Opinion & Analysis
Can a new app bring people back to golf?
The game of golf is in trouble.
This is what organizations like the National Golf Foundation and various members of the national media have been drumming into our collective psyches over the last several years.
Whether or not you’re willing to buy what they’re selling, it’s hard to ignore the obvious: participation is down and golf’s leading organizations are working overtime to convince the iPhone generation to take up a game that’s been historically slow to embrace new technologies and changes in societal behaviors.
Peter Kratsios is the CEO of a tiny tech start-up with a huge idea. And on Memorial Day, he was also my partner at Eisenhower Park. We were playing the Red Course, one of three championship-caliber designs open to the public at this massive property just 28 miles east of New York City. We got paired with a couple of guys who would have gotten escorted out of any halfway decent country club. One of them was decked out in cargo shorts and a wife-beater; tattoos decorated his arms like sponsor logos on a Nascar driver. His companion was flicking ashes from what little remained of his cigarette and was disparaging the slow group in front of us in a tone guaranteed to offend the esteemed members of Bushwood in Caddyshack.
Barely out of the gate, I began thinking about the long day in store for us. Words like misery and agony were running through my head. Peter, on the other hand, was probably thinking about opportunity and conversion.
Kratsios is the man behind a product called GolfMatch that is available for Apple devices. The recently-released application comes at a time when the marketplace for golf-centric apps has become increasingly crowded. It seems like everyone and their cousin has an idea about how they can leverage technology to augment the game. Competition is stiff for anyone introducing yet another scoring device, GPS tracker or swing aid.
GolfMatch is uniquely suited to succeed because it’s none of those things. The app allows a person to discover other golfers in their area who are compatible with their playing style, handicap, age and other criteria. Essentially, it helps a golfer fill out their foursome from players with a common set of interests, eliminating the concern most people have about being randomly paired up minutes before a scheduled tee time.
[quote_box_center]“It all starts with the golfer,” Kratsios said. “You have to create a better experience for them. There’s a lot of tee-time aggregators out there, but what do they actually do to create a better golfing experience? Golfers want to play with other golfers at times that are convenient for them at courses at their price range. They also want to feel comfortable with someone their age or handicap and want to play from the same set of tees, because if you play from a different set of tees you already introduce a bit of disconnect.”[/quote_box_center]
GolfMatch got its start, ironically, through a series of random events. Kratsios took a job in digital advertising just after graduating from college in 2011. The idea for what would eventually become the GolfMatch app began gnawing on him shortly after he began working on an ad campaign for Nike Golf.
[quote_box_center]“They were coming out with a new glove and they wanted to target women, the ages of 36 to 50 in the Northeast between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.,” Kratsios said. “I was looking for more golf publishers for this campaign and I realized that there was nothing really being done to grow the game of golf from a technology standpoint. So I started to think about what I can do to bolster participation.”[/quote_box_center]
He met his first partner purely by accident when he tried to sprint to the train station from his office in the pouring rain.
[quote_box_center]“On the train, I sat down and saw this young lady sitting across from me laughing cause I looked ridiculous,” Kratsios said. “We started talking about what she did. She actually came out with an app for her company the day before and I mentioned that I had an idea for an app as well.”[/quote_box_center]
Kratsios and Jessica Brondo met for drinks the following day and began working on concepts. The third member of the company, Julio Rivera, was discovered through an acquaintance. At the time, Rivera was a mobile developer at Priceline.com. As coincidence would have it, Rivera was developing a similar idea in his off hours. Kratsios recognized the situation for the opportunity that it was and brought Rivera on board as the company’s co-founder and chief technology officer. Together, the pair have complimented each other and Kratsios credits Rivera’s insights as a novice golfer as being a critical factor in helping to bring the app to market.
[quote_box_center]“I spent six months putting together financial models and go-to-market strategies,” Kratsios said. “I really knew what I wanted to focus on while still working at 24/7 Media. I was offered a promotion to join the media sales team as an account executive. I turned down the promotion, quit my job and moved home in the same day. I really took a risk.”[/quote_box_center]
Eisenhower
It took me a good 20 minutes to navigate the maze of parking lots flanking both ends of Eisenhower Park. I thought I was lucky to find a prime spot near the driving range, but I barely had a chance to stretch my legs when I was told the clubhouse was across the street and that I needed to drive back into the busy two-lane road that cut through the property like a major artery.
Kratsios arrived a few minutes later. It was my second time getting together with him and I was starting to recognize the signature spring in his step, the relaxed posture and the easy-going vibe.
We made our way inside a red-brick building that wasn’t much of a clubhouse, even by public muni standards. The old-fashioned ticketing counters where customers made tee-time inquires and paid their green fees conveyed all the warmth of an off-track betting site.
I was beginning to wonder how a place like this could have hosted the 1926 PGA Championship won by none other than the legendary Walter Hagen. In a friendly gesture, Peter placed a hand on my shoulder and told me not to judge the place until we were on the course. Growing up on Long Island, Eisenhower belonged to a rota of courses he competed on as a junior golfer.
His introduction to the game came at age seven when a neighbor offered to take him to the driving range. Naturally athletic, Kratsios found the act of hitting a golf ball easy from the get-go. For a while he juggled baseball, basketball and golf; eventually, golf won out. He excelled at it first in high school and then at Gettysburg College, starting all four years on the school’s NCAA Division III varsity team.
These days, he channels his competitive nature into running his fledgling start-up. Although he belongs to a private country club on Long Island’s North Shore, more often than not he comes out to places like Eisenhower, Bethpage or Van Cortlandt where he can get his company’s product in front of course owners and potential customers.
Relationship-building, Kratsios told me, is the key component for making GolfMatch a success. The software app that he and his partners have built can help course operators better identify golfers who have either played their courses or are considering playing them in the future. To put it plainly, a lot of munis need all the help they can get. Within Long Island alone there remains a handful of clubs that don’t take advantage of an automated tee-time reservation system. And even among those facilities that are technologically in step, most use a trial-and-error approach to find ways to incentivize people to come back.
[quote_box_center]“We’re providing a value-added service for every organization and every course that we work with,” Kratsios said. “We want to allow [course owners] to be in the drivers seat to keep their community and target them. Everyone loves that. Nobody is saying we’re hesitant to work with you. Everybody wants to bring more people to the course and to sell more tee times.”[/quote_box_center]
For a small service fee, GolfMatch helps course owners design and distribute bi-monthly marketing campaigns to a targeted list of golfers who have played or wish to play that course from data collected in the app. For course owners, these campaigns drive awareness to their properties, increase retention among existing customers and ultimately lead to additionally sold tee times.
There are about 2,000 active accounts on the GolfMatch platform. Rather than spend money on traditional marketing, Kratsios has leveraged social media, specifically Instagram, to connect with early adopters.
“We really pride ourselves on the community we’ve built on a social basis,” Kratsios said.
The GolfMatch Instagram account has over 8,000 followers and each post generates hundreds of likes. It’s a simple and effective way to connect with a broad spectrum of golfing enthusiasts.
Like other entrepreneurs in the golfing industry, Kratsios is passionate about increasing participation in the game. Although he’s young and tech-savvy, Kratsios has some old-school views about how the game should be played. He applauds any effort by an individual or organization to get people interested in golf, but he’s not personally enthused about courses altering their greens by cutting holes the size of dinner plates, as TaylorMade’s “Hack Golf” initiative has supported.
He conceded that the game can be outlandishly expensive at times, and it’s certainly difficult to play at a high level, but those factors on their own aren’t driving people away or keeping new ones from taking it up. But combine those things with individuals consistently having lousy experiences on the course and you have the makings of a mass exodus.
