Golf In New York City Blog

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Parks Foundation today opened the CityParks Junior Golf Center, a state-of-the-art facility, the first of its kind in the nation, that is free of cost and open only to juniors ages 6 to 17. Instruction at the $8 million Center is available for beginners and advanced golfers alike. Adjacent to the City’s Dyker Beach Golf Course, the facility will serve thousands of junior golfers each year. It has a six-hole golf course, a 9,875 square foot practice putting green, a 9,075 square foot chipping green, a 8,100 square foot sand trap, a nine-station covered driving range, a 4,275 square foot Clubhouse Learning Center with classroom space, and full-time instructors.

“This facility will introduce so many children who otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to all the benefits of the game, including sportsmanship, self-discipline, and enjoying the outdoors,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “The City Parks Foundation is an impressive organization that provides recreational, educational, and arts programs to people young and old in parks across the City, which will now include golf instruction for youth at this top-flight facility.”

“Not many people think of New York City as a golfer’s paradise, but with 13 public golf courses, opportunities for play are boundless,” said Parks & Recreation Commissioner Benepe. “Now, thanks to our partners, the City Parks Foundation, we can offer our children a facility designed exclusively for them. The Junior Golf Center at Dyker Beach Park will encourage new generations to discover a game that can lead to lifelong fitness and health. Today’s opening is a real ‘hole in one’ for our City’s kids.”

“The CityParks Junior Golf Center will be the cornerstone of our CityParks Golf program, which begins teaching kids about golf in neighborhood parks across the city,” said City Parks Foundation Executive Director David Rivel. “The CityParks Junior Golf Center will give New York City’s kids a chance to develop into advanced golfers, with the potential to earn college scholarships, while also enjoying the outdoors, learning sportsmanship, and developing skills that translate for life off the course.”

Construction on the $8 million Junior Golf Center began in November 2006. The project is being funded through a combination of public and private funds, with $2 million allocated by the City, $400,000 by the New York State Senate through the efforts of State Senator Martin Golden, and the remaining funds raised by City Parks Foundation from private sources. Of the $8 million total approximately half is needed to construct the center and the rest will establish a permanent operating endowment to support annual programming, operations, and course maintenance. Callaway and Top Flite are the official equipment sponsors of the CityParks Junior Golf Center. The Center is also supported by the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Foundation, Andrew & Ann Tisch, the USGA, and ConEdison.

The Junior Golf Center will be part of City Parks Foundation’s sports department under the direction of Mike Silverman, also offering free tennis and track & field instruction for thousands of youth in parks citywide. The Center will be directly managed by PGA professional Gregg Gaulocher. Click here for more information on the CityParks Junior Golf Center and to learn how to enroll today.

The first event in the FedExCup playoffs is moving to Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, leaving Westchester Country Club in New York. It will be the first time in 40 years that New York will not host a PGA TOUR event.

Under an amended agreement, The Barclays will return to Westchester at least once before between 2010 and 2012.

“As we have said before, we believe it is in the best interest of The Barclays to rotate among various venues in the New York area,” PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem.

The Barclays had been played at Westchester since 1967, but it moved from June to late August last year as the first of four PGA TOUR playoff events. It was the only playoff event that Tiger Woods did not play. The 2008 Tournamen dates are August 21-24.

The TOUR previously had said the 2009 tournament would be held at Liberty National in Jersey City, N.J.

Ridgewood, a 27-hole complex designed by A.W. Tillinghast in Paramus, N.J., previously hosted the 2001 Senior PGA Championship and the 1990 U.S. Senior Open, as well as the Ryder Cup in 1935.

Ticket and tournament information will be available on www.barclaysgolf.com.

Hidden Creek Golf Club

Address: Hidden Creek Golf Club, 75 Asbury Road, Egg Harbor Township,
NJ 08234

Phone: (609) 909 2990

Website: Hidden Creek Club

Reservations: Private Club – Members Only

Description: Hidden Creek Golf Club is an exclusive, for-members-only golf club with uncompromising quality and old-world charm. It was ranked 78th in the most recent listing of ‘America’s 100 Best Modern Courses’ by GolfWeek Magazine.

Hidden Creek Golf Club is an 18-hole healthland style golf course located in the pines of southern New Jersey. Opened in May of 2002, the course offers an enjoyable and playable experience for golfers of all skill levels. The champion tees measure 6872 yards, the member tees 6485 yards and the forward tees 5486 yards. Every hole is distinct, visually striking and uniquely appealing.

Sculpted out of 750 acres of magnificent aged woodlands and adorned with gently rolling hills, this course is truly a sanctuary. The finest bent grass fairways, strategically positioned bunkers, surprisingly dramatic elevation changes and subtle green contours enhance this masterpiece of nature.

Nestled amidst a backdrop of natural pines, maple and oak trees, Hidden Creek is truly the pearl of the Jersey Shore.

Yardage: 6872 / 6485 / 5486

Par: 71 / 72

Rating / Slope: 70.4/120; 70.5/127; 72.2/131

Architect: Bill Coore & Ben Crenshaw

General Manager /
Head Professional: Ian Dalzell

Superintendent: Jeff Riggs

Directions:

From Garden State Parkway South Bound– Exit GSP at exit 36 (Northfield), you will come up to light at Fire Rd and make a right. Follow Fire Rd. to Mill Road (Rt. 662) make a right. Take Mill Rd. to the end where it meets Ocean Height Ave. (Alt. Rt. 559) and make right. Go straight through the light at English Creek Ave. and travel approx. 1.3 miles and make left on Pine Ave. Take Pine to the stop sign and make right on Asbury Road. Take Asbury to the entrance of Hidden Creek Golf Club.

