New York Area Public Courses Compared

What do people here think about the quality of public courses in the NY area compared to other parts of the country? Let’s consider the NY area as NYC, Long Island, Westchester, and North New Jersey. I’ve traveled to and played in many different cities and think that other than the major golf resort destinations, NY stacks up well.

> @LICC said:

> What do people here think about the quality of public courses in the NY area compared to other parts of the country? Let’s consider the NY area as NYC, Long Island, Westchester, and North New Jersey. I’ve traveled to and played in many different cities and think that other than the major golf resort destinations, NY stacks up well.

I'd say new york is average at best. Bethpage Black is great and one of my favorites, Red is good. Trump is not bad, but way over priced. Pound ridge is good. I think after that there is a massive drop off. I haven't played a ton in the area, admittedly. But the same "area" or drive time in Wisconsin, Chicago, Scottsdale, multiple areas in California, Oregon, Orlando, Northern Michigan, Charleston etc provides way more variety and less of a drop off. I would never plan a trip to NYC for golf, other than Bethpage.

I see Bethpage Black and Ferry Point as top-of-the-line options, among the best in the country. I haven't played Pound Ridge so I'm not sure if it is as good but most consider it up there. Then you have a number of terrific courses like Bethpage Red, Harbor Links, Neshanic, etc. Then a number of very good courses like Galloping Hill, the other Bethpage courses, then a lot of decent enjoyable courses (Lido, Saxon Woods, etc.) I've traveled to quite a number of cities whose areas don't seem to have any better- Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Diego, Austin. You mentioned Chicago but I found that to be a bit lacking. The vacation/resort locations definitely will have better golf but overall the NY area seems to compare well.

New York is one of the only places in the country that I travel to, where I leave my clubs home. Public golf is meh, but transit for out of state folks is a huge PITA. Im there twice a year during golf season and it isnt worth the hassle (or full day for one round) to take the clubs. I would probably change my tune if some of the privates were on the table.

***Bethpage black is IMO a wonderful microcosm of NY Golf. More trouble to get on than it is worth, even though it is great golf.

> @vallygolf said:

> New York is one of the only places in the country that I travel to, where I leave my clubs home. Public golf is meh, but transit for out of state folks is a huge PITA. Im there twice a year during golf season and it isnt worth the hassle (or full day for one round) to take the clubs. I would probably change my tune if some of the privates were on the table.

>

> ***Bethpage black is IMO a wonderful microcosm of NY Golf. More trouble to get on than it is worth, even though it is great golf.

If you are staying in Manhattan and you want top-level golf without traveling too far, pretty much your only option is Ferry Point. From midtown an Uber ride will probably get you there in less than 20 minutes.

> @LICC said:

>You mentioned Chicago but I found that to be a bit lacking. The vacation/resort locations definitely will have better golf but overall the NY area seems to compare well.

If there was a list of the best public golf courses in the NYC area and Chi area #1 would be Bethpage, 2-10 would be in Chicago. Maybe red in there somewhere.

> @mci711 said:

> > @LICC said:

> >You mentioned Chicago but I found that to be a bit lacking. The vacation/resort locations definitely will have better golf but overall the NY area seems to compare well.

>

> If there was a list of the best public golf courses in the NYC area and Chi area #1 would be Bethpage, 2-10 would be in Chicago. Maybe red in there somewhere.

Which Chicago area courses? I would think Bethpage Black and Red and Ferry Point would be in the top 10. Cantigny? Cog Hill?

> @LICC said:

> > @mci711 said:

> > > @LICC said:

> > >You mentioned Chicago but I found that to be a bit lacking. The vacation/resort locations definitely will have better golf but overall the NY area seems to compare well.

> >

> > If there was a list of the best public golf courses in the NYC area and Chi area #1 would be Bethpage, 2-10 would be in Chicago. Maybe red in there somewhere.

>

> Which Chicago area courses? I would think Bethpage Black and Red and Ferry Point would be in the top 10. Cantigny? Cog Hill?

Cog Hill 4, cantigny, Blackstone, highlands of Elgin, Glen club, mistwood, Stonewall orchard, Mt. Prospect, the preserve, ravisloe. I may be exaggerating a bit, but Chicago has so many more really good not great courses than NYC area. You can stretch that area out to include metamora fields and Weaver ridge.

> @LICC said:

> > @vallygolf said:

> > New York is one of the only places in the country that I travel to, where I leave my clubs home. Public golf is meh, but transit for out of state folks is a huge PITA. Im there twice a year during golf season and it isnt worth the hassle (or full day for one round) to take the clubs. I would probably change my tune if some of the privates were on the table.

> >

> > ***Bethpage black is IMO a wonderful microcosm of NY Golf. More trouble to get on than it is worth, even though it is great golf.

>

> If you are staying in Manhattan and you want top-level golf without traveling too far, pretty much your only option is Ferry Point. From midtown an Uber ride will probably get you there in less than 20 minutes.

??? I have done Ferry Point twice from my base hotel on the lower end of Midtown. 45 minutes was the fastest trip. 1.5 hrs was the worst. All with Uber. No thanks.

> @LICC said:

> I see Bethpage Black and Ferry Point as top-of-the-line options, among the best in the country. I haven't played Pound Ridge so I'm not sure if it is as good but most consider it up there. Then you have a number of terrific courses like Bethpage Red, Harbor Links, Neshanic, etc. Then a number of very good courses like Galloping Hill, the other Bethpage courses, then a lot of decent enjoyable courses (Lido, Saxon Woods, etc.) I've traveled to quite a number of cities whose areas don't seem to have any better- Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Diego, Austin. You mentioned Chicago but I found that to be a bit lacking. The vacation/resort locations definitely will have better golf but overall the NY area seems to compare well.

I live in the area and have always thought that the public golf in the area is mediocre, in part bc it is not very easy to get to in a lot of cases. I think Bethpage Black and Ferry Point are great. Bethpage Red is very good. Neshanic is solid. Galloping Hills is a hidden good value. Skyway is a fun 9 but only 9 and no driving range. Pound ridge is in good condition but I think the layout is poor and is WAY overpriced for the layout. Outside of that there isnt much worth speaking of. What is Harbor Links, I hadnt heard anything about it before?

> @vallygolf said:

> > @LICC said:

> > > @vallygolf said:

> > > New York is one of the only places in the country that I travel to, where I leave my clubs home. Public golf is meh, but transit for out of state folks is a huge PITA. Im there twice a year during golf season and it isnt worth the hassle (or full day for one round) to take the clubs. I would probably change my tune if some of the privates were on the table.

> > >

> > > ***Bethpage black is IMO a wonderful microcosm of NY Golf. More trouble to get on than it is worth, even though it is great golf.

> >

> > If you are staying in Manhattan and you want top-level golf without traveling too far, pretty much your only option is Ferry Point. From midtown an Uber ride will probably get you there in less than 20 minutes.

>

> ??? I have done Ferry Point twice from my base hotel on the lower end of Midtown. 45 minutes was the fastest trip. 1.5 hrs was the worst. All with Uber. No thanks.

Yes from lower Manhattan it will take a while. Probably half your trip is getting up to midtown.

> @Scooter321 said:

> > @LICC said:

> > I see Bethpage Black and Ferry Point as top-of-the-line options, among the best in the country. I haven't played Pound Ridge so I'm not sure if it is as good but most consider it up there. Then you have a number of terrific courses like Bethpage Red, Harbor Links, Neshanic, etc. Then a number of very good courses like Galloping Hill, the other Bethpage courses, then a lot of decent enjoyable courses (Lido, Saxon Woods, etc.) I've traveled to quite a number of cities whose areas don't seem to have any better- Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, San Diego, Austin. You mentioned Chicago but I found that to be a bit lacking. The vacation/resort locations definitely will have better golf but overall the NY area seems to compare well.

>

> I live in the area and have always thought that the public golf in the area is mediocre, in part bc it is not very easy to get to in a lot of cases. I think Bethpage Black and Ferry Point are great. Bethpage Red is very good. Neshanic is solid. Galloping Hills is a hidden good value. Skyway is a fun 9 but only 9 and no driving range. Pound ridge is in good condition but I think the layout is poor and is WAY overpriced for the layout. Outside of that there isnt much worth speaking of. What is Harbor Links, I hadnt heard anything about it before?

Harbor Links is very good. It’s in Long Island closer to the city than Bethpage. It’s a Hurzdan-Fry course, the same designers of Erin Hills (and Neshanic).

As others have stated, unless you have a hookup at one of the numerous awesome private clubs, then the public golf here is pretty mediocre aside from the said few mentioned. However, if you wait a few years some of the private’s might be going semi private due to lack of membership, or even full public before they go under or get developed.

> @Caddykev said:

> As others have stated, unless you have a hookup at one of the numerous awesome private clubs, then the public golf here is pretty mediocre aside from the said few mentioned. However, if you wait a few years some of the private’s might be going semi private due to lack of membership, or even full public before they go under or get developed.

I think you can say this about most cities’ public courses. Some very good to great courses and the rest decent to mediocre. Other than the resort vacation destinations of course. Except many cities don’t have the great options either.

> @LICC said:

> > @Caddykev said:

> > As others have stated, unless you have a hookup at one of the numerous awesome private clubs, then the public golf here is pretty mediocre aside from the said few mentioned. However, if you wait a few years some of the private’s might be going semi private due to lack of membership, or even full public before they go under or get developed.

>

> I think you can say this about most cities’ public courses. Some very good to great courses and the rest decent to mediocre. Other than the resort vacation destinations of course. Except many cities don’t have the great options either.

I think simply put if you are planning a trip to a major city with an emphasis on golf NYC isn't where you are going. It is way down the list.

Out of the top 10 biggest cities, I'd put new york above Houston and Dallas.

I have an apartment at 35th and Park and there’s NFW I can make it to Ferry Point in less than 25 min. That would take a massive stroke of luck to even do that well. 30-35 is about as quick as I’ve made it.

We’re avid golfers, have enough connections to play at many of the high end LI clubs and my wife grew up minutes from Bethpage. We almost never play when we’re in NY and the clubs i have in our apartment there haven’t been used in months.

Public golf in NY is fine at the very high end but falls off more quickly than nearly every major metro area. It doesn’t compare favorably to virtually anywhere else however. High end privates? Yeah, top notch but all are a PITA to get to. Basically, it simply isn’t worth it. I would play almost 0 golf if I we lived there exclusively. It takes all day and the courses aren’t worth it. I love the city but golf goes from my top hobby to a once in a while thing when we’re there.

> @mci711 said:

> Out of the top 10 biggest cities, I'd put new york above Houston and Dallas.

You can reasonably argue it’s better than Philly, San Antonio and San Diego, and similar to Chicago and LA. That puts it about average.

> @LICC said:

> > @mci711 said:

> > Out of the top 10 biggest cities, I'd put new york above Houston and Dallas.

>

> You can reasonably argue it’s better than Philly, San Antonio and San Diego, and similar to Chicago and LA. That puts it about average.

If you're comparing New York favorably to Chicago public golf this isn't a convo even worth having. The amount of high quality courses in the metro area is probably untouched by any other city. There's over 200 courses to choose from. I'll give you LA but even there you have I think a few more good not great courses than NYC. We obviously disagree, along with just about every one else that commented. To each his own.

> @mci711 said:

> > @LICC said:

> > > @mci711 said:

> > > Out of the top 10 biggest cities, I'd put new york above Houston and Dallas.

> >

> > You can reasonably argue it’s better than Philly, San Antonio and San Diego, and similar to Chicago and LA. That puts it about average.

>

> If you're comparing New York favorably to Chicago public golf this isn't a convo even worth having. The amount of high quality courses in the metro area is probably untouched by any other city. There's over 200 courses to choose from. I'll give you LA but even there you have I think a few more good not great courses than NYC. We obviously disagree, along with just about every one else that commented. To each his own.

Chicago may have better overall public golf courses. It depends how you look at it. For travelers, neither city is a primarily golf destination. So you really only look at 2-3 deep and NY’s best courses are better. For residents, that brings in the adjacent suburbs and Chicago seems to have lots of really good courses but I think the NY Area is pretty good too. Beyond Bethpage and Ferry Point there are the courses I mentioned above, Montauk Downs, Ballyowen, others. Like you said, to each his own. But even if you consider Chicago better, that still puts NY around average with the overall big cities.

NYC area public golf is quite the paradox: bethpage black's the best government owned facility in the country, bar none and the red is as good an offering as you'll find near most public cities. yet given how hard it is to get on them and get to them, it's a really run of the mill market for public golf b/c of logistics. despite being outrageously overpriced (185 to walk!), ferry point's eased that burden a bit the last few years and with rock spring club going public in NJ, that helps quite a bit too. this is a prediction mired in gloom, but NYC public golf will improve in the next 20-30 years as more private facilities open up to the public either permanently or temporarily, before they give way to housing.

NYC is horrible. The worst of any City. Ferry point is great but costs $200. Bethpage is trash unless you like 6hr rounds (literally 6hrs)

> @golfsnake said:

> NYC is horrible. The worst of any City. Ferry point is great but costs $200. Bethpage is trash unless you like 6hr rounds (literally 6hrs)

I played in just over 4 hours last summer on a beautiful Friday. ?‍♂️ Bethpage black is awesome, the layout is about perfect, conditions are top notch. Coming from someone that agrees with you that NYC is horrible for public golf. If you think Ferry Point is great and Bethpage is trash your opinion is probably trash lol.

> @mci711 said:

> > @golfsnake said:

> > NYC is horrible. The worst of any City. Ferry point is great but costs $200. Bethpage is trash unless you like 6hr rounds (literally 6hrs)

>

> I played in just over 4 hours last summer on a beautiful Friday. ?‍♂️ Bethpage black is awesome, the layout is about perfect, conditions are top notch. Coming from someone that agrees with you that NYC is horrible for public golf. If you think Ferry Point is great and Bethpage is trash your opinion is probably trash lol.