Over the course of five hours, our playing partners turned out to be reasonably good companions, offsetting what they lacked in playing ability. Although they didn’t look the part, they were no less enthusiastic about the game than any of the old-money members of Shinnecock. With all the holdups we endured between holes, there was plenty of time to make small talk about golf (do fans really miss Tiger?) and about courses (how tough is Bethpage Black?).
As we all know from experience, a blind pairing works out fine on occasion; most times it doesn’t. If you’ve ever teed off with a golfer who hits a 5 iron farther than you hit your driver, then you know what I mean. A better player hangs out in the middle of the fairway waiting to play their approach while you spend a chunk of your round communing with squirrels.
Sometimes it’s not a mismatch of skill, but of attitude. You can’t expect a foursome to function if half the players show up to the course to play for bragging rights while the other half are there to socialize, chug beers or smoke blunts.
Insofar as the GolfMatch app is concerned, it might not always suggest a perfect foursome, but it has parameters in place to help an individual discover other golfers who view the game as a way to compete or a way to have fun, or anything in-between.
[quote_box_center]“I think everybody understands that the game needs to change; we need to innovate in order to get back some of those golfers that have left and to bring new ones into the game,” Kratsios said. “People at first might be a little confused about how we’re going to bridge that gap. But after we explain our story, it’s eye-brow raising.”[/quote_box_center]
Bridging The Gap
There wouldn’t be much to the GolfMatch story without the actual software app that Rivera, the company’s technology partner, coded entirely on his own under the duress of high expectations and demanding time constraints.
Given those circumstances, the initial release was naturally light on features. The app allowed a person to search for other golfers using a limited set of filters. The same approach applied to finding courses nearby. If you wanted to connect with a golfer, you clicked a button to follow them and crossed your fingers. Attempting to schedule an outing with other GolfMatch users was a crapshoot: a message to your followers may or may not have gotten noticed. Still, even with limited functionality, Kratsios was able to get members of the golf industry and investors excited about the app’s potential.
With the recently-released second iteration of the app, Kratsios and Rivera are planning to blow people away with a bevy of features that expands the software’s capability beyond that of a simple rolodex of golfing buddies.
The new match feature lets users look for pre-existing matches or post new ones to the platform. Once a match is created the owner can fill out the slots in his or her foursome from a list of friends, even from contacts who do not have profiles on GolfMatch. Schedule a day and time for your match and a push notification will be sent out to users who have been invited to participate.
If none of your personal contacts are into golf and you don’t know anyone on the platform, simply post your match to the GolfMatch community at large. A new set of filters help users discover public matches based on location and distance, as well by course name, or type of game (friendly, competitive, wager, family, or networking). If a match catches someone’s eye, they’ll make a request to join.
The experience of creating and filling matches has been engineered to be as seamless as possible. If one of your invitees drops out of your foursome, the match can be resurfaced.
“This allows the match to potentially get filled and to provide revenue for the golf course so that the tee time and green fee isn’t lost,” Kratsios said.
The only way setting up a match could be any easier is with a built-in tee-time aggregator, and if you don’t think Kratsios is working on making that happen, then you’re underestimating his resourcefulness.
If anything is going to prevent GolfMatch from fulfilling it’s potential, it’s the glacial rate of adoption. As Kratsios was quick to point out to me through our closing stretch at Eisenhower, the success of the platform hinges on being able to cultivate a large-scale community.
To that end, Kratsios has struck up relationships with Ship Sticks and the PGA Tour Superstore. These opportunities, and others like it, expose the GolfMatch brand to a highly coveted list of customers. In return, the GolfMatch platform allows these businesses to offer an on-the-course experience that complements their brick-and-mortar operations.
“[PGA Tour Superstore] want to transform their stores into a golf experience,” Kratsios said. “They want people to come in the morning and stay there all day on their simulators. When someone buys something at their store we want to help them bring that customer back in and to transform their consumers into our users.”
Kratsios is unabashedly proud of what his team (which has fewer members than most rock bands) has been able to accomplish in just 12 months. Although he’s only 25, Kratsios has all the characteristics of a classic workaholic. He sleeps with a plugged in iPad by his side, “cause you never know” as he said. Even the golf course, which has always been a refuge for him, now doubles as a place of business. Kratsios keeps his golf bag stocked with extra tees, balls and plenty of GolfMatch paraphernalia. It’s not uncommon to see him attaching marketing materials to the steering wheels of unattended golf carts. He acknowledges that running a start-up isn’t easy or glamorous.
On the teeing ground on the last hole at Eisenhower, Kratsios implored us to bear down and go for par, but it didn’t play out like a scene from Hoosiers. The less accomplished members of our group recorded doubles and triples. Even Peter wrote a bogey on his card. Out of the four of us, Kratsios was the only one who didn’t need advanced arithmetic to tally up his score.
It’s not about what you shoot, Kratsios told me afterwards. Easy for you to say, I said.
Dismissing my wisecrack, he told me the game of golf will be fine. The secret to its longevity and resilience is the camaraderie people develop when they take up the game.
[quote_box_center]”That’s the story that needs to be conveyed to future generations of golfers in all these grow-the-game initiatives,” he said.[/quote_box_center]
It’s no coincidence that GolfMatch is an attempt to do just that.
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Another Open Championship has come and gone and links golf was once again in the spotlight at Royal Troon! For those who have never played a links course (like myself), it sparks a desire to fly across the pond to experience it for ourselves. While a golf trip to the UK or Ireland is a bucket-list item, most people look to play the big-name courses (Old Course, Carnoustie, Lahinch, Royal Portrush,etc.), but don’t realize they can get a similar experience by traveling to some of the lesser known destinations where you will find some of the purest links courses in the world. With this in mind, here are our picks for the best hidden gem links courses you should play when you book a UK or Ireland trip:
IRELAND
We start our list off with a 36-hole club in the Northwest of Ireland, a remote area of the Emerald Isle that is known for its rugged terrain and spectacular scenery. Bordering the Wild Atlantic Way, Ballyliffin is relatively newer (est. 1947) but offers golfers one of the purest links golf experiences anywhere in the country. While not easy to get to, the two courses onsite (Old and Glashedy) are well worth the travel with large dunes shaping the fairways that overlook the North Atlantic Ocean and a myriad of pot bunkers everywhere you look. Even Rory McIlroy believes that “Ballyliffin’s two courses are a must play on any golf trip to Ireland.” and we tend to agree.
How to incorporate Ballyliffin in a golf trip:
Stay:Ballyliffin Lodge, Hotel & Spa
Play: Old Links & Glashedy Links at Ballyliffin, and Old Tom Morris Links or Sandy Hills Course at Rosapenna
The next course on the list is in the Sligo area of the Northwest where we find Enniscrone, roughly 3 hours (by car) south of Ballyliffin. Like many links courses, Enniscrone was originally a 9-hole course when it was opened in 1918 before an additional 9 holes were added 12 years later. In 1970, Eddie Hackett was tasked with redesigning the course to help the two 9-hole courses flow effortlessly into one 18 hole layout. A big feature that can be seen throughout your round here are the towering dunes that shape the course and protect some holes from the ocean winds. Built right out of the landscape of the dunes bordering the sea, the course has a lot of undulation in the fairways and greens with some elevated tee boxes providing unreal views of the natural land.
