New York State of Mind Travel

An enterprising golf travel agency has taken a great deal of the hassle out of buddy trips in the Empire State by organizing the "New York Golf Trail" and putting together packages covering 21 courses (and lodging options) into six regions.  Given the fabulous golf available upstate, I think they've got a winner of a concept.

(sorry, the map here isn't interactive)

The six regions include the Finger Lakes, Central NY, Cooperstown, Saratoga, Lake Placid, and the Hudson Valley. Other areas, including Long Island, the Southern Tier, and Buffalo, I assume, may be added at a future date. I wouldn't expect a Westchester region, though, since our daily fee offerings are so limited.

Packages start at $245 per player and typically include two rounds of golf and two nights lodging with some meals often included. Considering the greens fees at some of the courses on the list (Mansion Ridge in Monroe, NY, runs about $100), that's a real bargain.  Prices are typically quoted for two players per room and some other minor qualifiers apply, but there's nothing onerous. Lodging ranges from Holiday Inn basic to Otesaga Hotel luxury, but New York Golf Trail swears its staff has personally stayed at every site and wouldn't offer it if it didn't meet their standards.

The other big appeal of the service is just that--service. You only make one call or email, and the New York Golf Trail staff handles the rest, including tee times, hotel reservations at group rates, and billing individual members of your group so you don't have to. That in itself is worth the price of admission.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Marine Park GC Swings Into Social Media

Marine Park GC  photo courtesy of the course Golfers at Marine Park Golf Course now enjoy the ability to turn to a free mobile app to stay in the know about the Robert Trent Jones design on or off the course.

 

Marine Park Golf Course officials recently released a "Marine Park" mobile app that provides everything from up-to-date weather conditions, tee time booking, score keeping, and a GPS yardage system on the course. With the app - available in the Apple App Store or Android Market - players receive updates about Marine Park including course updates, event announcements, and promotions.

 

Recently, golfers with the Marine Park app received the following:

 

"Is your local course aerating? Marine Park's greens are fast and true as ever. Come down to MPGC and enjoy the day."

 

"Our new mobile golf app has provided us with a fantastic tool to engage our customers," said Richard McDonough, Director of Golf Operations at Marine Park. "The ease in which our customers can book a tee time from anywhere with their phone is invaluable. The on-course GPS works fantastic without the expense of a separate GPS device. Players can also use the interactive scorecard to track their round by round stats or keep score for an entire group."

 

Marine Park Golf Course is an 18-hole Championship Course open to the public year-round and is a member of New York City Parks. Located in southern Brooklyn, this links-style course was designed in 1964 by world-renowned architect, Robert Trent Jones, Sr. It boasts panoramic water views, country club quality greens and fairways, a beautifully manicured driving range and prevailing winds off Jamaica Bay. It measures 6,866 yards from the Blue tees, 6,609 yards from the White tees, 5,793 from the Gold tees and 5,323 from the Red tees.Since 2008 Marine Park Golf Course has been under the management of father-son team Michael and Adam Giordano. Since the Giordanos took over, golfers at Marine Park have welcomed the addition of a driving range and learning center, renovations to the clubhouse and grille and currently a course restoration project under the guidance of golf course architect Stephen Kay.   

 

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf