Are you looking for the best golf courses on Long Island. Local golfers are rounding up their favorite public golf courses on Long Island, including famous and prestigious courses, links courses, and courses for beginners, intermediates and advanced golfers.
Did you know there are over 140 Long Island golf courses?
In fact, Long Island is a haven for golfers of every skill level. Our courses offer a special type of variety – here you can play like the pros on prestigious courses that have hosted the US Open Championships and enjoy some of the top rated public courses in the country.
From courses with ocean views, to ritzy mansion and estate grounds, to woods and parks, we’re rounded up all the best golf courses on Long Island.
While best certainly offers up the opinions of two Real Long Island husbands (who certainly play a lot of golf in their own right!), there are metrics that professionals use to determine quality courses.
We’ve done our best to factor in both our personal, yet experienced preferences and what legitimate pros head to our tiny corner of the world to play.
How, for example, would we leave off the Bethpage Black? It’s not just one of the best public golf courses on Long Island, but in the world. With numerous PGA events and an upcoming Ryder Cup, need we say more?
We also hope to highlight quality and beautiful courses that perhaps aren’t so prestigious, though. Some of the best Long Island golf courses may not be on your radar yet. We hope to put them there!
Lastly, while we know that some of the best golf courses on Long Island are private, we opted not to cover those. Our goal is to keep our home – and our content – accessible for all, so we are very consciously highlighting only public Long Island golf courses.
Let’s tee off, shall we…
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16 Best Public Golf Courses on Long Island
Best Golf Courses on Long Island for Beginners
Sunken Meadow
Sunken Meadow State Park Golf Course, featuring 27 holes that utilize the natural hilly landscape and surrounding woodlands, can be played as a nine hole or eighteen hole course. The course plays relatively short; long hitters will hit close to most holes. A great course of practice irons a wedges, players could conceivably play the course without driver. Greens are not challenging.
- Contact Information: Suan Ct, Fort Salonga, NY 11768 | (631) 269-5351 | website
Bethpage Yellow
One of our favorite public golf courses on Long Island for novice golfers looking for prestige, Bethpage Yellow is wide open, with a ton of natural character. While some holes have tricky approaches, it is deemed the easiest Bethpage course. It is also the newest and the shortest of the five. Be weary (and precise!) of the 410 yard par four on hole 13.
- Contact Information: 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd, Farmingdale, NY 11735 | (516) 249-4040 | website
Middle Island Country Club
Middle Island, another popular 27 hole course, plays moderately long, but, unless your ball lies against a tree, it has a large margin for error. Frankly speaking, it plays moderately long from the blues, but straight, and straight hitters will fare well here.
- Contact Information: 275 Yaphank Middle Island Rd, Middle Island, NY 11953 | (631) 924-3000 | website
Pine Hills Golf and Country Club
Voted the best of all golf courses on Long Island by GolfNow, Pine Hills is a long par 73, nestled in the famous pine barrens. Many holes on this course will demand control off the tee as there are many trees that line the fairways. However, this course is not as penal as its sister course, The Woods, off the tee.
- Contact Information: 2 Country Club Dr, Manorville, NY 11949 | (631) 878.7103 | website
Moderate Long Island Golf Courses
Mill Pond
Mill Pond sits on over 200 acres of land and feels like a links course. It gets narrow at times and has plenty of high grass and water. Windy days make for added challenge with longer approaches into the greens. We thought plenty about whether to situate Mill Pond with our moderate or difficult golf courses on Long Island.
- Contact Information: 300 Mill Rd, Medford, NY 11763 | (631) 732-8249 | website
Bethpage Blue
One of the most beloved moderately difficult Long Island golf courses, the Bethpage Blue is not to be missed. The Blue is the hilliest of the Bethpage courses, with an above average slope rating of 126, and features what many Long Islanders consider to be the toughest front nine, rivaling even the Black. The greens are tame and roll true. Avid Long Island golfers consider the Blue one of the best values for the money.
- Contact Information: 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd, Farmingdale, NY 11735 | (516) 249-4040 | website
Bethpage Green
The Green Course, originally Lenox Hills, is the first of the five Bethpage courses. If you’re looking to play a Bethpage course but feel intimidated by the Black or Red (or can’t get a tee time), the Green is a great place to start. Great for moderate skill levels, the Green has plenty of gentle slopes and short greens. Some water in play and elevation changes pose more challenge than the yellow. The green sits adjacent to the Black course and shares some of the same hills.