How to incorporate Enniscrone in a golf trip:
Stay: The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo
Play: Enniscrone, County Sligo, and Donegal
Additional Courses: Strandhill, Carne, and Narin & Portnoo
Another fantastic gem on the Northwest coast of Ireland is the NEW (2020) St. Patricks Links at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Links. The land was purchased back in 2012 which was already a 36-hole facility and Tom Doak was brought in to reimagine the property to the layout it currently is today. Large sand dunes shape the front 9 holes before heading back through some more subtle dunes back towards the clubhouse. The course offers elevation changes with some tee boxes sitting atop the dunes offering spectacular views of Sheephaven Bay and beyond. With two other courses and a fantastic hotel on property, this destination is all you could ever ask for.
How to incorporate St. Patricks in a golf trip:
Stay: Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Links
Play: St. Patrick’s Links, Sandy Hills Course , and Old Tom Morris Links (all at Rosapenna)
For our last hidden gem in Ireland, we head 30 minutes north of the country’s capital, Dublin, to The Island Club. Built along rugged terrain and the highest sand dunes on the east coast of Ireland, the Island Club is situated on a small peninsula surrounded by water on three sides providing a difficult challenge, especially with the winds. Founded in 1890, the Island Club continues to be ranked in the Top 10 courses in Ireland and has held some Amateur Championships and Open Championship Regional Qualifiers.
How to incorporate The Island Club in a golf trip:
Stay: The Grand Hotel, Malahide
Play: Island Club, Portmarnock Old, County Louth
Additional Courses: Royal Dublin
SCOTLAND
Located along “Scotland’s Golf Coast” of East Lothian is where we find the classic links of Dunbar. Opened in 1856 with only 15 holes, this is one of the many courses in Scotland that Old Tom Morris had a hand in crafting. Laid out along rocky and rocky terrain, the course is only 6500 yards long and while not long by modern standards, the course requires shot making and proper club selection to play well. The course has held many national and international tournaments including a few rounds of The Open Final Qualifying.
How to incorporate Dunbar in a golf trip:
Stay: No. 12 Hotel & Bistro
Play: Dunbar, Gullane (No.1), North Berwick
Additional Courses: Craigielaw, Kilspindie, Gullane (No.2, No. 3)
The next course on our list brings us to the Scottish Highlands, one of the lesser traveled destinations in Scotland, but still home to some amazing links courses including Cruden Bay! Located 25 miles north of Aberdeen on the east coast of the Highlands, Cruden Bay was opened in 1899, although history would indicate golf has been played at the property since 1791. Another Old Tom Morris design, the course is consistently ranked in the Top 25 of courses in Scotland and it is easy to see why. At only 6600 yards, it is relatively short, but the natural lay of the land provides elevation changes, punchbowl greens, and some large, 3-story high dunes that offer spectacular views for a classic links experience.
How to incorporate Cruden Bay in a golf trip:
Stay: Leonardo Hotel Aberdeen
Play: Cruden Bay, Trump International Links, Royal Aberdeen
Additional Courses: Murcar
We head back to the Highlands just north of Dornoch to where we find Brora Golf Club. Similar to a lot of links courses, Brora opened as only 9 holes in 1891, but that only lasted for 9 years before an additional 9 was added in 1900 before a James Braid redesign in 1924. At just over 6200 yards, this is one of those courses that will make you appreciate links golf in Scotland with cattle and sheep roaming freely around the property. The course is a typical links routing with the front 9 going out and the back 9 coming back to the clubhouse. The defense of the course is the wind (naturally), but the greens are relatively small with pot bunkers standing guard to catch errant approach shots.
How to incorporate Brora in a golf trip:
Stay: Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch
Play: Brora, Royal Dornoch – Struie & Championship
Additional Courses: Golspie, Tain
Staying in the Scottish Highlands, the last Scotland links gem on the list is just outside of Inverness at The Nairn Golf Club. The narrow fairways are fast and firm leading to decent sized, tricky greens that roll true, but are guarded by devious pot bunkers. The first seven holes play right along the water and with not a ton of elevation changes, spectacular views across the Moray Firth can be seen throughout the course. With fantastic course conditions throughout the season, this fantastic links is an absolute must-play when visiting the Highlands.
How to incorporate Nairn in a golf trip:
Stay: Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness
Play: Nairn, Castle Stuart (Cabot Highlands), Fortrose & Rosemarkie
Additional Courses: Nairn Dunbar, Moray
Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR highly recommends you start planning your trip across the pond AT LEAST 12-18 months in advance in order to secure tee times and hotel rooms over the dates you desire. With more and more people taking up the game of golf, these bucket list trips have already become extremely popular and will continue to gain interest so make sure to start planning early!
RELATED: Open Championship courses you can play (and when the best time to book is)
Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission.
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The final major of 2024 is nearly here as the top golfers head to Scotland’s southwestern coast to battle for the claret jug at Royal Troon. Golf’s original major dates all the way back to 1860 and has been played at 14 different courses throughout the United Kingdom (yes, this includes Northern Ireland) providing countless memories including celebrations, heartbreak, and unique moments that will never be forgotten (looking at you Jordan Spieth).
With The Open teeing off less than a week from now, we wanted to highlight some of The Open Championship’s finest links courses that should play when you make the journey to golf’s homeland:
- Old Course at St. Andrews
- Carnoustie
- Muirfield
- Royal Portrush
- Royal Troon
- Royal Birkdale
- Royal St George’s
Old Course at St. Andrews
Do we even need to say anything else? The “Home of Golf”, host of 30 Open Championships, the most coveted tee time in the WORLD, there are a million reasons to have St. Andrews on your links golf bucket list. From the double greens, to the tee shot over the Old Course Hotel, to the walk up 18th fairway with the town buildings framing a picturesque scene (especially at dusk), every golfer should make the voyage to St Andrews at least once in their life.
Carnoustie
Carnoustie – Championship Course
Roughly 25 miles north of St. Andrews lies the devious links of Carnoustie, often recognized by the large white Carnoustie Golf Hotel as the backdrop of the 18th green. While the course has only hosted The Open 8 times, it is considered to be one of the hardest layouts in The Open rota (just ask Jean Van de Velde) although not that long, playing just under 7000 yards from the tips.
Muirfield
Located right next to this week’s host of Scottish Open (The Renaissance Club), this fantastic links layout has hosted the prestigious Championship 16 times since 1892. The narrow fairways and penal rough requires precise shots off the tee while avoiding the devious pot bunkers is a must. The course is set away from the coastline so you won’t get the sweeping ocean views, but a round at Muirfield is one the premier tee times in all of Scotland (so make sure you book early – 12-18 months at least).
Royal Portrush
A view of the new 572 yards par 5, seventh hole designed by Martin Ebert on the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush Golf Club the host club for the 2019 Open Championship in Portrush, Northern Ireland. © 2018 Rob Durston
Our next stop brings us across the Irish Sea to the northern coast of Northern Ireland and the popular Royal Portrush. Having hosted The Open only twice in its illustrious history, Royal Portrush is a golfer’s dream with 36 holes of pure links golf set against a gorgeous backdrop of the ocean and cliffs. The Open Championship will return to Portrush in 2025 and YOU CAN BE THERE to watch it all in person!
Royal Troon
TROON – JULY 26: General view of the ‘Postage Stamp’ par 3, 8th hole taken during a photoshoot held on July 26, 2003 at the Royal Troon Golf Club, venue for the 2004 Open Championships, in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
The host of this year’s Open Championship, Royal Troon is home to one of the best par-3 holes in all of golf, “The Postage Stamp.” A downhill 125-yard tee shot to a minuscule green surrounded by bunkers on all sides makes it one of the more challenging holes. Another hole that adds to the challenge is the 601-yard par 5 that used to be the longest golf hole in Open Championship history. This year will be the 10th Open Championship held at Royal Troon, the first since 2016 when Mickelson and Stenson had a battle for the ages in the final round.
