.  Stonebridge representatives declined to comment to Newsday about the withdrawal, Salamanca reported, and Altman has not responded to questions about the golf course from Golf On Long Island.

Stonebridge replaced and redesigned the former Hauppauge Country Club in 1999, at which time covenants were put in place to limit future additions to the 105-home residential community and changes to club membership and the golf course itself.  The two golf courses have occupied the Veterans Highway site since the 1950s.

Residents and neighbors spoke out against the plan at the March 20 meeting, citing concerns over the course modifications, environmental impact, proximity to the adjacent county park and decline in home value.  Under the proposed plan, new homes would have replaced the 17th and 18th holes, and the western half of the current course would have been reduced to an executive-length nine-hole layout.  The eastern half likely would have remained as a separate full-length nine.

Stonebridge's course design pays tribute to renowned early-1900s designers C.B. Macdonald, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks.  Macdonald biographer and historian George Bahto redesigned the previous Hauppauge course to include replicas of holes typically found at famous American and European clubs, making it unique among Long Island's roster of public golf courses.  The 17th hole, which would have been destroyed under the housing proposal, is modeled after Macdonald's "Eden" par-3s.  Other replicas include the Redan at #4, Biarritz at #7 and Hog's Back green at #16.

For more on the course, see the Stonebridge flyover.

SEE ALSO: Proposed homebuilding plan calls for major modifications or possible closure of Stonebridge Golf Links

Flyover: Spy Ring Golf Club

SEE ALSO:
Spy Ring Golf Club in Setauket working its way toward a soft opening this fall (2023)
Coming Soon: Heritage Spy Ring GC, Long Island's first shot at the Sweetens Cove model (2022)

When a public golf course longer than a pitch-and-putt was last built on Long Island, the world was a very unfamiliar place.  Taylor Swift was a young up-and-comer preparing her debut album, Facebook was not yet available to the general public and golf courses were still arriving at the tail end of a fast-and-furious building boom.  (And, speaking of which, "The Fast and the Furious" was only on its third of a dozen-or-so iterations.)  

Golf course design was in a different place too back in 2006, when Pine Ridge Golf Club emerged in a freshly cut section of Coram pine forest.  On Long Island, swaths of agricultural land — sod farms, potato fields and the like — were converted to 18-hole courses with dozens of traps, prominent water hazards and a clubhouse that doubled as a catering hall.  That era came to a close soon after Willow Creek (2005) and Pine Ridge emerged, and today, the national course-building trend is focused more on course quality, no matter the hole count.  Sweetens Cove is the most notable example, a universally lauded nine-hole course built on the grounds of a failed 18 in rural Tennessee.  Closer to home, the same designers behind Sweetens Cove took a spent 18-hole course in upstate New York near New Paltz and transformed it into a modern nine called Inness.  

That brings us to Spy Ring Golf Club, Long Island's first public golf course in nearly two decades and its most ambitious public golf project since Harbor Links was crafted at the bottom of a barren sand pit in 1998.  It's ambitious for several reasons — one, the team behind Spy Ring sees the high bar that Sweetens Cove set as the standard and is intent on reaching it.  Beyond that, the team is confident Spy Ring's brand of golf will succeed in a place with a deeply ingrained golf culture, one that doesn't just let innovative ideas waltz in without putting it through the ringer first.  Nine-hole courses are the stuff of county munis and wee executive courses, the thought process goes.  Spy Ring, however, brings the goods.

Tyler Rae designed Spy Ring on the grounds of the former 18-hole Heatherwood Golf Course, an executive-length fixture in Setauket since the 1960s.  The old course was completely gutted, and Rae's task was to create something new and modern that would ring around a newly built residential complex.  Previously Rae worked alongside acclaimed figures in the architecture field, and his resume features restorations and renovations of Golden Age courses, primarily Donald Ross classics.  Spy Ring is his first solo design, and since its conception he's become one of the most sought-after names in the design field.

"Golf intellect is very high on Long Island," Rae told Golf On Long Island in 2022.  "You can't just come in with Mickey Mouse bunkers and flat greens and expect to have success.  Especially with a course like St. George's right down the street."

What he created is a course with big, undulating greens, spacious fairways and a variety of unique contouring that allows for the course to be set up in many different ways.  Spy Ring is designed to play firm and fast, rare among Long Island publics.  Broad green entrances on all but one hole mean the ground game is in play.  The course maxes out at 3,100 yards.

Spy Ring has been featured by The Met Golfer, Newsday and several golf-architecture publications.  It officially opened for play in May 2024.

