FromTheLeftSide

It is mid April and yet another gem on Long Island is struggling to get back into shape after a long harsh winter. Rock Hill in Manorville showed signs of winter damage around the edges of greens and the rough. But, like other high quality public accessible courses on this rock, the maintenance crew is trying to turn it around. In a month it will be beautiful again.
If you live near Manorville the best value is the range plan. For 7 months all the range time you need on grass, not a mat, for $200.

Long gone are the days of mild winters on Long Island. So golf courses here take a beating from November to March. Even if we get a 50° day or 3, the amount of time courses are covered in snow or ice makes them a little rough when it starts to warm up in April. Willow Creek is already turning this course around from the winter we had. In a few weeks this will be the gem it always is. Fairways are in great shape and the greens aren’t pimpled with ball marks like at the several municipal courses because people who play here actually care about conditions. Once the rough wakes up it will be go time.

Thankfully for me, my son is a golfing junky. So when we venture to Florida during his week off from school, we have great anticipation to get in some time on a course. The Tooth at Orange County National is a parent/child dream come true. All the other courses we investigated wanted some pretty obscene amount of money for a 2some only playing 9. Being that I had my little girl tagging along, that was going to be the right amount of playing time, she gets bored rather quickly. A lot of Par 3s with a couple par 4s mixed in, the longest being the 9th, was just what we needed after not playing on Long Island since early November since it got real cold, real quick. The greens rolled true and the Bermuda was holding its color and fullness quite nicely. He was very impressed with the driving range, it is advertised as the largest in the country.
So if you are in the Orlando area and are blessed with a 14-year old junkie like I am, skip the Disney courses and head over to Orange County National. Truly a “family” course since they had no problem with my 11-year old daughter skipping around and “playing caddy” and because my son was 14 he was able to play for free.

11. That's how many balls went in the water. Am I upset? Absolutely. Why? Because I want redemption. The Island Course, as the legend goes, was supposed to be the Professional course, not Copperhead. But when the TV networks showed up they realized something. There is nowhere to put anything. Towers or stands. The course is tight, has lots of water hazard and tree/shrub area. After you go in the trees on hole #4, you start praying for water. The roots stick out of the ground like knobs. Almost impossible to get a good swing on a ball if you go in these kinds of areas on the course.
As with all the Innisbrook courses, stay on site because that is how you get the best rate to play. In addition, the resort is beautiful and children friendly.

Let’s start with the positives. The greens , fringe and fronts were in great shape. Didn’t have a problem putting at all. Everything was rolling and breaking the way it should’ve. No “what was that” incidents. Chipping and pitching were also as they should’ve been in Bermuda grass. Pace of play was pretty good and the starter was very friendly. Pretty good drink cart specials too! The uniqueness of the layout of the holes was challenging, thru shoots, tree lined tee areas, ponds in doglegs...all good.
Let’s deal with the bad. No noticeable difference between fairway and rough. And when you have water, dense brush and adjacent swamp land, the rough should be grown out to prevent balls from escaping. Hitting the fairway and rolling into the rough is one thing. Hitting the fairway, rolling thru what should be higher grass and into hazards not only makes people not want to play a course like that again, but it slows the pace of play because players are spending too much time looking for balls or rehitting. Some of the tee shots had overgrown limbs sticking into the line and need to be cut back.
The sand is clay. And when you have clay in your bunkers you need more material to prevent players from hitting the bottom of the bunker underneath the ball. Clay is smaller than regular sand, so it packs more dense and even worse when it gets wet.
I did see evidence of rework being done. White spray paint was noticeable in several parts of the property, so maybe if a new superintendent has indeed taken over the course, he has noticed what I did and is starting to address these issues. I also don’t quite understand how Bermuda grass is effected in the dead of Summer, being that I play mostly on bent and fescues. So I would like to see the condition of this course Nov-April after most of the rework is complete.

Driving through aresidential section of Kings Park NY, you wouldn't think you would come across a golf course of this quality. This course isn't long, playing less than 6200 yards from the back tees, but what it lacks in length, it possesses in shot accuracy. Can you score on this course? Of course. Can you be challenged? Absolutely. Miss your target and a bunker will grab you. Miss a fairway and you could be down a cliff. The almost 600 yard Par 5 4th will grab your attention with its dogleg right that dips into a valley before it climbs to the green.

For all the golf courses on this rock in the Atlantic Ocean called Long Island, this is the best course anyone can play. Is Shinnecock Hills on LI? Yes. Can you play it? Good Luck. If you are lucky enough to know a member who will invite you, awesome. For the rest of us without $100k, the Southampton Police will be called if we go thru the gates. But not at BP Black. Bethpage is a state park in the NYS park system. Residents will pay anywhere from $39 to $75. Non-residents, and they are strict about proof of residency, will pay $78-$150. That's the bargain of the highest magnitude in terms of greens fees for a course that the PGA frequents every few years. They played the US Open on Black in 2002 and 2009, the Barclays in 2012 and 2016, will play the PGA Championship in 2019 and the Ryder Cup in 2024. Good luck trying to play Copperhead or TPC Sawgrass (yes I have played them) for less than $250 at any time of the year. If you are looking for the greatest challenge at a reasonable price, it doesn't get much better than this. And when you do, get your "money's worth"...play from the tips, that's the real challenge. That is the secret about BP Black. While other courses you can get on will let you ride in a cart, "The People's Country Club" is walking only all the time.