Royal Birkdale
For the next course on the list, we have to head down to the northwest coast of England just outside of Liverpool. Consistently ranked in the Top 10 courses in all the UK, this 10-time host of The Open has hosted many other prestigious events such as Ryder Cups, Women’s Opens, and more! The course is laid out with fairways running through flat-bottomed valleys surrounded by high dunes which provide many blind shots throughout the course. The Open returns to Royal Birkdale in 2026 so it won’t be long before it is back in the spotlight.
Royal St. George’s
For the final course on our list, we are staying in England, but heading across to the southeastern side of the country to Kent. Royal St. George’s is 4th on the list of most Open Championships hosted with 15 (1 behind Muirfield) the most recent being Collin Morikawa’s victory in 2021. RSG is the only active course on The Open rota in this part of the UK, but two former hosts (Prince’s and Royal Cinque Ports) are within 3 miles of the property. The expansive course is laid out with holes separated by dunes with heavy rough, undulating fairways, and deep pot bunkers to challenge your game. While it may not be mentioned in the discussions of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and the like, Royal St. George’s is still a Championship layout that is worth the trip across the pond.
With these big-name courses in such high demand, it is important to note that if you want to play them, you need to start planning your trip early. Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR, the world’s #1 rated golf tour operator, suggests planning and booking your trip at least 12-18 months in advance in order to secure a tee time at the courses you want. The UK & Ireland specialists at Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR have the knowledge to help tailor the perfect golf trip for your group so you can play big-name courses and hidden gems you might not have heard of. If you’re ready to start planning your bucket list trip across the pond, make life easier and go with Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR.
Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission.
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The 2025 Ryder Cup matches will be held over the sprawling, bruising, Long Island acreage known as Bethpage Black State Park Golf Course. The course has hosted multiple national championships, most recently the 2019 PGA Championship. In September 2025, Bethpage Black will welcome teams from the USA and Europe to contest the 45th Ryder Cup matches. Team Europe, the defending champions, will be led again by captain Luke Donald. The U.S. PGA has not yet announced the name of its leader, yet all sources and speculations point to a 15-time major champion and an eight-time participant in the biennial event.
Bethpage Black will join Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester (1995) as the second Empire State course to host the event. The Ryder Cup matches were played in the metropolitan New York area once before, in 1935 at the Ridgewood Club, in Paramus, New Jersey. It’s fair to say that metro NYC is due to host this world-stage, golf event. I can’t wait. The USA’s loss to Europe in 2023 adds to the considerable drama.
What makes Bethpage Black an outlier in the world of championship golf, is its mere existence. It’s a state park golf course, one of five on property, each with a colorful name. The Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow join big brother Black as outstanding tests of golf in Farmingdale. Of the five, only the Green was not originally built as a state course. The Lenox Hills Country Club, designed by Devereux Emmet, opened in 1923. By 1932, the club had closed and the land had become property of the state. Its birth date made the Green the oldest of the five courses. New York State began to build on a series of adjacent parcels, guided by the hands of Alber “A.W.” Tillinghast, Joseph Burbeck, and Alfred Tull. The Yellow course, built entirely by Tull, was the last of the five to open.
State park courses just don’t hold major championships. Private clubs and elite resorts are the typical sites that receive the nod from the world’s golf bodies. It’s a testament to the lovers of Bethpage, the New York state government, and the PGA of America (among others) that Bethpage is as good as it is, and that it continues to improve. It’s a fitting site for the 2025 Ryder Cup matches, but the 2025 Ryder Cup matches need a beginning to their story. I’ll do my best to provide it.
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- Bethpage Yellow Golf Course
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- Bethpage Black Golf Course
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- Bethpage Red Golf Course
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- Bethpage Yellow Golf Course
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- Bethpage Black Golf Course
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- Bethpage Green Golf Course
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- Bethpage Blue Golf Course
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- Bethpage Red and Black Golf Courses
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- Bethpage Green Golf Course
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- Bethpage Red Golf Course
The quintet of courses near Bethpage, New York, is just the beginning of the New York state park golf course system. 19 parks in total offer golf from the tip of Long Island, to the shores of Lake Ontario, through the Catskill mountains, to my home town. I’m a Western New York guy. The Buffalo area has been my home for most of my 58 years on the golf ball known as Earth. I live two miles from the westernmost, state park golf course: Beaver Island. The Beav, as everyone calls it, was designed by William Harries. It opened the year I was born, which means that it is close to 60 years old! Unlike the Bethpage property, where topography is king, the Beav is a flat course, albeit full of enough interest to bring you back for more.
As I considered the magnitude of the state park system, I realized that golfers who frequent those 19 state parks can point to their home course and say, “You know, the Ryder Cup will be at a state park course next year.” I started to count on my fingers, the number of state park courses I had played: Beaver Island, Green Lakes (Syracuse), James Baird (Poughkeepsie), and the five at Bethpage, I realized that I had played eight of the 23 total courses, and had visited a mere four of the 19 parks.
Bethpage is the only, multi-course state park across the Empire State. Other venues range from pitch-and-putt, to nine-hole, to regulation 18-hole courses. The majority occupy nice tracts of land, and feature 18 holes of memorable, enjoyable golf. PGA Tour professionals Joey Sindelar and Mike Hulbert grew up on one of those courses, and Dottie Pepper spent a bit of time on another, near her hometown.
There will be many stories that trace the path to Bethpage and its 2025 Ryder Cup, and I look forward to reading and hearing them. This one is my own, and I’m proud (and a little frightened) to undertake it. I’ll visit each of the remaining parks over the next 16 months, and report in with images and words that tell the story of each park and its golf course.
The Ones I’ve Played
The Bethpage Five
As mentioned above, I’ve played eight of the 23 courses, but the majority of that number is owed to a 2011 pilgrimage to Long Island. The Black had just hosted its second US Open championship, and the ink for the 2019 PGA Championship was not yet printed. I spoke with a Bethpage caddy, in anticipation of the trek. I wrote a series of articles on the courses on my own site, BuffaloGolfer. Down the road of this, current series, I’ll discuss the most poignant piece that I connected with Bethpage. That’s a story for another time. After all, Bethpage is a five-course meal.
It’s safe to say the the Bethpage property is unlike any other, municipal, golfing space in the world (at least, those not named the Links Trust of St. Andrews!) The park encompasses nearly 1500 acres of wooded land and offers much beyond golf to its visitors. As pilgrimages go, Bethpage is it. For a New York state resident, on a weekend, it would cost a total of $257 dollars … to play all five courses. Even for those outside the state, the trip to Bethpage is worth consideration. Each course rambles over uneven, heaving land. Holes carry along falloffs and bend unexpectedly around corners. Greens are benched into hillsides and settled into valleys. All five courses remind you of the others, yet none of them says to you “You’ve played this course before.”
James Baird State Park
One of the hats that I wear, is high school golf coach. Each spring, golfers from my team travel to Poughkeepsie to play the James Baird State Park golf course. Pronounced “Bard,” the course was opened in 1948, after a middle-aged, Robert Trent Jones, senior, put pen to paper to lay out the course. Jones was about to become a household name, as he would offer renovation advice to many of the country’s classic clubs. He was most famously associated with the Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit, the host site of the 1951 US Open. You know, the one where Ben Hogan purportedly gasped “I’m glad I brought this course, this monster, to its knees.”
