Riverhead Area Golf Courses Withstand Irene

Golf courses throughout Riverhead suffered no major damage from Tropical Storm Irene, except for downed trees and scattered debris, according to local employees and owners.

“We’re pretty good as far as structure – the clubhouse, buildings and courses were okay – but we’ve got two or three days of clean up ahead of us,” said assistant golf pro Jonathan Miller at . “It’s just a mess,” 

Miller said the cost of repairs was minimal to both The Woods and its sister course, Cherry Creek Golf Links, across the street on Reeves Avenue. 

“It’s just labor, our crews at work clearing the tree branches and brush,” he said.

Hampton Hills Golf & Country Club on County Road 51 fared better, with only a handful of tree branches to clean up, according to assistant starter Tim Reilly.

“We were only closed for a few hours on Monday,” he said.

But Hampton Hill's neighboring courses endured Cherry Creek’s fate. Calverton Links’ crews spent the latter part of Sunday clearing the mess left by Irene on its 6,240 yards on Edwards Avenue, according to owner Bill Schulman.

“It was furious, and you couldn’t play for a day, but we’re back in business,” Schulman added.

The Fox Hill Course at the Baiting Hollow Club lost power early Sunday, said starter Richard Muller. Staff used a generator Monday to power the clubhouse and irrigate the course in preparation for a Tuesday morning opening, Muller said.

“Our staff did 100 percent of the work to make sure we were up and running Tuesday,” he added. “We even chipped our own wood and debris into mulch.”

In Wading River, Great Rock Golf Club lost between 30 or 40 trees, which its crews took care of right after the storm.

“It hasn’t affected play,” said Nick Beddow, assistant golf pro at Great Rock. “We’ve actually been up and running for the past few days.”

Staff at on Sound Avenue in Riverhead said that the storm uprooted three trees in wooded sections of the course. With a generator’s help, the course was open for business Monday for the 60 players who turned up for the afternoon.

William Labrador, the director of golf at off the Northville Turnpike, said the club’s 6,838 yards remained “unscathed” by the tropical storm, except for a tree that snapped in half at the 7th hole.

“We didn’t lose power or telecommunications at all,” he said. “In fact, we had 89 walk-ups Monday morning. That’s unheard of. Sometimes you want to do something other than sit at home and rake leaves.”