Cherry Creek - The Woods Course

Was a weekend round and caught behind an outing so pace was slow today. The staff is not only super friendly, course conditions are usually kept up well at this track. With an outing playing in front, it seems not many of them replace divots and fix ball marks. Just about on every tee box I found a lit cigarette burning the grass so it's obviously the group that was playing ahead. Despite the golf outing, it was still enjoyable. Driving from NYC from I usually look to play 36 holes on both the Woods and Links course but brutal pace and hot humid weather prevented us playing another 18. Nevertheless playing both courses is worth the drive out the eastern part of the island.

Played this course at least 7 times every year since 2010. I love this course and I hope everybody would love it too.

The greens are beautiful and the layout is challenging.

A 4 hour and 40 minute round seems even longer when you are playing a threesome behind a slow foursome. To their credit the course staff warned us before playing that there were four or five groups out there that might not have played before. The Woods is appropriately named in that almost every hole is lined with trees. They could take out half the trees and no one would notice. The fairways were pretty good considering all the trees. The greens good running at 7 to 8 on the stimp meter.

All said it will never be my first (or fourth) choice to play again.

Challenging tree lines, this course is a mental grind. Have to play smart off the tee with narrow wooded fairways.

Use this course once a month as a test on how good my game really is, Linx courses allow you to shoot well even if not hitting the ball clean off the tee, NOt the woods!

Best public course on Long Island

Narrow fairways, just relax and drive the ball straight as you can.

Played this course yesterday. Beautiful course, in excellent condition. Humbling - you must be straight. The name doesn't lie. Woods surround every hole. Staff friendly, good value.

Always love playing this course .....greens in great shape for a public course. Very nice chipping and pitching area.

I have played this course many times and it is always in great shape, except my most recent round here. I booked a twosome on golf now for a great price early in the morning before an outing. I am far from new at golf and totally understand courses need to be maintained and fertilized but this was unacceptable. The greens, fairways, and rough were covered in a large, granular fertilizer that when you putted the ball on the damp surface it covered your ball, club, hands, etc., Every time we marked our putt the chemicals were on our hands, balls, towels, clubs. My point is be smart about when you lay down chemicals, the course should have been closed for the morning and watered AFTER the fertilizer was put down.

I had never played at The Woods before but had heard that it was a nice course. So when my family told me that they were taking me out to play golf on Father's Day and to pick a course, I decided to try it.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect and the course was beautiful. It is in great shape and fairly challenging. Actually it's as challenging as I want a course to be. If it's too tough a course, it frequently isn't a pleasant experience. I play for the enjoyment, and The Woods was perfect. We'll play there again and also try the Links at Cherry Creek across the road.

Big fan of the Woods. Very good challenge for all skill levels.

But after teeing off at 10am should there be a wait at every tee box? A wait with a group sometimes 2 groups waiting.

All the ranger did was drive around and blame it on Fathers Day.

It felt like extra groups were $$$queezed in with the excuse already built in...

Oh well. Quite the long Fathers Day round.

Beautiful shot makers course. Probably the tightest fairways I ever played. Placing your tee shot is a must. Course conditions were beautiful and the staff was friendly as can be. Being so secluded it has that country club feel while playing.

This course will make you learn to hit the ball straight!

If it were by itself and private, this North Ford gem, The Woods at Cherry Creek, would command top dollar membership dues. Instead, it is the Cinderella to her more heavily played step-sister, The Links at Cherry Creek. But, like Cinderella, she is really the princess of the ball. This tight and challenging track demands driving accuracy, a well-tuned putter, and the ability to take advantage of birdie holes and to minimize the damage on its more challenging ones. The Woods name is deserving, and the reason I'm sure it doesn't get the play it deserves is that almost every hole brings thick tree rows, often on both sides of the fairway. where a miss leaves you little chance at anything but a punch-out. The Woods starts off rather unassumingly; a straight-forward par 4 opener that requires less than driver and a good chance at opening birdie. The second hole is a par three to a big green with water in front that usually does not come into play as much as the tree which guards the right side of the hole. Three is a lengthy and challenging par 5, with woods right and woods and OB left, along with well-placed fairway bunkers. 4 and 5 are short par fours that command accuracy, not length. 6 is an uphill par 3 to a large green. The course then really kicks in. 7, 8 and 9, par 4, 3 and 5 respectively, require expert ball striking and par is good on all of these holes. The shortish 10 and 11, both par 4's, require well placed drives, which will leave you a chance at birdie. 12 through 15 are extremely hard holes. 12 is the hardest par four on the course and an absolute beast in terms of length. Don't let the 18 handicap on 13 fool you on this long par 3 to a two-tiered green. 14 and 15 are each a lengthy par 4 and 5. 16 for the long hitters a driveable par 4 to a huge green that slopes upward. 17 is a great par 3 and a chance at birdie. 18 is a great finishing par 5, commanding length and accuracy to a back to front sloping green.

Although only 6500 or so yards from the back tees, it feels longer. The green undulate and three putts are everywhere. The greens tend to be fairly trapped, The course is always in excellent condition, although did suffer a burnout a few hot summers ago. There is a halfway house that serves basic fare. The price is very good as is the pace of play. The 19th hole is very nice, good drinks. friendly staff, good food, a nice patio [weather permitting] which offers nice happy hour and Friday specials worth the trip itself. The course has a putting green and well-hidden short game area; if you want to hit the range, you need to hop across the street to The Links. I think this course is really fun and I always enjoy its challenges.

loved playing there will go back it was a perfect day

I have played this course many times. I was here the day after playing a beautifully manicured pvt. club in Tenafly, so maybe that colored my opinion a bit. The short of it is that this course gets a lot of play, the greens are in VG, but not great shape. Tee boxes need work. Fairways are well groomed. It's by no means a boring track...you will have fun at most any level and the staff are very pleasant. It's worth the trip out to Riverhead!!!

We enjoyed playing the woods.
Little narrow but made us play smart.

Wow, this course is great! Tee boxes in great shape, greens, fairways, sand traps all follow suit. But let me say this, if you are not hitting the ball straight, go elsewhere. If trees lining each side of a narrow fairway get in your head, play elsewhere! Basically, if you are a novice golfer, this course in not for you! I've played the montauk downs quite a bit, which is a tough course, and this course is harder! Once again, this course rocks, as long as you're a decent golfer!
Go across the street (cherry creek) for a more wide open, minimal ball loss experience.

No particular hole on this course stood out for me, but it was an enjoyable round to be sure. The course was in very good condition, and the staff was very accomodating. I do enjoy playing the Par 73 Links Course that is across the street much more.

Course was in great shape, not crowded & the staff was very freindly. Hve played the links across the street a few times which is much more forgiving. Would out a doubt play there again.

Hard to find a better course to play in the summer. The trees kept me in the shade all day. Not sure if that's true for people who play from fairway. Me n my guys were in shade all day!