Trent didn’t leave a monster in Poughkeepsie. What he left was something that locals call Baby Bethpage. The James Baird course is blessed with topography similar to its five-course cousin, but it offered a challenge that Bethpage does not: a huge expanse of marsh across the belly of the property. There was not going over nor through it, so Jones simply went around it. He created something that he never, ever did: a short par three. Jones was a fan of the brutish, 200-yard plus, all-carry, par three hole. For the third hole at Baird, he had all of 120 yards, and it was downhill! Jones placed a green in the marsh, connected to the mainland by an earthen bridge. He then turned north for a time, then returned south, outside the marsh. Trent Jones had another stretch of tricky land to navigate, this time, on the inward half. He brought a trio of holes (pars 4-3-5) through a challenging corner of the property, before returning to the open meadow that hosts the majority of the layout.
James Baird is a tremendous golf course, one that prepares our high school competitors well for the next step: the state federation championship at, you guessed it, Bethpage Black. Six golfers move on to compete against other, high school divisions, at the big brother of them all.
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Green Lakes
The Baird course came to life 13 years after Trent Jones opened his first, New York state parks course. Originally from Rochester, New York, Trent ventured 90 minutes east to Manlius, near Syracuse, in 1935, to lay out one of his first ten courses. RTJ was gifted the magnificent land that abuts the two glacial lakes in central New York. The lakes are meromictic, which we all know means that surface and bottom waters do not mix in the fall and spring, as happens with dimictic lakes.
Trent Jones placed his clubhouse and finishing greens (9 and 18) in an interesting portion of the property. The ninth hole is an uphill, par five that plays fifty yards longer than its measured distance. Once home to upper and lower greens, the lower has been expanded and enhanced, and the upper is now abandoned. On the other side of the clubhouse, the sneaky 18th moves out of a corridor of trees, into the open space beneath the clubhouse. It’s a bit reminiscent of the 18th at Bethpage’s Green course. It’s not a long hole, yet when you walk off with five or six on your card, you wonder where you went astray.
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The front half of the course plays along a vast meadow, above Green Lake, the larger of the two, nautical bodies. The inward side forages among the tree above Round Lake, before finally emerging at the home hole. The apparent contrariety of the two nines is resolved through expansion of fairway corridors on the treed nine, and the constriction of playing paths with bunkers and doglegs, on the exposed side.
If you’re a walker, Green Lakes will make you a fit one. It will also demand all the clubs and shots that you can fit in your bag.
Beaver Island
“Tame” isn’t the proper term to describe Beaver Island, the state park course near my home. I believe that “calm” is a better term. It may seem ironic, given that the 1965 course occupies a tract of land at the southern tip of Grand Island, where the Niagara River splits east and west, before reuniting at the north end. When we think of the Niagara, we think of the mighty rapids and cascades near the brink and bottom of the falls. At the southern split of the river, however, you can throw a canoe in the water and have a paddle. Beaver Island knows that it is adjacent to the river, but you never get the sense that this golf course borders water. I’ve redesigned the park hundreds of times in my head, moving the golf course to the banks of the river, where the trails, beach, playground, and other amenities are currently found. In the end, not every great golf course can, nor should, be built.
William Harries trained under the famed competitor and architect, Walter Travis. Despite this exposure to the master, Harries went his own way with his golf courses. The most striking difference is in green construction. While Travis was extraordinarily creative and daring, Harries was the polar opposite. His greens are routinely flat and easy to navigate.
He designed a number in the western New York area, including Brookfield Country Club. Originally known as Meadow Brook, the club hosted the 1948 Western Open, won by the aforementioned, Ben Hogan. The majority of Harries’ work was in municipal courses, and he designed Sheridan Park for the town of Tonawanda. That course hosted the 1962 USGA Public Links championship.
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On Grand Island, Harries traced his layout around three ponds. The massive, western one, comes into play on the second through fifth holes. The middle one plays games with the approach to the eighth green. The final one, on the inward side, forces golfers to carry their tee shot over water, to the 14th fairway. Beaver Island bears no resemblance to the topography of the other locales mentioned previously. There is no heaving, no tumbling, no turbulence, along its fairways. Beaver Island is more St. Andrews in its flattish presentation, which makes it an honest, what-you-see, sort of golf course. It’s an enjoyable walk in the park, a not-too-demanding one.
Part Two: south-central New York-Soaring Eagles, Chenango Valley, Indian Hills, and Bonavista
Ryder Cup Trophy @ Bethpage – Photo courtesy of PGA of America
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James
Aug 12, 2014 at 9:08 am
This app is just another waste. If I go to the course alone I want to play alone. If the course wants me to play with people I do not know, guess what I go somewhere else. I do not like playing with strangers. Being in SC also, we do not have overloaded golf courses like in NY…so this app again is a waste in that regard.
the app that should be presented is showing people how to play golf faster. When your partner is in the sand trap hitting or where ever, don’t sit there in the cart and wait for him to finish before going to your ball. Grab a club, go to your ball, be ready…your partner once he is finishes comes to you…just this simple thing can speed up rounds a lot.
And golf is down because disposable income is nowhere to be found. What killed golf was higher gas prices. For example, last year I spent over 3,000 bucks in gas. That amount in 2001 pre 9/11 would have been 800…giving me 2,200 to blow on golf……and back then I made the same thing yet I played 5 times a week, now I play 1-2 times a month.
Peter Kratsios
Oct 20, 2014 at 3:28 pm
James,
I appreciate your feedback, as constructive criticism is the only way our product will get better. That being said, I would like to reflect on a few key points you made…
You highlighted pace of play and $$ of golf as key contributors for declining play. Aside from our ability to connect golfers, our ability to solve fundamental problems for golfers that are time constrained and price sensitive is what makes our product so valuable to the golf industry. Although pace of play will never be completely solved due to human nature, finding time to play with buddies when it is convenient for you IS important to a large majority of the golfing population. Also, finding golf courses in your price range IS hard if you are not fully aware of the rates at all nearby facilities.
We strive to solve those problems.
Helping drive awareness to local courses is also very important to us. Although you may not find the same overcrowding issues that NY courses face, that trend is detrimental to the local courses you play. Without enough golfers, they cannot sustain revenue, and if they cannot keep up with costs, they will be forced to shut down. More than 150 courses shut down last year, while only 14 opened. That is a huge issue.
We are very passionate about bettering the game of golf and growing participation, so if you could please email me directly at [email protected] I would love to discuss your thoughts on how to best solve the issues you and other golfers you know typically deal with.
All the best,
Peter
Dave
Aug 10, 2014 at 9:32 am
If the key to saving golf is more social media gimmicks like this… I have no doubt that giving up the game is in my future…
Thankfully I am pretty sure this is not the answer… the game needs to be bit more friendly for the average player.. and until it is I just don’t see it maintaining a level of mass appeal the industry would like to have.
AS
Jun 24, 2014 at 9:26 am
Rounds are down. Have been for years. As the dollars poured in for new designs and better clubhouses the true sense of the game was diluted in a where it was more of a status symbol then a the wonderful game so many of us innocently played in the day. Looking back Tennis had its run when on a Saturday afternoon there was always a town employee to sign you up for an hour later in the day. Today every court you drive by is always open. The app sounds great. Too bad I have a droid so I can not look for some new faces to play with.
Peter Kratsios
Jun 25, 2014 at 9:25 am
AS- I like the comparison to Tennis because there are many parallels between the two, and I’m also a huge Jets fan, so I love your profile icon! The Android version will 100% be released at some point this year…stay tuned!
