Bethpage Black Closed Up to 12 Days in August 2010

(Copyright USGA/John Mummert)Bethpage State Park’s Black Course will be closed for up to twelve days during August, 2010. The reason…scheduled maintenance and tournament events.
Black is closed for play every Monday for maintenance, as well as
Tuesday, August 3
Wednesday, August 4
Tuesday, August 10
Met Pro Am takes over from August 23 to August 27.
Call the park or [...]

Bethpage Black Closed Sporadically in July

Bethpage State Park’s Black Course will be closed sporadically throughout the month of July for maintenance and the New York State Open tournament.

Here’s a full list:

Monday, July 12
Thursday, July 15
Monday, July 19
Tuesday, July 20
Wednesday, July 21
Thursday, July 22
Friday, July 23
Monday, July 26
Wednesday, July 28

Call the reservation hotline for the most updated information.

Don’t hold your breath for Bethpage Open

From Mark Herrmann blog…
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1st Tee Warning - (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
Here’s an early primer on the next U.S. Open at Bethpage: Don’t hold your breath.
First of all, the Open is getting booked fast and furious. Erin Hills for 2017 and Pebble Beach in 2019. But also, USGA President Jim Hyler just said that his group [...]

Tam O’Shanter’s Brown wins Long Island Open

Another good piece by Mark Herrmann…
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Photo credit: Patrick E. McCarthy | Top golfers on Long Island in the Island's big event on one of its best courses. Mark Brown, Tam O'Shanter Club. (June 9, 2010)
Originally published: June 9, 2010 9:04 PM
By MARK HERRMANN
Having worked the past 14 years at Tam O’Shanter [...]

Bethpage & Montauk Downs Named To Golfweek’s Best Muni

Coming in at number one, our very own - Bethpage Black followed by its neighbor Bethpage Red. New York State’s park system scored with Montauk Downs. The Black Course, home of the 2002 and 2009 U.S. Open Championships, topped Golfweek’s 2009 ‘Best of Muni’. Montauk jumped from #38 in 2009 to #33 in 2010, and the Red skipped ahead from 20th to 17th over the same timeframe. Golfweek’s Best Muni list rates the top 50 government-owned layouts nationwide. Courses are evaluated and ranked based on conditioning, routing, variety, memorability and other categories. All three courses are fixtures on Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play listing as well. In March, the magazine ranked the Black #1, Red #9 and Montauk #14 among public-access layouts in New York State.

Bethpage News & Golfweek’s Best Courses You Can Play

In Bethpage news, spring green aeration takes place this week. So call ahead and each one of these course will be closed to complete the work. Bethpage Black reopens for the season on April 13th…get your dialing fingers ready.
[caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="150" caption="1st Tee Warning - (Copyright USGA/John Mummert) "][/caption]
Golfweek named it’s top courses you can play. They include Bethpage State Park’s Black Course at #1 and Red Course at #9. Tallgrass jumps into the 8th spot, breaking the top 10 for the first time. Montauk Downs rounds out Long Island’s inclusions coming in at #14. Long Island National is dropped this year…Last year it came in at #15.

GolfWeek recognize’s these courses

[gc-property tag=golfweek-2010]

Dream 18 holes in Long Island 2009 - Front Nine

Here’s a the first in a two part series… Golfer Magazine has put together the Long Island Dream 18. Without further ado, here’s the front nine…

Let’s say you could wake up early on a blue-sky morning, grab your clubs, walk outside, step into a waiting helicopter, and fly to 18 of the most beautiful and most challenging holes on Long Island. Even better: None of the holes is on the same golf course, which is why you’d need the helicopter. Now that would be a dream round, wouldn’t it?
If you win the lottery you could probably do it. And if that opportunity ever comes, you’re in luck, because here are the holes you should play. But if that opportunity doesn’t come, that’s okay too—you can think about these holes as you lay in bed, and play this year’s Dream 18 in your sleep.

Great Rock GC

The length of this starting hole isn’t scary, but the hazards are: a lake in front of the tee box plus bunkers at the corner of this dogleg-right fairway. If you can’t fly it 240, then play left to set up a second shot towards bunkers set at the 100-yard marker. Fly those bunkers for a short pitch into the green, or lay up to a full wedge. The left side of the fairway leaves a tough approach—the green is narrow from that angle, and well bunkered. Play it deep into the green and you’ll face a hard slope back to front.