- Contact Information: 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd, Farmingdale, NY 11735 | (516) 249-4040 | website
Rock Hill Golf Club
Rock Hill is a beautifully manicured course with tree-lined fairways, offering plenty of challenge if you’re not a long hitter. In fact, Tori’s husband shot his best round ever at Rock Hill. It’s an all around favorite course of locals.
- Contact Information: 105 Clancy Rd, Manorville, NY 11949 | (631) 878-2250 | website
Pine Ridge
Pine Ridge Golf Club gets its name from the pine forest from which it was carved. Not a very long course, but it will challenge you with narrow fairways and tiered greens. With more par 3s and fewer par 5s than standard, Pine Ridge is a Par 70 course and a great course for novice and casual golfers to work with irons.
- Contact Information: 2 Golf Course Dr, Coram, NY 11727 | (631) 331-7930 | website
Difficult Long Island Golf Courses
Bethpage Black
The most prestigious of all the Long Island golf courses, the Bethpage Black is an absolute bucket list course. World renowned and known for hosting multiple PGA championships and majors, the Bethpage Black is a force even the pros struggle to reckon with, especially if the rough is up. Lies around the green are incredibly difficult, but the greens themselves are straighter than you think; don’t overplay the break. Keep the ball in play, or you’ll shoot over 100.
To put it bluntly, if you want to play an epic, professional PGA course, the Bethpage Black is one of the most affordable and accessible in the world.
- Contact Information: 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd, Farmingdale, NY 11735 | (516) 249-4040 | website
Bethpage Red
If it wasn’t clear yet, five of the best golf courses on Long Island sit at Bethpage. It’s just incredible.
Not as hard as the Bethpage Black (no other Long Island golf courses can hold a candle in toughness to the black), the Red holds its own and challenges even advanced players. The Red runs alongside the Black, and shares some of the same fescue. If the fescue is up, keep the ball out of it or expect a big number.
- Contact Information: 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd, Farmingdale, NY 11735 | (516) 249-4040 | website
Montauk Downs
A New York State Park golf course, Montauk Downs boasts some of the best Long Island landscapes. Wind currents from the ocean and bay will change up how the course plays daily. Originally designed in 1927 by Robert Trent Jones, the course was updated in 1968 by his son, Rees, and purchased by New York State in 1980.
- Contact Information: 50 South Fairview Ave, Montauk, NY 11954 | (631) |668-5000 | website
The Woods
The Woods, sister course to Cherry Creek Links, is a par 71 featuring rolling fairways, challenging doglegs, and seven holes overlooking water features. Consider it one of the most challenging and diverse Long Island golf courses, though precision hitters will more than enjoy it.
- Contact Information: 967 Reeves Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901 | (631) 506-0777 | website
Links Style Golf Courses on Long Island
Cherry Creek
Cherry Creek is a wide open golf course that plays easy, but be weary of the grass; it’s a bit strange. Compared to other course grasses on Long Island, it will grab your club head more. The course finishes with an exciting 644 yard par six.
- Contact Information: 900 Reeves Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901 | (631) 369-6500 | website
Timber Point
With a few tough par threes and exceptional views off the tee, find a 27 hole course central to the Island. The Blue Course is considered hardest of the three, with the most payoff. The fifth hole on the Blue Course, called Gibralter, will challenge all – it features elevated greens, 188 yards from the middle tees, and breathtaking views of the Great South Bay. It’s better to miss short than long here.
- Contact Information: 398 Great River Rd, Great River, NY 11739 | (631) 581-2401 | website
Gold Club at Middle Bay
Set along the South Shore, Middle Bay offers stunning views of Jones Beach, Point Lookout, and Lido Beach. Being in western Nassau county, the course is less than an hour from New York City.
- Contact Information: 3600 Skillman Ave, Oceanside, NY 11572 | (516) 766-1880 | website
Where Can You Stay for a Trip to the Long Island Golf Courses:
- Hilton Garden Inn Riverhead: pretty centrally located to the eastern Long Island golf courses for a decent price
- Hotel Indigo: slightly more upscale and centrally located in Riverhead
- Residence Inn by Marriott: Marriott rewards members will enjoy these convenient accommodations
- Hyatt Place Long Island East End: a mile or two away from the end of 495, the Hyatt is close to other Riverhead attractions
- Preston House & Hotel: a modern boutique hotel with a fabulous restaurant
Which of these golf courses on Long Island will you head to next?
Did anything on our list pique your interest? Where will you head next?
And what are your personal favorite public golf courses on Long Island? Feel free to share your top privates in the comments section as well for our readers who may be wondering.
