When the sun rose this morning it seemed Long Island golfers would have nowhere to play for the foreseeable future. And now as the first day of New York State's non-essential business shutdown draws to a close, local golfers will have an unexpectedly broad selection of places to play starting again tomorrow.
New York State announced earlier today that golf courses at state parks would reopen tomorrow, a quick reversal of yesterday's decision to close the parks in compliance with the governor's business shutdown. And now that Bethpage, Montauk Downs and Sunken Meadow have state approval to operate, a bunch of Long Island's non-municipal public courses have also changed their own plans.
- Peninsula Golf Course in Massapequa will reopen tomorrow and is following Bethpage's lead on future decisions
- Pine Hills in Manorville will reopen after previously announcing a temporary closure
- Same for Willow Creek in Mount Sinai
- Bergen Point will be open tomorrow
- Stonebridge in Hauppauge will reopen after a brief closure
A wide range of social-distancing measures are in place at all open courses, most notably long intervals between tee times, single-rider carts and no-touch flagsticks.
Some courses will remain in shutdown mode, including the two Town of Huntington munis at Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Park. In fact, both courses reposted on Facebook a town press release advising the public to report any observed social-distance violations at town parks.
Glen Cove Golf Club also announced this afternoon that it would remain closed indefinitely.
Given the fluid nature of these course openings and closings, be sure to check GOLI for the latest updates.