KK
Jun 19, 2014 at 10:58 am
American values are becoming more and more distant from golf values. That’s the big problem, IMO. It’s ok. Let’s just all move to Australia.
Adam
Jun 19, 2014 at 8:30 am
Not sure what your point in giving digs to Eisenhower is. The app has nothing to do with the course you played. Many people don’t have the privilege to belong to North Shore, private clubs. They have to endure the old brick clubhouses of the muni. It’s odd that we all bemoan the decline of golf, but in the same breath act like royalty when we are paired up with people we judge to be beneath us. I have been playing golf all over Long Island my entire life and have rarely if ever, had to play with people who ruined my round. It’s a joy to meet new folks, not a burden.
Peter Kratsios
Jun 19, 2014 at 10:34 am
Adam,
I too find meeting new folks on the golf course to be an absolute pleasure. It is important to note that GolfMatch was not created to eliminate the idea of meeting new folks, it was created to help golfers find their ideal experience with golfers they want to play with at the courses they wish to play at.
It is always nice broadening your network of golfing buddies.
JDB
Jun 19, 2014 at 5:42 am
I think I would rather pair up with 22 year old hackers than 70 year olds who can still play decent. Pace of play is better with the young guys and they don’t piss themselves during their round. Honestly, that happened to me when I got paired with a 73 year old last year. I don’t think he knew he pissed himself, but he did. And just because you’re 100 years old doesn’t mean you don’t have to let me play through. When the old stop playing the young will start. Until then, I will have to suffer watching the elderly line up a six inch putt because it’s worth a buck!!!
Dan
Jun 19, 2014 at 4:08 pm
You mean the 22 year old hackers that don’t know when to be quiet, hit it all over the place, cant get out of the sand, wait for the green to clear when they are 235 yds out (but can only drive it 200 off the tee), spend the day on their cell phones and have no clue about etiquette????
I’ll take the old guys and the Asian women at Bethpage, both of whom play pretty fast, b/c they don’t wait to hit their 2nd shot, have decent short games and dont f*ck around on the course
Mark M
Jun 19, 2014 at 5:24 pm
I’m not saying your wrong, but we all have to recognize that golf is a recreational activity. Not everyone will take it seriously and that’s ok. Hacking it around and screwing around on the course is someone’s idea of how to enjoy golf, and sorry but if you are not a professional that is relying on golf to feed your family you can’t criticize them. Also, the hackers are subsidizing your play because their green fees and beer money is helping to keep the course running. I don’t want to argue this, and I’m not saying your wrong, but this is the reality. Golf has long been in trouble because the attitude of the avid golfer to the casual rec player has always been one of contempt and smugness. It turns people off fast and scares those who might become serious players away before they even realize how much fun it can be.
Join a private club and you’ll have a better chance of finding like minded players. Or play off hours (times when you only find avid golfers) at muni or public courses.
The app is a great idea, by the way.
Dan
Jun 20, 2014 at 9:56 am
@ Mark M
Not sure where you live or play, but luckily at Bethpage, even as a public facility is known to attract the better player and it shows. And while there are plenty of long rounds out there and no real marshals, the folks that play here luckily are not the 22 year old hackers, likely due to the demographics of Nassau County and Western Suffolk. Mostly 30s and up and most people can play, pretty well. And the ones who cant are usually marshaled by the group they are in. I dont care if you are a bad golfer, just dont be an idiot. IS that too much to ask?
But perhaps its different where you play. As far JDB’s little story (as off color as it is), he’s dead wrong about the pace of play, for the reasons I described above. If you think that embracing the golf customer that “Hacking it around and screwing around on the course is someone’s idea of how to enjoy golf” is the future of golf, then say hello 6+ hour rounds and fights on the golf course. Bright future…………
No I’m not a professional golfer, but I am someone when expects to finish a golf round in 5 hours, and its not my job to make sure that people who are learning the game can “screw around” on the golf course feel welcome. I play with good and bad. But they are mostly all “golfers”, not hacks who disregard the etiquette of this great game.
palboheitmeyer
Jun 20, 2014 at 4:32 pm
+1
Don
Jun 24, 2014 at 2:09 pm
Amen brother!
Jack
Jun 20, 2014 at 10:03 pm
Wow. That’s disheartening to hear. I’ve played with senior golfers and they usually teach me a thing or two. Very pleasant and usually shoot a better score than any young hacker out there. Pay attention and you might learn something.
paul
Jun 19, 2014 at 12:24 am
I will stick to playing silly early in the morning with random strangers. In two years I only met one group I didn’t like. Lots of interesting people play at 6:00am.
Matt
Jun 19, 2014 at 11:34 am
Agreed Paul, I love walking up and meeting new people. You never know who you are going to meet and I have rarely played with someone that I didn’t enjoy getting to know. For the guy that gave the 70 year old a hard time, I have to say that one of my favorite rounds this year was with an older fellow how was a blast to play with. He didn’t hit it 300 yards but was great to talk to. In my experience, these are the guys that hit it straight and play faster than the younger guys who spend more time drinking and looking for their ball in the woods. Give him a break and show some respect!
Neil
Jun 18, 2014 at 10:45 pm
The same idea was made years ago in Japan.
Joe S
Jun 18, 2014 at 7:14 pm
This app has worked out great for me so far. I always had the problem of being paired up with people of different skill levels than me and its not fun for anyone. Last week GolfMatch paired me with a a foursome of people I did not know, and now were planning another round. I highly suggest using this app
blink3665
Jun 18, 2014 at 5:48 pm
Great idea. I often end up playing on my own because my friends can’t golf at the same times as I can. This would make getting paired up with like minded/skilled golfers much easier. That being said, usage will have to increase significantly before this app will gain any traction. It doesn’t do me much good if there are only 100 people in my area that use the app and only a percentage of them match up with me.
Peter Kratsios
Jun 18, 2014 at 8:00 pm
I couldn’t agree more. It is definitely a product that works better with more users. We have made it a priority to partner with some of the largest golf organizations in the United States to reach critical mass not only on a National scale, but also on a local level.
The match feature allows you to invite your buddies via text or email to help organically create matches with golfers who have yet to download the app.
Hopefully we can play together at some point this summer!
Philip
Jun 18, 2014 at 5:38 pm
I pair myself with random golfers every time I play on the weekend. Love it! Play with women, play with men, kids, older and younger people. Never had any issues – maybe because I just go with the flow and focus on enjoying myself.
The only thing wrong with golf is 5 1/2+ hours rounds – a shrinking golfer base will help correct that issue and prices. Only the manufacturers/courses need a growing market – because that is how owners/shareholders think. If they are not growing, they are dying. Why are prices are always increasing? It is an artificial way of increasing sales without actually selling more.
Peter Kratsios
Jun 18, 2014 at 8:04 pm
Philip- A shrinking golfer base definitely hurts the manufacturers and the courses, but the real shame in the situation is that if courses continue to lose golfers (aka revenue) they will slowly but surely close. Less golfers, means less wait on the course, which means a faster round….but that is a slippery slope!
Philip
Jun 18, 2014 at 9:59 pm
For sure, especially when our western business culture only knows grow or die. That being said, what I see really helping golf would be for people to play off the proper tees, which is never going to happen as long as the forward tees are referred to as woman’s tees.
Another thing that could help and would work well with your app is for courses to set up times for playing based on handicap (official or just copies of a players last 5-8 rounds) and give priority to the better players. If the times do not fill up than higher handicaps can fill the slots. This would tend to put newer players at the end of the day when rates are cheaper and would maximize the number of rounds played in a day as the better players would tear through the course.
