Van Cortlandt Park Golf Course

A hot buggy day, need bug spray esp. hole 8-11. The 1st tee box much better finally

Van Cortlandt Park is probably the most accessible course around New York City which is great, but also its curse. Many beginners play their first rounds here and pace of play is slow as a result with the ranger (if he's present) simply giving up on the issue.

It's a Muni course, so expectations are naturally limited and it's a decent course for that, but $85 for a round including the cart are steep for what it is. Will likely still return for a practice round some time.

Avoid weekend play, I hear weekdays are faster rounds but very slow, bad golfers and no rangers effectively doing anything to help. Plus poor conditions.

Other than too many broken T's on the tee-boxes, and too many unrepaired divots in on the greens, it is a great course.

I play here at least 3 times a month because I love golf and it's 3 blocks from my home. The course is not in the greatest of shape and is riddled with potholes. The tee boxes are the worst in the city and need serious repair. The food selection is very limited at the turn but the clubhouse has a better selection. There is a good selection of beers both at the turn and at the clubhouse. The staff is somewhat friendly on some days and depends on what side of the bed they got up on. I enjoy playing here and recommend the course if you have 5 - 5-1/2 hours to kill on the weekend because the pace of play is horrendous on the weekend. During the week the course plays a lot faster and you should be done in 4 - 41/2 hours. They do need to update the golf carts as they are always stalling and at times can't make it up the hill without great difficulty. On occasions you can catch a dirt bike or two on the back four holes. Not sure what's going on with the dirt bikes on the course and the parks department really should look into this.

Overall the golf ranks 3 out of 5 and I'm being generous. there are much better golf course nearby such as Lake Isle, Mosholu, and Dunn Woodie. They all have practice facilities and updated golf carts. The food is also better at Lake Isles and Dunn Woodie.