LAYOUT:
Rae's layout begins with what he calls a "handshake," a gentle introduction to a course that builds in physical movement and general intrigue as it moves along.  The opening par-4 also gives a brief preview of what's to come throughout the round — expansive bunkers, massive fairways and gaping green entrances.  A 200-yard tee shot should clear the huge right-side trap and leave a favorable angle into the green.  From there you can approach with a short iron or use the kick-friendly shaping of the fairway to run a shot up onto the green.  Left-side approaches will have to contend with a deep front trap with a high face.  The par-4 second plays back toward the start.  A tree serves as the target line on this flat dogleg and another oversized fairway bunker threatens to catch tee shots that venture up the left side.  From Spy Ring's most spacious stretch of fairway, players have a wide-open look at a squared-off green.  But here, the green falls off dramatically behind and to the right, and waves and dips in the putting surface make for some funky pin placements.

The course takes on a much different personality from the third tee forward.  Starting at #3, a downhill-then-up par-5, Spy Ring begins a series of descents and climbs along the site's naturally hilly terrain.  At nearly 40 yards wide and pinched in spots by two bunkers, the third fairway is a deceptively roomy target, and a tee shot of 220-plus will take the first trap out of play.  But the second shot will be uphill, and the blind green in the distance falls off to the right.  Ahead at #4, some big hitters might be tempted to go for the green on a short par-4 that plays 320 from the middle tees, though a short-right bunker suggests an alternate strategy.  Instead, the wise play is a tee shot that will use the right-to-center tilt of the fairway and rough to set up a short wedge to a diagonal green.  Misses left off the tee could find a sole fairway trap; on the right, mishits risk getting caught up in hillside rough that severely complicates approach shots.

Hole #5 is Spy Ring's first par-3, and it's a doozy.  Rae's green contours really come out to play on a hole just over 180 yards from the tips and slightly downhill.  Perched up on a plateau, the green is narrowest at its center and falls off sharply into left and right bunkers.  In the back half, the green runs downhill toward the long-right edge, and up front a slope works to repel balls off the short side of the green.  It's a green with plenty of spots for fun, hard-to-reach pins.  Spy Ring's other par-3 is the course's signature hole.  The 145-yard seventh calls for a high shot over four larger-than-they-look bunkers that stand guard in front of a fan-shaped green.  A ridge splits the green into high and low halves with a right-side kickplate ready to scoot balls toward the center.  

Each par-3 is followed by short par-4s.  The sixth plays significantly uphill and culminates with a punchbowl-style green.  Its squared putting surface is raised in the back to funnel balls onto and around the green's waves and ridges.  At #8, where the green is potentially within reach, a large waste area on the left calls for a more cautious play.  The green falls off in the back and descends into a sloped collection area on the right.

Spy Ring ends with some of its most dramatic elevation change.  The par-5 ninth runs downhill from the tee, and around the midpoint of the fairway it starts ascending back uphill while turning to the left.  A massive green awaits — the entrance is huge and unobstructed with a sneaky false front.  The green narrows in the center and back as one last hefty bunker presses into the right side.

CONDITIONS:
Spy Ring stands apart from nearly all Long Island publics because it sits atop a sandy base.  With course construction slowed by pandemic-related delays, Rae and his team of builders had time to shape every feature on the course to their exact specifications.  They stripped off all the topsoil from the site, leaving behind nothing but sand.  "It's going to be freakin' dry," Rae told GOLI during the grow-in phase.  On top of that base, Rae seeded turfgrass adapted for sandy, firm-and-fast golf.  Shots will bound down fairways and roll over mounds more than they do at other regional publics.  "We set it up to be a turnkey firm-and-fast course," Rae said.  "Very easy to maintain."

Responsible for that maintenance and conditioning is Adam Jessie, formerly of the neighboring St. George's Golf and Country Club.  The plan is for the course to play fast, allowing for that bounding ground attack as well as the high-lofted aerial game.  Rae built greens with plenty of pinnable space and a wide range of difficulty, and Jessie's role includes ensuring the nuances in Rae's greens will shine.  

Spy Ring features a large practice green with a separate practice bunker and chipping area.  There is no driving range on site.

The residential complex does come into play on holes 3, 4 and 6, though it is set back enough to only impact severe mishits.  There are out-of-bounds stakes along the right sides of those holes.  Small berms are in place to help keep balls on the course.

Tee times are spread out by at least 12 minutes.  Management is focused on providing a fun, comfortable playing experience.  Between the lengthy tee-time intervals and the minimal lost-ball opportunities, waits at Spy Ring should rarely be a problem.