A day could get divided into 3-4 blocks and as long as say 3 players were at the specified handicap level they could add a 4th person of any handicap as they would help to show the newer person that golf can be fun and not to long to play.
Food for thought
Dan
Jun 22, 2014 at 12:42 pm
I believe courses should have a limit on how long a group can be on the course. For example say 4 hrs. If your 4 hrs is up and you only completed 16 holes, it will teach you to play faster.
I gre up caddying and while the course was packed rounds were always completed in under 4:15
terry
Jun 18, 2014 at 5:16 pm
not a bad idea. but as golfers, who are we saving the game for? what is our purpose in all of this? why should we be concerned with “saving the game?” what are we saving? it sounds to me like this game grew at a very rapid pace in a short amount of time and now everyone that’s heavily invested in it is scrambling to not let the market shrink more than it has. they are trying to scare golfers into thinking this is a life of death situation. when in reality, i would prefer a market correction. i would prefer for club prices to drop. i would prefer there to be less club companies. i would prefer to pay less for golf. i don’t need a $500 shaft to add 20 yards to my tee shot. professionals don’t need to make $1 million dollars for winning a pga tour event. the game was simple 20 years ago. it was fun and easy to enjoy. now its a chore. now its a headache. now you feel like a dumbass when you shoot 90 after investing $2200 into a new set of custom fit clubs. let the market correct itself.
chris
Jun 19, 2014 at 12:33 am
Could not have typed it better myself…
Its like the housing crisis of sports, she will bounce back
Justin
Jun 19, 2014 at 9:51 am
+1
Jeremy Beale
Jun 18, 2014 at 5:07 pm
This is my very problem. As much as I like playing with older gentlemen, sometimes I just want to play with a group of young 20 somethings like myself.
However, where I think this App would help find my target demographic, I don’t think it would help grow the game for my benefit.
Sad, truth Golf is an oldman’s sport.
Tony Lynam
Jun 19, 2014 at 10:04 am
I am 51 years old and play to a 5 handicap. Having spent 30 years in the Marines, I am still in great shape and have remained very athletic. Recently played with a friend in his early 30s (who has won the Outback Pro/Am and club championship) and the assistant pro in his late 20s, at his course. Played from the tips at 7000 plus yards and I out shot the assistant pro and hung with my friend for the most part. I like playing with people at any age as long as they have a game at my level, I will take that over playing with old or young golfers who are just hacking up the course. I hate when starters pair you up with golfers when it is pretty obvious our games are at different ends of the spectrum. Socially it all works out, but when you are their to play at a high level, it is a burden.
Jeremy Beale
Jun 19, 2014 at 11:28 am
Yea, I am a military kid born and raised and I also have been playing golf since I could remember(2 Handicap). The tips are my friend lol.
But, I seldom ever (if at all) play with any young adults. Especially my friends because they are intimidated by my game. All I want is to do is have fun. But, like I said golf is not a huge sport for 20 somethings. The major golf demographic is between 35 and 55.
I just want to play with the young adults who talk about everything, but the “real world”. Skill level/Handicap is not everything and if it is well golf is no longer just a game.
Jack
Jun 20, 2014 at 10:07 pm
Your friends are intimidated? I love playing with friends who are better than me. Lots to learn.
Dan
Jun 22, 2014 at 12:44 pm
20 something’s can’t find jobs to pay for golf
John-Russell
Jun 18, 2014 at 4:52 pm
As a fairly new golfer, one of the biggest issues I came across was finding people with similar skill level to myself to go out and play with. GolfMatch has alleviated this problem for me. I have been able to set up multiple pairings with golfers in my area, with similar skill sets to myself which has resulted in a much more enjoyable round of golf for myself and the people I have met and played with from using GolfMatch. Just an all around great idea! I would recommend GolfMatch to anyone who is looking for that perfect pairing for a great round of golf!!
William Wente
Jun 18, 2014 at 4:49 pm
Great Article!! Love what GolfMatch has done, and I’m excited to see where this App can go. This App can be extremely beneficial for golf courses.. It seems ridiculous that with the technologies avaliable today, I can still struggle to find pictures or information on golf courses, and this often leads to me playing elsewhere, or courses I’ve played. Keep it up guys!!
Anthony
Jun 18, 2014 at 4:21 pm
Maze of parking lots?????
Did you miss the sign that says golf course/2nd left (if coming in from Merrick Ave).
This is my home track… You just need to know when to play Eisenhower to play rounds under 4 hours like we do every Saturday and Sunday morning. Get there between 3:30A-4A to be one of the 1st five groups out on the Red.
And that will back up the argument why golf is not growing.
Ken
Jun 18, 2014 at 4:15 pm
GolfMatch makes so much sense! I frequently play as a single and would jump at an opportunity to check GM before heading to the course. I can see that the app might also serve to organize tournaments and generate additional interest. Nice job!
sgniwder99
Jun 18, 2014 at 3:59 pm
“As we all know from experience, a blind pairing works out fine on occasion; most times it doesn’t.”
Now there’s an unfounded assertion if ever I’ve heard one. This is far from being something “we all know from experience.” It’s not true at all in my experience. The vast majority of people I’ve been paired with have been friendly and enjoyable to play a round of golf with. In fact, I can only remember a couple of problem pairings at all, and I’ve been playing golf as a single for most of my life.
Rather than an app to make sure you never have to play with someone who’s not just like you, maybe some people need to learn to get along with different types of people a bit better.
JOEL GOODMAN
Jun 18, 2014 at 2:56 pm
GOLF IS IN DECLINE FOR A COUPLE OF VERY SIMPLE REASONS. 1. THE COST TO ACQUIRE EQUIPMENT IS HIGH-MINIMUM $500 FOR ANYTHING USABLE, 2. GREENS FEES ARE HIGH ALSO-, IN FLORIDA IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAY FOR LESS THAN $25 AT ANYTIME. $100+ FOR THE NICE COURSES IN SEASON. 3. A ROUND OF GOLF IS 4 HOURS MINIMUM WITH 5 HOURS BEING NOT UNCOMMON. FIX ‘EM ALL AND THE GAME THRIVES..WHEN I WAS A KID WE PLAYED THE MUNI FOR 75 CENTS UNTIL WE REACHED 16 THEN IT WA $1.50
Rich
Jun 19, 2014 at 12:23 am
I think you need to realise it’s 2014, not 1914……..
Tony Lynam
Jun 19, 2014 at 10:11 am
Now that was funny! I live in Florida too and he had great points and should have left off the muni comment. He also failed to realize that Florida courses make their money on “snowbirds” coming down in season.
palboheitmeyer
Jun 20, 2014 at 4:36 pm
haha!
Frank Dee
Jun 18, 2014 at 12:28 pm
Great article Rusty, but living in The Villages, Florida, I never have a problem being paired with golfers my age or handicap. With 36 executive Courses and 12 Championship courses, there’s always an opening @ one of the courses. Once the app is compatible with my Galaxy, I might be able to use it during the summer on Long Island.
Frank Dee
Ryan S
Jun 18, 2014 at 12:14 pm
You guys come all the way out to Long Island and you play Eisenhower Red? You must be a fan of a 6 hour round.
Next time you should try out some local gems like Tall Grass or Great Rock.
Anthony
Jun 18, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Right…Because nobody has ever played a 5 hour round at Tall Grass or Great Rock during prime golfing hours. Especially Tall Grass when hackers hook the ball off 1 into the trees or slice it right into the fescue grass.
