Mar. 7, 2011 --Westchester County boasts six county-owned golf courses. All are open and ready for teeing up.
The courses are Dunwoodie and Sprain Lake, both in Yonkers, Hudson Hills in Ossining, Mohansic in Yorktown Heights, Maple Moor in White Plains and Saxon Woods in Scarsdale.
For information and reservations, go to golf.westchestergov.com or call (914) 995-GOLF.
The recent makeover of Saxon Woods Golf Course, which includes a reconfigured 6th green and 7th tee and improved cart paths, is a highlight of improvements to our courses.
Reservations and Greens Fees
Tee time reservations are available by calling (914) 995-GOLF (4653) or online by clicking the “Online Tee Time Reservations” link under the Quick Links menu at golf.westchestergov.com.
This year’s greens fees include a $1 increase necessary to provide the same quality services and conditions county courses offer. Greens fees for 18 holes with a Westchester County Park Pass are
- weekends and holidays, $33
- weekdays, $29
- seniors and juniors (weekdays only) $22
Greens fees without a park pass are: weekends and holidays, $43; and weekdays, $39.
Twilight, super twilight and nine-hole discounts are available. Twilight golf hours range from 4 to 5 p.m. depending on the season. Super twilight begins about 90 minutes later. Golf cart fees are separate.
The fee structure for Hudson Hills is available online at www.hudsonhillsgolf.com.
Any remaining E-Z Reserve spots will be sold at the courses. The E-Z Reserve program enables golfers with a Westchester County Park Pass to block out a regular starting tee time for a period of 25 weeks.
Saxon Woods
Golfers playing at Saxon Woods will be challenged by the new reconfigured 7th tee, which has been expanded and landscaped at its original location. The 6th green was elevated and relocated to an area where the existing secondary 7th tee was previously located. The result is a more challenging hole that is bunkered on both sides. It is more aesthetically pleasing, drains better and faster, and is easier for staff to maintain.
To help golfers get to where they are going, there is a new continuous cart path with Belgium block curbing throughout the course. Flooding problems have been resolved, with new fairway drains and rebuilt drainage systems at each hole.
The entrance circle and drive were repaved, complete with Belgium block curbing and a new slate walkway to the clubhouse entrance. In addition, the pro shop and practice green area have been beautified with new plantings.
The improvements to Saxon are not only about bricks and mortar. Charles Meola is the new golf pro. Meola was for 12 years a golf professional in the Met Section and the assistant pro at the county’s Mohansic Golf Course in Yorktown Heights and at the Fairview Country Club in Greenwich. Expect to see capital improvements to the pro shop and the practice area.
Meola grew up in Westchester and learned to play the game on Westchester County public courses. The first round he ever played was at Saxon Woods, where he scored 118 for 18 holes. (Since then his game has improved). He has taught the game through more than 5,000 private and group lessons and has won numerous tournaments.
Meola’s pro shop will carry equipment from the industry leaders, including Titleist, Cobra, TaylorMade, Nike, Callaway and Bridgestone. Lessons, club repairs and rentals will be available as well. Physical improvements to the shop include painting, new carpet, new fixtures and new lighting. Improvements to the driving range include new mats, mat dividers, new Caymen balls and target greens.
Maple Moor
Meanwhile, Maple Moor Golf course will welcome a familiar face – golf pro Tom Avezzano, who was named the Metropolitan PGA’s 2010 Public Course Merchandiser of the Year for his transformation of the Sprain Lake pro shop. As part of his contract with Golf Westchester, Avezzano will make Maple Moor pro shop improvements, including modernizing merchandise displays, upgrading lighting, sales counters and carpeting.
Avezzano, who has operated the Sprain golf shop for 35 years, plans to emphasize customer service in the operation of the Maple Moor shop.
Avezzano is a 44-year Class A PGA Professional. In addition to his work at Sprain, he is a golf instructor at the Golf Westchester Hole-in-One Golf Camp, at the Yonkers public schools and at the Chapel School in Bronxville.
The Other Courses
The other returning pros at the Golf Westchester courses this year are Jeff Bohr at Dunwoodie and Max Galloway at Mohansic. They both offer exceptional service, including golf lessons and the very best in golf equipment. The name of the pro at Hudson Hills will be announced later this season.