Reflections on Golfing on Long Island.

Story By Roy Bradbrook

Ask most golfers where they would like to take a golfing vacation, and they usually became dreamy eyed with thoughts of Myrtle Beach, Arizona, California, or Florida. Today, add Long Island to the golfing mecca list. Over the last few years, new courses have been opened, and now a golfing tour of Long Island offers a diversity of experiences which will stand up with anywhere else in the US or even further afield.

Now, there are some magnificent private courses, such as Shinnecock or Atlantic, which you will find impossible to play without introduction from a member. Despite this, how about Bethpage, owned by the State and open to all, with its famous Black Course, soon to be the home for the US Open. (Be prepared for a wait though!) Moving east, the three nine-hole courses at both Mill Pond and Middle Island offer a variety of holes suitable for all golfers, expert or hacker. Then at Shirley, the new Links at Shirley has a championship-class layout where you will be pampered as though you belonged to a country club. In addition, it offers a floodlit, par 3 course, which allows you to play after dusk in the spring and summer and will test your golfing skills to the full.

Moving across the island to the north shore, the Tall Grass course is appropriately named, and its enormous sand waste bunkers and holes, which radically change the way they play with every shift of the wind, provide a fascinating change. So, Long Island is flat. Well, next spring, go out and play the new Great Rock course in Wading River, where, as you move through a surprisingly hilly terrain, you may feel that you have been transported across the sound to upstate New York. A little further east, Indian Island golf course at Riverhead is owned by Suffolk County, and some of the holes running along the Peconic River are among the most beautiful on the island. Want to be pampered again? Then maybe the Long Island National course on the outskirts of Riverhead at Northville, just on the edge of the wine country, should be a definite one to visit. A championship quality course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. shows how a master golf course architect can change potato fields into a course that will challenge the best of golfers. Both here and at Tall Grass, make sure that you have plenty of golf balls available!

Then, at the very end of the island, before you fall into the sea, there is the world-famous Montauk Downs golf course, designed years ago by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and regarded as one of his masterpieces. State owned and open to all, this is a course which seems to entrance golfers, who return, time after time, determined to beat it, usually without too much success.

This is but a mere selection of the courses open to golfers here on Long Island. When you couple this with the charms and attractions of the ever-growing Wine Country, with its generally acclaimed, high-quality wines and the vast range of dining options available, is it any wonder that Long Island is rapidly taking its place on the list of desirable golfing outings and touring holidays.

Here are some Long Island golf courses to wet your appetite.

Bethpage State Park
Bethpage Parkway, Farmingdale
Tel. (516) 249-0700

There are five 18-hole courses, and they are open year round - weather permitting - except for the famous Black Course, which shuts in mid-November and which will shortly be getting ready for the 2001 US Open.

Middle Island Country Club
Yaphank Rd., Middle Island
Tel. (631) 924-3000

Privately owned set of three, par 36, full-length, demanding, and attractive tree-lined nine-hole courses. Open to the public year round.

Mill Pond Golf Course
300 Mill Rd., Medford
Tel. (631) 732-8249
E-mail:golf@millpond.com

Three nine-hole courses, each par 36. Open year round.

Tall Grass Golf Club
24 Cooper St., Shoreham
Tel. (631) 209-9359

One of the newest courses on Long Island and very attractive. Constructed on an old sod farm, incredible amounts of sand and soil were moved to create the design topography. A challenging course that plays very differently according to the wind conditions. A test of a golfer's ability to think his way around a course.

Great Rock Golf Club
141 Fairway Drive, Wading River
Tel. (631) 929-1200

Due to open on Memorial Day 2001, this promises to be a stunning addition to our golf courses. Much more hilly than you would expect to find on Long Island, not over long but a challenge even to the best of golfers. Great Rock will be open for members and casual players, and they are starting to construct a 12000 sq. ft. clubhouse with all amenities

Indian Island Country Club
Riverside Drive, Riverhead
Tel. (631) 727-7776
E-mail: scparks@co.suffolk.ny.us
Web site: www.co.suffolk.ny.us/exec/parks

Suffolk County-owned course with 18 holes and a par of 72. Nine-hole play is offered in the early mornings. Some of the holes on the first nine, which wind around the banks of the Peconic, are extremely attractive.

Long Island National Golf Club
1793 Northville Turnpike, Riverhead
Tel. (631) 727-4653

New and impressive course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. Recreates the feel of playing in Ireland, especially if the wind and rain come. Privately owned but open to all. Their object is to make you feel as if you were playing at your country club - and they succeed.

The Links at Shirley
William Floyd Parkway
(South of Montauk Hwy.)
Tel. (631) 395-7272

Another golf course which will pamper you, until you play the course. Then it's everyone for themselves, for this is a real test of golfing skills even though it may look open and inviting at first. Open to all and scheduled to be open throughout the year. They also have an enormous double driving range which serves both the main course and the beautiful 18-hole par 3 course which is floodlit for evening play during the spring to fall seasons.

Montauk Downs State Park
50 S. Fairway Ave., Montauk
Tel. (631) 668-1100

Rated one of the nation's top 50 golf courses, this course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. and is an individual mecca on Long Island for golf enthusiasts. Owned by New York State, you need to book during the summer unless you are prepared for a long wait. Open year round.