36 outside of NYC?

[nandoal]

Hey NY/NJ guys I need a little help.  The weekend of the PGAat Baltasrol a friend and I are heading to New Jersey to watch the final round on Sunday.  We are staying in the city, and would love to play 36 on the Saturday before.  I already have a later afternoon 18 lined up at Saint Andrews Golf Club in Hastings-On-Hudson (asst. pro at my course was outside op. guy a few years ago), so I have that hook up.  But I'm looking for a course (public?) to play early Saturday morning.  Anywhere up to an 1 1/2 or so from the city.  Bethpage Black would obviously be most 1st choice, but the chances of getting on are slim to none.  I'm looking at Long Island National or Ballyoween as other possibilities.  Any one have any other "better" suggestions?  Thanks guys.

[Scott Stearns]

LI Nat, or Bethpage for that matter, are suicide if u are planning on playing St Andrew's.  Drive from LI Nat to St A is 3.5-4 hrs mid-day on a sat.  Bethpage shaves some time off that, maybe 45 min but it will be more than used up waiting for your tee time and/or playing a 5.5 hr round

Try Garrison Golf Club, abt 1 hr north of St Andrew's.  Trent Jones-style public course set overlooking the Hudson.  A little quirky but fun and usually in good shape.  Garrison is a straight shot up the Taconic/saw mill from St A.

Other options would be Van Cortlandt (short and not in great shape though-city course) or Mohansic, in Westchester Cty.

A new one in Westchester Cty is Hudson Hills, abt 45 min from St. Andrews

[nandoal]

Drive time and being an early riser is not a problem.  We'll just deal with an travel time.  And like I always tell the people I play with a want to play a "track"!  $$$ is not a problem.  I'm only a caddymaster, but for a great track I'll pay top dollar.

[Steve Lapper]

The answer for you is limited to the better daily-fee courses surrounding the NYC area. Getting onto Bethpage Black or Red will simply be near impossible for that specified weekend time and like LI Nat'l, heading in the wrong direction.

My suggestions for you would be to try for a tee time at Ballyowen, Bratton Woods, Centennial (3 nines) or Garrison. Absent an entry to a better private course, these are easily your best alternatives. Even if you rise pre-dawn, nothing else within reasonable reach will allow you something doable when factoring in the travel time to/from St. Andrews.

If you choose Ballyowen (would be my choice...as good or better than LI Nat'l), be sure to get a reservation ASAP as Saturdays go for quite a premium there.

Good Luck.

S

[Doug Braunsdorf]

Nandoal-

  My best suggestion is to stay out of Bethpage as well, unless you can get something before 8:00 am.  Seriously.  Scott is 100% correct.  The traffic is murderous, unpredictable, but he's a liar   saying it'll be 5.5 hours.  Try six, and that might be undercutting it.  The time factor there really takes the fun out of playing nice golf courses.  

  Ballyowen or any of the Crystal Springs courses might not be a bad choice, but it is in the other direction--about an hour west of the city--but remember, you'll have to fight the traffic on the GWB and Cross Bronx coming back to St Andrews.  

Would Yale be a decent choice?  I'm not a member there, so I don't know the particulars, but you can take the Merritt back to Westchester to avoid the trucks and BS on 95.  

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

Westchester County courses are impossible to get early morning times on a Saturday during summer.  However, Hudson Hills is probably the best of the bunch.

I'd look in either New Jersey or Connecticut.  I hear good things about Spook Rock in NJ, as well as Richter Park (Danbury), Sterling Farms (Stamford) and Griffith (Greenwich) in CT.  I have only played Richter and it is well worth the trip, but also difficult to get a peak time on.

[Geoffrey_Walsh]

Yale is an option... You could drive from New Haven to St. Andrews in 1 3/4 hrs.  But it is entirely dependent on traffic.  95 is always unpredictable.

[John Foley]

Branton Woods is right off the Taconic in Fishkill and a very very good public course. Much better than Garrison IMHO.

You should try and get tee-times quickly as Sat Am time will probab;y be tough to get.

[nandoal]

Isn't Yale private?

[Paul_Lorenzen]

Links at Unionvale ($65 to walk) in the morning - 90 minutes north of NYC near Poughkeepsie and worth the drive (845)-223-1000. Then drive 10 miles south to Branton Woods (845) 223-1600 in afternoon ($100). Both take reservations in advance and both are good test of golf.

[John Foley]

I'll second Paul. Unionvale & Bratton Woods is a great 36 hole day.

[Scott Stearns]

agree that Branton is better than Garrison.

Only other advice is, avoid putting a bridge between your morning round and St. Andrew's.  

[nandoal]

So which is better the, Links at Unionvale or Long Island National?

[Paul_Lorenzen]

 I've not played LI Natl - but have played Unionvale 10 times in past 3 yrs - it is architecturally interesting and is a relative unknown (thus not crowded) in Metro area. I believe that if you play it in the morning, you'll want to reload again right away because it takes a round to learn where to hit your tee shots. A true every-club-in-the bag course - and very friendly place to boot. Interesting history: a bunch of Irish guys from Yonkers couldnt get regular tee times at munis in NYC and couldnt join the privates, so in 1999, they pooled their $, hired Steven Kay and asked him to design a course that would resemble Irish links. It isnt Lahinch but there is some great golf to be played there.
 Branton Woods is stone cold solid. Go north young man, if only not to have to face the LI traffic.

[Tom Dunne]

Whatever you do, steer clear of Hudson Hills, the new muni in Ossining. As for The Garrison, I rather enjoy it for a casual round, but it's not an easy course to walk and there are definitely some indifferent holes out there. The Garrison's a great place in peak leaf-season, though, with some wonderful views from its perch high above the Hudson.

Branton Woods and Unionvale are both very good bets. BW is my favorite of the Bergstol courses that I've seen--his bunker style seems to work pretty well on that property. UV is long and (in my opinion) quite tough. The site is bisected by a rather wide environmental zone, which creates for a daunting lateral hazard on a handful of holes.

The other CCFAD up there is Centennial GC. It's not bad or anything, but it feels a little bland compared to BW and UV.

[Robert Mercer Deruntz]

You are thinking in the wrong direction.  Long Island traffic will drive you nuts.  Sat. AM traffic can be a mess with the usual mass exodus from the city.  Instead, Hawk Point--an absolutely excellent Kelly Blake Moran course that is about an hour 15-30 from the Lincoln or Holland tunnels.