Championship at Harbor Links Golf Course

Played here on a beautiful Sunday. Got to the course and was told there was a frost delay but it was 2pm when we teed off. So your groups easily should have caught up bc it was 50 degrees by 8am. We had a ton of slow groups ahead of us and called the clubhouse. Ranger never came which is insane. You’re in the customer service business. Anyway 3 hours for 9 holes and I walked off. Also they think they are a resort or top 100 course with their ridiculous prices. Do better

Posted a few days ago, but based on the emails and text I have gotten from other golfers in the past week and they too are hoping for change, I thought I would post some more from this weekend. Unfortunately today was on pace for a 4hr 40 min round and yesterday, as you will see from the photos attached was 4hr and 55min, we packed in after 9 holes today so I only have 5 photos to post this time. Take a look and I hope these will lead to change...

We play there often as it is a 7 minute drive from my house. Recently noticed that it takes heavy tipping to get your honored starting time. Was quite apparent this past weekend when we had a 6:50 starting time, meaning we were supposed to be the 3rd group out. Somehow we were actually the 7th group out. The positive is the great layout and kudos to the groundskeeper for always keeping the fairways green and the rough thick through all the hot summer months. The negatives unfortunately are starting to add up and you see it from the moment you arrive and go to the worn out range. You will see the blatant mismanagement in the attached photos. Before you spend your money ($130 for non-resident / $100 for residents), I hope my pictures (unfortunately this site only allows me to upload 6 photos) from my last couple of rounds will help you make a decision...

Arrived Early, outside staffed ignored me completely. My playing partners arrived early as well. I went to get a hot dog and was made fun of by the starter (fat joke). Then rushed to the first tee (30min early).

Hot dog was a 1.9 out of 10. Stale bun. No snap. Snickers bar so stale almost broke my teeth. Playing partners said the mustard was expired.

Greens we aerated weeks before but recovered horribly. The rates shold have been adjusted accordingly.

Cups were not to the proper depth. Fairways and tees were average at best. Flags and flagsticks were cheap looking.

Upon return outside staff continued their rudness and unproffesionalism.

I won't be back to "Garbage Links"

Go to Middle Bay...10x better course and much less money.

I Recently was double charged on my credit card playing this course. Obviously it was chipped twice

as the guy said it didnt go thru the 1st time and the receipt given was a single charge.

When i called, Justin said i had to wait a week as it will correct itself. When i called again and justin

said i probably paid for someone else by mistake(which i did not) he referred me to Christy who said her hands were tied as the receipts are in already,

Very unfair and terrible customer etiquette.

I will never play here again just out of principal. This could have been cleared the first day very simply.

The course had some interesting holes, with lots of elevation changes. In particular there were several holes with split fairways allowing you to choose how to approach the greens. The greens were in excellent shape given we played late in the fall.However, there were some drawbacks as well. The starter was not friendly and did not make you feel welcome, which may be part of the "New York attitude" but still, it was offsetting. The range mats were quite worn out and in bad shape. Finally, the pace of play was slow and we basically finished in the dark.

I recently played the championship course at Harbor Links, a course I've played many times before. We had about an hour delay for frost and my only knock from that was that they didn't do shotgun starts to stagger the holes for everyone waiting. I realize it was a weekend and they wanted to see how many they could get out during the day but would have been a nice option for everyone who sat around waiting to tee off in the cold. The course is a challenge and was in great shape for early November. In season, the out of town rates are bit steep for how slowly it plays on weekends but there's not many public courses that are on par with the maintenance done here.

Greens fees are expensive for non-residents but the conditions from tee to green are top notch for a public track and maybe slightly below a private club. It's also extremely tough to walk so when you factor in the cart and their complimentary lunch special, its actually a fair deal. The course layout is very interesting with no two holes being the same and extremely fast and undulating greens. Our group had a nice pace given we played on a weekday, but I can see the layout causing some pace issues for weekend crowds, although we did see rangers driving around. Highly recommended for those willing to splurge a bit.

The people who handle the cart setup are some of the worst people I have ever interacted with. I normally don't care about the staff if the course is fun, but I haven't seen people like this at a golf course before. They are just looking for something to get mad at. Not sure if they have some sort of mental problems. They yelled at us for moving the cart a few feet and then yelled at us for going to the tee, even though they told us to. It surprising any course staff would speak to customers that way.

It's really unfortunate because the course is really a great course. The layout is a lot of fun and greens are in great shape. If you are a low handicapper (below 5), you will have a great time if you play the back tees. The course has some really fun tee shots.