I guess to play Eisenhower you have to do what my group of buddies do. Get to the course by 3:30A, set your chair down and sleep in your car so you are one of the 1st five groups out on Red. And if not, you will be first out on White. Then you can play in under 4 hours like us, and be home by 10:30…at least I can… I live close enough!
And if you are lucky enough to be the 2nd group out on Red, because nobody beats that #1 group to the course, it’s like setting the pace with nobody in front. God Bless them.
I will say Eisenhower has gone downhill since the new groundskeeper took over last year. She has ruined the course at times. It was an awesome track when they played the Champions Tour event there. Unfortunately that was a long time ago. But at the end of the day, they are still my home courses and don’t mind the early wake up calls and overnight sleeps in the car to tee off before 6:20A and be one of the 1st five groups.
Ryan S
Jun 18, 2014 at 4:50 pm
your friends seriously wake up that early to play at Eisenhower? Its justified to do that in order to play Bethpage Black or Red but i cant believe people do that for Eisenhower.
If they are up that early why not drive the extra 20 minutes and hit up Bethpage? Even the green course at Bethpage is comparable to the Red course at Eisenhower.
When i started out i played exclusively at Eisenhower until i realized how slow and infuriating all the courses are. Now i drive out east every weekend just to play a round in 4.5 hours. Better courses and better players.
Anthony
Jun 19, 2014 at 12:40 pm
I have a family, so it all started out for me as a time issue. The earlier I play, the earlier I get home. Then I became a regular there and got to know the other regulars. Soon enough I find myself in a group of guys rotating ever few weeks who sleeps over. The Red is one of the best courses on LI. I actually live 5 minutes from Bethpage. I drive the 15 to Eisenhower. It’s easier to get on I feel and don’t mind. Every weekend I am one of the 1st 4 groups out and am at the point I actually can’t play in the middle of the day because the pace even if at 4 hours sets me back. I’m so spoiled because there is always a hole open in front and behind with the regulars at Eisenhower. We are almost like a dysfunctional family every Sat and Sun lining up, checking chairs, and looking out for one another.
Anthony
Jun 19, 2014 at 2:56 pm
One more thing…
The Green at Bethpage does not even compare to the Red at Eisenhower.
The Red is a Championship Course that held a Senior PGA Tour Event for many years (The Commerce Bank Championship) that plays 6,400+ from the white tees and over 7,000+ from the tips. The Green maxes out at 6,000 yards with sever elevation changes that allows the course to play even shorter on some holes. It’s basically an executive course equivalent to Eisenhower Blue.
I would consider any of the Eisenhower and Bethpage Courses my home because I’ve played them so much over the last decade, since moving out to Eastern Nassau County.
Peter Kratsios
Jun 19, 2014 at 3:40 pm
Anthony,
I too grew up playing the Eisenhower courses, and continue to do so. The head pro, Mike Wade, taught me to play at an early age, introduced my to The First Tee program, and has been a huge influence in the development of GolfMatch. I would love to play Eisenhower with you and your buddies in the upcoming weeks.
If you can create the match through GolfMatch, or join the one I organize, even better!
kasey
Jun 19, 2014 at 3:14 am
Why would anybody get up at 3:30 am to play that dog track? Sounds like a terrible experience just to play golf in under four hours. Sounds to me like the head pro has no clue how to run a tee sheet. Golf match solves a real problem for the majority. Great idea!
Anthony
Jun 19, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Because the earlier I get out the earlier I get home. When you have a family like I do, getting up when everyone is sleeping and only missing a couple of hours when the kids 1st wake up allows me to basically play as much golf as I want. There is nothing better than being the lead group at 5:40A on the White or Blue, 6:04A on the Red) and playing quick enough to not be waiting on a shot or have a group riding your rear end.
I’d hardly call the Red Course a Dog Track. Holbrook CC is a dog track. Cantiague and Lido are dog tracks. The Red even though I think it has gone downhill the last year or so is still in GREAT Shape even on it’s worst days.
The White has it’s issues, the fairway bunkers, and some greenside bunkers are hard and rocky, but overall the greens and fairways are in great shape.
The White course design can get a little boring with every hold being elevated and almost the same sand trap design, but it’s different from the Red and a nice change of pace. Now if only the idiots that put the pin placements down would stop putting them on severe slopes and crowns it would be a much more enjoyable experience. I swear I want to ring their necks on certain days.
The Blue Course was once the worst. Quite honestly after they added new sand greenside the course has been fine. The fairway bunkers are similar to the white, rocky and hard, but at least the holes vary and offer a variety of entry points. The only knock on the Blue is it plays only 6,000ish yards from the back tees. If they added another 350-500 yards to the course it would be right in line with all other amateur courses. They were supposedly doing that a few years back where they started to create new tee boxes, but then just left the project undone for whatever reason.
palboheitmeyer
Jun 20, 2014 at 4:37 pm
No way! I’m barely 1/3 thru my sleep at that time of the morning!
Peter Kratsios
Jun 18, 2014 at 8:07 pm
Ryan,
We are Co-Sponsoring an event at Tall Grass July 27th. I think this will be right up your alley if you frequent that course! Stay tuned.
Marc
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:51 am
Nice article to see. I haphazardly came across the app on the App Store while looking for a gps app, and I was pleasantly surprised with something different.
The new match feature is awesome….totally brings the app full circle by grouping similar crappy golfers with myself lol…..kudos to those guys wish them nothing but the best!!!
Thanks
Max H
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:51 am
While on vacation last week in Florida, I used GolfMatch to find a game. Within 30 minutes, I was paired wih three gentlemen with similar handicaps as me and interested in the same type of game; Wager/Booze! GolfMatch is a great app for golfers of all skill levels and interests. I look forward to continuing to use GolfMatch!
AJ
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:30 am
Whilst I appreciate this is a USA-centric article, the game isn’t in decline in the rest of the world from what I can make out.
For me the biggest barrier to golfers in the US is simple: cash. Golf here in the UK is inexpensive (including all the top courses) and therefore the biggest hurdle of all isn’t there.
There is also a massive over-saturation of the equipment marketplace, which simply didn’t exist even 10 years ago. I play with 6 year old blades and people look in my bag like I’m a freak.
Brock
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:06 am
Not available for Android?? The biggest market share OS for smartphones and they only release it for Apple?
Wow.
Peter Kratsios
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:15 am
Hi Brock,
As one of the Co-Founders, I can assure you that we will be releasing an Android version shortly. Per the article, we have a small team and are working on perfecting the iOS platform before we tackle Android and Web. We look forward to hopefully having you on the Android version in the near future!
Cheers,
Peter
Brock
Jun 18, 2014 at 12:02 pm
Fantastic reply! I will definitely try it out when available. Thanks for the reply!
paul
Jun 19, 2014 at 12:22 am
Its always iOS first in the states because that is all kids want these days. Android is 2nd and maybe some day windows phone will see it to. Maybe…
Dan P
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:21 am
Most apps are released on IOS first because they don’t need as many iterations of it. Typically takes a few more months for the android app to come out (see Cyberdust a Mark Cuban app) since they need it for different operating systems, screen sizes, etc. I’m sure its in the works just takes lots of engineering.
Mat
Jun 18, 2014 at 12:04 pm
It’s always going to be that way. It’s just the reality of development, as Dan mentioned.
Dan P
Jun 18, 2014 at 11:05 am
This app looks awesome, a great way for singles to pair up with people before heading out. Downloading it as we speak. As a former BU alum as well, Go Terriers!