HOLES TO REMEMBER:
Rae built Spy Ring's signature seventh with elements of a volcano par-3, a hole type often associated with Donald Ross.  From the tee, #7's four bunkers appear to be standing in line across the front, though the sand traps actually wrap around the left, front and short-right sides.  The triangular green is propped up on high ground with falloffs into sloped rough and sand.  Depending on tees and pins, the hole might call for a touchy wedge just over the traps or a short iron to a pin stuck way in the back.  A ridge, kickplate and front tongue all add intrigue once the ball is on (or just off) the surface.  One thing is certain — you do not want to be in the bunkers.  They are deep, steep and much bigger than they appear.  Front pins here, between the traps and the green's center ridge, will be fun.

AREAS TO AVOID:
You can't see it from the tee, but sitting way down below the left side of #5 green is a long, narrow bunker.  Wind up there and you'll face an awkward recovery to a raised green with a bigger trap waiting on the other side.  It could be worse though — go any farther left and you'll be out of bounds.

NEARBY COURSES:
Pine Ridge (5 miles)
Willow Creek (5 miles)
Spring Lake (8 miles)

CONTACT:
303 Arrowhead Lane, Setauket, NY 11720
(631) 540-0704
www.spyringgolfclub.com

SEE ALSO:
Spy Ring Golf Club in Setauket working its way toward a soft opening this fall (2023)
Coming Soon: Heritage Spy Ring GC, Long Island's first shot at the Sweetens Cove model (2022)

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.

Proposed homebuilding plan calls for major modifications or possible closure of Stonebridge Golf Links

The future of Stonebridge Golf Links and Country Club suddenly appears to be in doubt.

A proposed plan to build additional homes at the Hauppauge course would modify or eliminate several golf holes and remodel Stonebridge into two separate layouts, said attorney David Altman at a March 20 meeting of the Smithtown Planning Board.  If the town board does not approve amendments to longtime covenants attached to the property, said Altman, who spoke on behalf of Stonebridge ownership, the alternative might be closure of the golf course.

The project, as outlined in a presentation by Altman and Islip-based architect Jerry Rumplick, calls for 28 houses and a new access road to be constructed along the property's western perimeter, which is currently occupied by several holes on the course's back nine.  Maps and renderings indicate the plan would eliminate the existing 17th hole, heavily modify holes 11, 16 and 18, and shorten Stonebridge's western half into an executive-length course.  The eastern section of the course would likely remain as part of a full-length nine.

However, development at the site is limited by covenants put in place in 1999 when Stonebridge, an 18-hole semi-private course that surrounds a 105-home residential community, took over the former Hauppauge Country Club.  The covenants restrict further homebuilding and particular changes to the golf course and membership.  

Altman's project overview did not explicitly raise course closure as a possibility, but when pressed by a board member to explain how the plan benefits Smithtown residents, Altman said the alternative was loss of the golf course. 

More than a dozen residents of the course community and neighboring areas spoke out against the plan, citing concerns over the course alterations, environmental impact, proximity to the adjacent county park and decline in home value.  They also argued the covenants were integral factors in their decisions to buy or stay in their homes on the property and should not be amended to accommodate major changes to the site.

Stonebridge and the previous Hauppauge Country Club, both full-length 18-hole courses, have occupied the property along Veterans Highway since the 1950s.  Community resident Sue Stavrakos told the board that keeping a par-70 golf course on the site is required by the covenants.  Another resident who lives next to the tenth hole said golfers and potential members have little interest in playing an executive-length course and advised the town board to take steps to protect Smithtown's golf courses, similar to recent zoning changes enacted in the Town of Brookhaven.  Several homeowners said the site is too compact as is, leading to property damage, overcrowding during clubhouse events and, in some cases, severe injuries to residents.

According to renderings, the current 17th hole would be eliminated by the new home sites and #18 would be shortened and reoriented.  Rumplick said other changes would be made to improve safety in general and reduce ball strikes on the existing homes.  The par-4 16th would be split into two par-3s, one of which would feature a newly built island green.  At #10, new tees would be built parallel to the line of homes in order to cut down on property strikes.  Same at #2, a long par-4 on the other side of the course that would be shortened with new tees relocated ahead of an existing pond.

There is no timetable for a decision by the planning board, but several attendees at the March 20 meeting urged the board to schedule a second public hearing given the number of people who were turned away due to capacity limits.

Stonebridge is unique among Long Island's public courses as it is comprised entirely of template holes made famous by renowned designers C.B. Macdonald, Seth Raynor and Charles Banks.  Macdonald biographer and historian George Bahto redesigned the previous Hauppauge Country Club course to include replicas of holes typically found at early-20th-century clubs.  The troubled 17th hole, for example, is modeled after  Macdonald's "Eden" par-3s.  Other replicas include the Redan at #4, Biarritz at #7 and Hog's Back green at #16.

For more on the course, see the Stonebridge flyover.

[PICTURED: The 16th hole, which would be split into two par-3s under a proposed course remodeling.]

Spy Ring Golf Club to open to the public May 6

[NOTE: Spy Ring GC is now open.  Read more about the course in the Spy Ring flyover.]

The wait is nearly over.  The slow and steady rollout of Spy Ring Golf Club, the first non-executive public golf course built on Long Island in nearly two decades, is moving ahead toward launch. 

Spy Ring will make its grand opening to Long Island's public golfers on Monday, May 6.  Designed by Tyler Rae, the modern nine-hole layout in Setauket replaces the former Heatherwood Golf Course with a boldly contoured, fun-forward course built from the ground up in the mold of other top-tier nine-holers around the country.  Reservations will be available starting in late April.

Optimism has been sky-high ever since Rae and a team of builders began shaping the course during the early days of the pandemic.  "This has a chance to be something special and unique for Long Island," said Heatherwood president Chris Capece during a 2022 course tour.  "I think this is going to be up on the same level with Sweetens Cove."

Given the course's forward-thinking design and lofty aspirations, Spy Ring is the most ambitious golf project on Long Island since Harbor Links was built in a reclaimed Port Washington sand mine in 1998.  When it opens next month it will be the first public course (excluding pitch-and-putts) to debut in the region since Coram's Pine Ridge in 2006.

Spy Ring is one of the first solo designs for Rae, whose resume includes many Golden Age restorations and renovations, with emphasis on Donald Ross courses.  Here Rae laid out a 3,100-yard par-36 that plays up and down a series of rolling holes.  The eye-candy hole is #7, a 145-yard par-3 with a Ross-inspired volcano green perched above the surrounding terrain and guarded by four large traps.  Rounds conclude on a 515-yard par-5 that runs downhill from the tee, then back uphill past bunkers to a massive green.  Many of the putting surfaces feature broad entrances that set up ground-game approaches.

It will also stand out among Long Island publics because of its sand-based construction and specially adapted turfgrass designed to allow balls to bound across fairways and over Rae's pronounced green contours.  The pandemic slowed construction overall but provided time for Rae and crew to strip off all the site's topsoil and mold the exposed sandy base to their precise specifications.  Rae said the setup and ground conditions create a "turnkey firm-and-fast course" for local players.

When designing Spy Ring, Rae considered the high standard for Long Island golf courses, especially in that corner of Suffolk County.  "Golf intellect is very high on Long Island," Rae told Golf On Long Island during grow-in.  "You can't just come in with Mickey Mouse bunkers and flat greens and expect to have success.  Especially with a course like St. George's right down the street."

Rae's greens feature internal contouring and funneling that set up fun putts without going over the top.  "There's a ton of variety in the greens, and plenty of pinnable space," he said.  "Each one can play really easy or really hard."

While the course's style is geared toward the present and future, Spy Ring is not shy about nodding to the past.  It is named for the Culper Ring, the famed network of colonial spies that operated in Setauket and along Suffolk County's north shore during the Revolutionary War.  Behind the pro-shop counter hangs a large black-and-white photo of opening day at the original Heatherwood course in the early 1960s.  In a LinkedIn post that revealed Spy Ring's official logo — a Setauket-area spy peering suspiciously from beneath a trifold hat — Capece called the opening a "special accomplishment" for a local, family-owned company with Long Island roots that go back nearly 75 years.

Next on the pre-opening agenda is the launch of a new Spy Ring website, likely sometime next week.  Local players will be able to make tee times beginning in late April.   

READ MORE:
Spy Ring Golf Club in Setauket working its way toward a soft opening this fall (2023)
Coming Soon: Heritage Spy Ring GC, Long Island's first shot at the Sweetens Cove model (2022)

2024 golf course reopen dates on Long Island

It took an extra day to get here this year, but today is the start of Reopening Month.  March is when Long Island's seasonal golf courses put the pro-shop lights back on, stick the pins into the cups and start taking tee times.  Except for Bethpage Black, just about every golf course on Long Island will be open for play by the end of March.

Reopenings typically begin around St. Patrick's Day, so if the weather warms up on March 8, you'll still need to head to one of Long Island's many year-round courses.

The following is a list of tentative 2024 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.

2024 GOLF COURSE REOPENINGS:

• Sandy Pond Links – March 1
• Woods Course at Cherry Creek – March 14
• Timber Point – March 15
• Bergen Point – March 15
• Holbrook CC – March 15
• Brentwood CC – March 15
• West Sayville – March 15
• Bethpage Green – March 16
• Harbor Links - Championship/Executive – March 23
• Bethpage Red – March 30
• The Golf Club at Middle Bay – March 29
• Town of Oyster Bay GC – April 1
• Bethpage Black – April 13

DATES TBA:

• Eisenhower Red 
• Sumpwams Creek

[This post was updated on March 12, 2024.]