From Garden State Parkway North Bound – Coming north after the Great Egg Harbor toll plaza, stay right and take exit 29 (Somers Point) onto Route 9. Follow Route 9 to the light and make a left onto Mays Landing Rd. (Alt. Rt. 559N). Go approximately 3.3 miles and make a right on School House Rd. Go 1 mile to stop sign and make a left on Zion Rd. Go ¾ mile and turn right on Asbury Rd. Take Asbury to the entrance of Hidden Creek Golf Club.

From Atlantic City Expressway East (from Philadelphia) - Take the Atlantic City Expressway to Exit 9. Turn right off the exit onto Delilah Road. Continue for approximately 1mile make a left onto English Creek Road (Rt. 575). Continue on English Creek Road approximately 5.5 miles to Ocean Heights Avenue and make a right. Go about 1.3 miles and make a left on Pine Avenue. Take Pine to the stop sign and make a right on Asbury Road. Take Asbury to the entrance of Hidden Creek Golf Club.

For years, people have flocked to popular golf destinations in South Carolina including Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach. Most people don’t realize that there are more than 380 golf courses in South Carolina, which is often called
the “Golf Capitol of the South.” Now, a new destination is emerging and it might just be South Carolina’s best-kept secret of them all.

The 10,000-acre Kiawah Island, is located just 20 miles (approximately 35 minutes) outside of Charleston. The small, but affluent community encompasses not only beautiful oceanfront scenery and natural wildlife, but also a terrific golf atmosphere.

Serious development on Kiawah (pronounced KEY-o-wah) Island began in the mid-1970s when a Kuwait-based development company purchased the island from a local family for just over $17 million. By the late 1980s, the Kuwaitis had grown inpatient with the slow progress on the island and sold their investment. Today the Kiawah Development Associates (KDP) controls most of the island’s development and unsold plots.

“The original overriding premise for the area’s development was to protect the Island’s spectacular natural wonders, while creating an upscale residential and resort community.” With the help of many strong planners, scientists, historians and some environmentally minded people, plans were put into place for this
residential-resort community.

On a recent visit to the island, I was amazed to see how an area could be so well developed, yet maintaining so much of the natural beauty preserved.

With its extensive wildlife, many believe the Island’s habitat looks much the same today as it did centuries ago. There are more than 200 species of birds and waterfowl inhabiting the island. One of Kiawah’s most prolific wildlife animals is the loggerhead turtle, and one can also find many deer, bobcats, alligators, raccoons, foxes and much more.

The area made its first big splash on the golf scene when it hosted the 1991 Ryder Cup matches on the Pete-Dye designed, Ocean Course. Since than, the course has undergone over $5 million in renovations, including architectural chances to seven holes, new irrigation, and converting all the greens to a
blend of salt-tolerant (obviously important for a course which hugs the Atlantic Ocean) Paspalum grass. The Course
is currently in the process of building a new 24,000-foot clubhouse, which will open in Spring, 2007, before the Senior PGA Championship is played there. It will be situated only 150 feet from the 18^th green, facing the
Atlantic Ocean. The Ocean Course has also already been selected to host the 2012 PGA Championship.

The Ocean Course consistently ranks in the top courses by Golf Digest (#8 among Public Courses in 2005-2006) and #3 on GOLF magazine’s 2006 list of the Top 100 You Can Play. It is open daily for public play.

While much of the golf attention on Kiawah Island is directed at the Ocean Course, the Island also has six additional golf courses – of which five are open to the public – Cougar Point (Gary Player design), Turtle Point (Jack
Nicklaus design), Osprey Point (Tom Fazio design), Oak Point (Clyde Johnston design), and the two private courses – The River Course (Tom Fazio design) and Cassique (Tom Watson design).

Complementing the golf in Kiawah Island is a full array of other recreational activities. Besides a 10-mile beachfront, there are more than thirty miles of biking and hiking trails throughout the community. There is a large children’s playground and pool complex with basketball and volleyball. Tennis is another big attraction
on the island.

Perhaps the centerpiece of the Kiawah Island’s growth was the opening in 2004 of the $125 million award-winning ultra-luxury oceanfront hotel and spa, The Sanctuary at Kiawah
Island. The five-star hotel features outstanding resort amenities, upscale restaurants and shopping, and miles of beautiful beachfront. The hotel’s entrance is filled with two beautiful gardens where dozens of butterflies can
be found flying through the colorful plant life.

The hotel hosts many corporate meetings and conventions, including the recent annual meeting of the PGA of America. In late March, theywill host the annual Golf For Women Weekend Retreat. A perfect weekend event for golfers of all playing abilities, will feature golf on the Ocean Course and Turtle Point Golf Courses, clinics and accommodations at The Sanctuary. Join LPGA professional Carol Preisinger for daily clinics and instruction. Preisinger, who is a top 100 ranked teacher by Golf Magazine and a former LPGA Teacher of the Year. Anyone interested in further information can contact the Special Events department at the Sanctuary Hotel (877-683-1234).

Just one word of advice to those visiting the area–bring your credit card along. This is an upscale community and the lodging, food and golf costs can run on the high-end. But don’t let this deter you, Kiawah Island is a wonderful place for the golfer (and non-golfer) to play and relax.