Have you played Silver Lake Golf Course?
Have you played Silver Lake Golf Course? If so why not tell us about your favorite hole or the course and we will write your comments on this page.
Bill’s favorite Holes: Nos. 6 & 7, really fun holes. No. 6 is a short (99 yards) Par 3 to a very elevated green. If you don’t judge your wedge just right the ball will roll 50 yards back at you. No. 7 is a short (310 yards) Par 4 with a very forgiving fairway. The key is a second shot that requires an accurate pitch to a narrow, elevated kidney shaped green that runs away from you.
Silver Lake was my home course for a long time, having lives in walking distance from the course. My favorite hole is 18. I think it is a great finishing hole with a narrow fairway with undulating hills and a large forgiving green to hit to. It was the first hole I ever birdied at the course after having played it poorly many times.
Comment by Joe — June 13, 2007 @ 6:58 am
Silver Lake is probably one of the more under-rated golf courses in NYC and one of the easiest to reach by public transportation from Lower Manhattan.
As of late May 2008 the course is undergoing many improvements, and everyone is raving about how the greens are in fantastic shape this year. They are working on adding an additional Par 5 to the Par 69 course, and extending the length of the gorgeous table-top par-3 6th hole. They also have cleared away a few of previously overgrown “lost ball” areas, but note that the rough has gotten almost US Open extra-chunky thick this month, so fairway play is highly rewarded, and chip-outs are a rare feat, requiring some bold luck and confident placement.
Speaking of table-tops, I personally made my first birdie ever on the short but difficult par-4 7th, which has a gorgeous view of the sloping fairway from the Blue Tees and a narrow shelf for a landing area. All of the greens generally have a raised forward lip or shelf, so running the ball up is usually not an option, meaning most of the medium-to-small greens require direct hits from the narrow fairways. Reading some of the subtly sloping greens can also require some experience.
Don’t let the par 69 fool you. This is probably one of the more difficult courses to play in the city. But, has some of the friendliest staff, cutest drink-cart girls, and the new restaurant serves up some slamming food, as well as some pretty juicy char-grilled cheeseburgers on the outdoor grill on the weekends.
Last, but definitely not least, I’ve personally found out from the owners that Silver Lake is currently just a couple months away from gaining its Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary status… meaning it will qualify as a “green” golf course, joining the ranks of this new movement (with such courses as Bethpage, Bathusrol, and La Tourette).
Door-to-door from Battery Park City takes me an hour MAX to set foot on the grass; take the S.I. Ferry (Free, 30 mins, running every half hour), head to the left-most bank of buses (A-dock), and take any of the waiting S62, S66 or S67 buses only 10-12 minute ride along Victory Blvd. directly to the course club house (across from the cemetery). Then enjoy the sunset on the ferry ride back, setting over lady liberty as you total your scorecard after a beautiful day of golf.
Staten Island, our 5th borough… and beautiful golf destination… Who knew??
Comment by FilipFilip — May 25, 2008 @ 1:54 pm
Stop talking about this course. I’m a new SI resident and love it. Don’t let anyone know that these are fast but fair and consistent greens. There is no American Golf BS involved as the ownership gets it. Food is much better than edible and this is a course which challenges all handicaps. The elevation changes and the narrow fairways make this a fair course. Much better than the longer LaTourette or Marine Park. Short course - if you are a long hitter it will be a tougher test of golf than anything else in the city I’ve played. Marine Park would have been the best if not American Golf controlled again - but that is a discussion for another day.
Comment by Craig — July 4, 2008 @ 2:50 am