If you can somehow sneak past the trolls at the carts and not get yelled at, make sure to play before 10 am. It gets really slow in the afternoon. We saw a hole behind us with 4 groups on the tee..

Played there in a Golf Channel Am Tour event and the greens were absolutely perfect. Flat, true and quick.

The rest of the track was well manicured.

This is a fun course. Shotmaking rewarded!

This is a follow-up review with pictures added. Harbor Links is a fun course in a nice setting. It has a good number of memorable holes many due to design features such as split fairways with risk-reward options, good fairway movement and elevations, green settings, and holes routed through and around environmental areas. The course elevates up a cliffside and back down so it is not amenable to walking. The greens are very good, fairly large on most holes with ridges and slopes. The course does play too penal on many holes because the rough is so thick that you can see where your ball lands and still not find it when you get to the spot. Miss a fairway by a few yards or be just off the green in the rough and you will have a tough time. They seem to be putting in a first cut on some holes that would help.

Considering it’s a Hurdzan/Fry designed course (Erin Hills) the course layout is fun and interesting with lots of elevation changes and undulating greens. The course was a little wet from rain the night before but overall, conditions were very good. I have always kept an eye on this course but hesitated due to high greens fees and reviews of poor pace of play. I finally played this course during an outing which ended up taking 5 hours but it was expected going in. Although the outing fee was slightly cheaper than the standard rate, the price was offset by complimentary breakfast, lunch, beverages and range balls. Although I enjoyed my round, I don’t think I would recommend it for the $100+ greens fee unless money isn’t an issue and you play it on a weekday to avoid a long round.

Horrible service we show up for our tee time on the minute and they apologize and tell us they sent someone out and went be able to get us out for another hour and a half. Due to the fact we weren't in a hour early to check in. Yet we were in the parking lot 5 mins early debating breakfast. I called made a reservation I wasn't told about this policy and received a confirmation email where I read all the fine print and it wasn't mentioned. For the north shore of long island the service her belongs in the slums of Harlem. Avoid!!!!!!

When paying for round I explained (1 hour before tee time) I had 3 players there and paid, my fourth had an emergency. Man behind counter ran off two golfers attempting to rent clubs and play, asked if they had played golf before and said if you haven’t you shouldn’t play here. My fourth had an emergency couldn’t make it I paid cash 100 for my round and saw an 85.00 cancellation fee on my account this morning. Spoke to Justin business manager explained situation and he said that’s our policy didn’t attempt to compensate me in anyway , so I paid 185 for a 5.5 hour round and a rude staff, staty away from this course , money hungry and rude.

This is a lovely course that's typically maintained in very good condition but I don't recommend it until they do something about the pace of play. I've played twice this year and each time bagged it after the first 9 holes took over 3 hours. I played the course several times late last season and didn't have this problem. They need some combination of moving off 8 minute tee times on weekends, more aggressive marshaling and making sure people play the appropriate tees.

They seem to have so many employees on staff seemingly doing nothing. Usually 2 starters hanging around on the first tee, and at the same time theres no ranger on the course trying to maintain pace of play.

Slow paced w blind shots and absurdly thick 1st and 2nd cut of rough. Its not the us open fellas. Its such a great layout w sloping difficult greens no need to Oakmont the course. Its tougher than its slope and rating. Too many blind shots for me. 9Th hole is not a good hole w driving range balls on it. Too close to the range. The 10th is imo an unfair test. Other than 9 and 10 its a fun track. Cut the rough we aren't PGA tour pros here. Price is ridiculous at $115

I've played harbor links probably 15-20 times, and the pace of play just continues to get worse and worse. They jam everyone in and force you to play with another group if your less than 4 people. The staff there is just a bunch of older guys that love to keep you waiting, especially at the first tee. They like to verify your handicap is below 10, otherwise your not allowed to play the back (Green) tees, even though the slope is only 130 from the back. If you enjoy waiting on every shot, play this course.

This is a very nice layout, with variety and greens with interesting slope and contours. Several holes have good options off the tees, with split fairways or blind hazards. The course is very difficult to walk given the big elevations on many of the green to tee transitions. The main issue is that the rough is so thick that you could be five feet off the fairway and not find your ball. They should widen the first cut more to increase the fun factor. It can really frustrate and slow the pace of play. I would give 3-1/2 stars. The facilities are nice and the staff very helpful.