Pine Ridge GC

All you need here is a 270-yard tee ball between towering pines. If you can’t do that, you’ll have lots of work left. This dogleg-right hole will have to be an up-and-down par attempt unless you can stripe a long approach across the marshland creeping in on the right, just short of the front bunker. Even with a lay-up, the green is protected against your wedge: there’s water long and right, while bunkers sit short and left. The green is 50 paces deep, so three putts are definitely possible.

Meadow Brook Club

This hole doesn’t seem long, because you can see the pin from the tee. But with two bunkers on the left to guard against aggressive tee shots, plus a bunker at 225 yards on the right to catch conservative shots, straight trumps length. And the approach is no picnic; it’s a slightly downhill lie to an uphill green. The green has two bunkers right and one left, but a generous opening in front to run the ball up. The green is so large that a shot to the wrong side could leave a 50-foot putt, over a small ridge right in the center.

National GL of America

Even without the great water view behind the green, this hole is a classic: It’s the first “redan” hole built in America (1909). In that fashion, the green slopes right to left, and players can’t see most of the putting surface from the tee. The false front repels low running shots, so fly the ball to the green. But there’s often a one- to two-club headwind, plus severe bunkering guarding the left side and waste bunkers long. The only bailout is short right, leaving a delicate pitch.

Bethpage Black

The only good news here: a downhill drive. But to have any chance to reach the green in regulation, the tee ball must fly the right-side bunker at 245 yards. Otherwise, aim left but prepare to lay up from there—the trees and high fescue on the left side cut you off from the uphill green. And no matter where you are, you must fly the approach all the way to the green, or deal with carpet-thick rough plus a few bunkers. An overcooked approach leaves a speedy downhill chip. Even the pros walk away grumbling.

Harbor Links GC

A classic risk-reward hole with great views of the rest of the course, this one offers a split fairway. The right fork is narrower and slopes towards hilly rough separating the fairways, but hitting this top tier gives you a chance to get home in two. The lower tier is easier to hit, but the hole runs uphill from there and requires three shots. Any short approach shot is trouble; the hill fronting the green is deep rough, with a bunker left. The green slopes hard from back to front.

Engineers CC

Site of the 1919 PGA Championship, Engineers tempts big hitters with this treeless hole. But with bunkers and fescue both left and right in the driving area, ripping it through that bottleneck is an iffy proposition. Bunkers ring the green, while the front is open but elevated; running the ball onto the green from the tee is a tall order. Players usually face a 60-yard shot into a green sloped hard back to front. If the approach is even a little short, the ball will come right back to your feet.

Deepdale Golf Club

An uphill dogleg left, this hole has bunkers and fescue on the left corner to prevent you from stealing too much distance. Besides, the fairway slopes left to right, so just play it about 240 yards and then launch a hybrid or long iron up the hill to the green. Hit it nearly pin high and you’re okay; hit it short and the false front runs the ball back 40 yards; hit it long and you’re chipping back down the slope; hit it left and you have a bunker shot that runs away from you.

Hamlet Willow Creek G&CC

Besides the length and the slightly uphill fairway, there’s also water right and bunkers left off the tee. The second shot also brings water into play down both sides. The hole is uphill most of the way, and even well-struck second shots risk catching the right-side bunker at 100 yards out. So lay up short of the bunker, then hit a wedge onto the correct tier of the green—there’s three of them—to have a chance at par.

LI Press - Best Public Golf on Long Island

LongIslandPress.com did a ‘Best of’… here’s the second of two golf related categories. Find the best driving ranges here or a full list of practice range here.
There’s nothing like a Sunday on the golf course on Long Island. So what are you waiting for? Pack up your clubs.
Long Island Voted Bethpage State Park the [...]

LI Press - Best Driving Range on Long Island

LongIslandPress.com did a ‘Best of’… here’s the first of two golf related categories.

Long Islanders Voted Farmingdale Golf Center at Skydrive in Farmingdale the best Driving Range on Long Island!

Farmingdale Golf Center at Skydrive

1024 Broad Hollow Rd.

Farmingdale

631-694-4666

2nd Place - Heartland Golf Park – 1200 Long Island Ave., Edgewood. 631-667-7400. www.heartlandgolfpark.com

3rd Place – Bethpage State Park Golf Course – 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd., Farmingdale. 516-249-0700. www.nysparks.com/parks/108/details.aspx

Driving Ranges and Practice Facilities

We got the full list… check it out here.

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