I've played Bethpage Black more times than I can remember and I have never come close to a 6-hour round there. It's usually around 5 hours or a little over. And that doesn't mean you are held up waiting on your shot every hole. It's just a long course that is walking only. If you had a group of 4 with an empty course it would still probably take 4-1/2 hours but enjoyably so (not counting your score!). On a Saturday afternoon, yes you will be held up on the par-3s and maybe a little bit elsewhere waiting for the group ahead, but it's not the worst. The other Bethpage courses generally take much longer because they have more frequent tee times and usually only the better players play the Black.

> @LICC said:

> > @mci711 said:

> > > @golfsnake said:

> > > NYC is horrible. The worst of any City. Ferry point is great but costs $200. Bethpage is trash unless you like 6hr rounds (literally 6hrs)

> >

> > I played in just over 4 hours last summer on a beautiful Friday. ?‍♂️ Bethpage black is awesome, the layout is about perfect, conditions are top notch. Coming from someone that agrees with you that NYC is horrible for public golf. If you think Ferry Point is great and Bethpage is trash your opinion is probably trash lol.

>

> I've played Bethpage Black more times than I can remember and I have never come close to a 6-hour round there. It's usually around 5 hours or a little over. And that doesn't mean you are held up waiting on your shot every hole. It's just a long course that is walking only. If you had a group of 4 with an empty course it would still probably take 4-1/2 hours but enjoyably so (not counting your score!). On a Saturday afternoon, yes you will be held up on the par-3s and maybe a little bit elsewhere waiting for the group ahead, but it's not the worst. The other Bethpage courses generally take much longer because they have more frequent tee times and usually only the better players play the Black.

Right, it is a long walking only course. It is going to be tough to play it very quickly. I played in a 4 some I shot a 76 another guy broke 80 and the other 2 were mid 80s. We moved around well, as did the group ahead of us and played in around 4:20, so it is doable, but that was probably about as quickly as we could get around without rushing.

I dont hear much about Montauk Downs. Where does it fit in the NY pantheon?

I play regularly at galloping hill. It’s a great value for a public course and easy access right off the N.J. parkway. Rounds can get over 5 hours if you tee off after 9. Greens this year have been as good as ever, regularly rolling an 11 on the stimp, not bad for one of the annual top round total courses in the state. Years past they have been painfully slow. There are some water issues as much of Union and Kenilworth drains into the property. The 12th hole will have to be altered as the fairway is constantly flooded even without rain for a few days. When the waters recede the fairway from 200-150 out is mud. Talk is making it a par 3 and turning 11 into a par 4 from a par 3. Holes are well designed with no real gimicky holes. With a players card weekend morning rounds with a cart are 47.

> @Chanceman said:

> I dont hear much about Montauk Downs. Where does it fit in the NY pantheon?

Some consider it the best public course on Long Island that is not at Bethpage. It is in Montauk past the Hamptons and has the moniker of the Public Shinnecock. Not exactly, but it is a NY State Park course that was redesigned in the 1960s by Robert Trent Jones and sits on terrific terrain.

https://www.golfadvisor.com/galleries/montauk-downs-the-other-state-park-golf-course-on-long-island

> @longballjs said:

> I play regularly at galloping hill. It’s a great value for a public course and easy access right off the N.J. parkway. Rounds can get over 5 hours if you tee off after 9. Greens this year have been as good as ever, regularly rolling an 11 on the stimp, not bad for one of the annual top round total courses in the state. Years past they have been painfully slow. There are some water issues as much of Union and Kenilworth drains into the property. The 12th hole will have to be altered as the fairway is constantly flooded even without rain for a few days. When the waters recede the fairway from 200-150 out is mud. Talk is making it a par 3 and turning 11 into a par 4 from a par 3. Holes are well designed with no real gimicky holes. With a players card weekend morning rounds with a cart are 47.

I like Galloping Hill a lot. The original designer was an associate of Tillinghast and you can see some of the influence.

> @LICC said:

> > @Chanceman said:

> > I dont hear much about Montauk Downs. Where does it fit in the NY pantheon?

>

> Some consider it the best public course on Long Island that is not at Bethpage. It is in Montauk past the Hamptons and has the moniker of the Public Shinnecock. Not exactly, but it is a NY State Park course that was redesigned in the 1960s by Robert Trent Jones and sits on terrific terrain.

> https://www.golfadvisor.com/galleries/montauk-downs-the-other-state-park-golf-course-on-long-island

>

the downs is also really far from manhattan with traffic, and there's almost never no traffic out to montauk. thus, you can get to Yale, not to mention courses in PA & South/Central Jersey (hominy hill & atlantic city cc immediately come to mind), in as much or less time.