Aiming to get Montauk Downs ranked again

Erik Boland

August 16, 2007

Kevin Smith recognized the long-shot nature of what he was proposing.

"Is it a pipe dream?" Smith, Montauk Downs' head professional the last 18 years, said. "Maybe, but I think the golf course is that good."

Smith's aim for Montauk Downs is to one day be recognized in Golf Digest's Top 100. It seems a stretch but in a forgotten piece of Long Island golf history, Montauk had been on such Top 100 lists before.

That was shortly after Robert Trent Jones was hired by the state in 1968 to redo Montauk's original 1927 design by the mostly unremembered English architect, Captain H.C. Tippett.

Jones' son Rees - aka "The Open Doctor" - did most of the redesign work in 1968 and he is back at Montauk again.

Since 2003 Rees Jones, Inc. has been working pro bono on a renovation plan for Montauk. It is not an overhaul but more a tweaking of a course that experienced a slow deterioration after its glory days of the late '60s and early '70s.

"We're trying to recapture the original Robert Trent Jones style," Bryce Swanson, a senior designer at Rees Jones, Inc., said yesterday from the company's Montclair, N.J. office. "It's like going into an old house or repairing an old car. You just don't tear it apart."

Reached in Salt Lake City, Jones said Montauk had long been special to him.

"I was there at least once a week when I was working with my dad," said Jones, whose designs include the Bridge and Atlantic Golf Club in the Bridgehampton hills, as well as the renovation of Bethpage Black in advance of the 2002 U.S. Open. "It's always been very close to my heart and it's what got me going out to Long Island."

Jones, who owns a home in East Hampton, said the primary work that has and will be done are on the course's bunkers and tee boxes. An example is the recently completed par-3 12th - considered by many Montauk's signature hole - where two new tee boxes were added and the right and left-front bunkers have been extended.

"We're trying to put the character back into the bunkers, and we're adding a little distance on the tees so the course plays like it did when we originally designed it," Jones said.

The renovation work is being handled in-house by Montauk's talented staff, led by superintendent Charlie Reidlinger. You could say Reidlinger comes from good golf stock, working for Bethpage's Craig Currier before moving to Montauk in 2002. It is no surprise that the condition of the course has improved yearly under his watch.

"Compared to what it was in '02, I'm definitely happy with the progress we've made," Reidlinger said.

The progress has been deliberate: about two holes a year completed since 2003 and Smith said the entire job should be finished in another four years. The renovation is expected to cost in the range of $3 million to $4 million, a combination of public and private money. Since 2003 Montauk has hosted a fund-raising golf tournament/gala, with the yearly event raising, including $90,000 last weekend, $475,000.

"It's just a really unique situation with the public and private sector coming together for something like this," Smith said.

Unique has always been an accurate description of Montauk Downs, an "Eastern End" course in every sense as Rt. 27 ends not far past it. The layout is smack between the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, with winds from both often torturing players and guaranteeing the course never plays the same. Regardless of where it may rank down the road, Montauk is more than capable of hosting a local tournament, a more immediate goal than a ranking.

"We'd like the opportunity," Smith said. "We think the golf course is getting to the stage where it can start hosting something. People will be real impressed with what they see."

Today's tip

Practice with a purpose

"Most people practice poorly. If you are going to practice, do it the right way - with a purpose. Don't be one of those people who get a large bucket of balls and hit, hit, hit. Set goals and make sure each shot counts:

Developing and practicing a great routine will put you in the right start position.

Having a specific target is necessary for scoring.

Play games by changing targets and clubs (visualize the hole and play).

Beating balls is a great stress reliever but it's not going to help your golf game. Practice like you play - with a purpose."

Marjorie Jones

LPGA/PGA professional

Chelsea Piers Golf Academy

Aces

John Clark, Indian Hills CC, sixth hole, 148 yards, 9-iron.

Fred Salzberg, Cedars Golf Course, eighth hole, 125 yards, 8-iron.

Peg Hirtler, Sumpwams Creek, fourth hole, 91 yards, 7-wood.

Jimmy Ross, Inwood CC, 10th hole, 105 yards, pitching wedge.

Howard Greene, Inwood CC, 10th hole, 90 yards, pitching wedge.

Gene Heeter, Swan Lake Golf Club, 16th hole, 120 yards, 9-iron.

Herb Chessler, Glen Cove Golf Course, eighth hole, 115 yards, 8-iron.

Robert Stewart, Wheatley Hills Golf Club,, third hole, 184 yards, 7-wood.

Trish Brophy, Cherry Creek Links Course, second hole, 75 yards, sand wedge.

Denis Byrne, Lido Beach, 15th hole, 170 yards, 5-iron.

Tom Adams, Garden City Golf Club, 18th hole, 165 yards, 5-iron.

Gil Leib, Swan Lake Golf Club, 16th hole, 128 yards, pitching wedge.

Mike Umbrino, Blue Fox Run Golf Course (Avon, Conn.), third hole, 148 yards, 9-wood.

Peter Schultz, Calverton Links, 16th hole, 135 yards, 8-iron.

Bill Sellerberg, Crab Meadow Golf Course, 16th hole, 165 yards, 4-iron.

Mike Lavelle, Wheatley Hills Golf Club, eighth hole, 145 yards, 7-iron.

Erick Nolan, Dix Hills Golf Course, fourth hole, 135 yards, 9-iron.

Win Himsworth, Village Club of Sands Point, 14th hole, 147 yards, 7-iron.

Merril Zusmer, Hamlet Willow Creek, 16th hole, 127 yards, 7-iron.

Michael DeChiaro, Indian Island, eighth hole, 153 yards, 8-iron.

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Items should be directed to Erik Boland in the Newsday sports department. Send faxes to his attention at 631-454-6892, call 631-843-2103 or send e-mail to erik.boland@newsday.com.

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