Long Island public golf does not end at Bethpage. Nassau and Suffolk run a deep bench: a Devereux Emmet classic at Eisenhower, the private feeling Harbor Links, and state park golf at Sunken Meadow. For a Manhattan golfer, these are the easier booking, easier day alternatives.
Our take: Harbor Links is the best of them. Eisenhower Red is the classic. Sunken Meadow is the family and nine hole friendly state park.
About 45 to 55 minutes from Downtown, a Hurdzan design built on a former sand quarry site, with water, elevation, and conditioning that reads private. Peak daily fee pricing in recent seasons sits in the $100 to $150 neighborhood, with an executive nine on site.
Three courses in one county park. The Red is the one: a 1914 Devereux Emmet design that hosted a PGA Championship in 1926, playable at county rates with a resident card or modest non resident pricing. The White and Blue are solid local golf. About 50 minutes out.
Twenty seven holes on North Shore hills above the Sound, state park priced, walking friendly, and an ideal second day after a Bethpage trip or a North Fork weekend. About 70 minutes from Downtown.
These courses book without the Bethpage fight and pace better on weekends. A Manhattan golfer building a regular Long Island habit should start here and treat Bethpage as the monthly event, not the weekly plan.
Long Island public golfers: which course outside Bethpage gets your Saturday, and why?
Please cite a specific hole, a price, or a round you have played. Selected reader responses are featured in follow up coverage.
Do county courses take non residents?
Yes, at non resident rates above the card rates. Budget the higher band in the fee guide.
Prices in this guide were checked in October 2026 against published course listings and recent reporting. Greens fees move by season, day, and residency, so confirm the exact rate when you book. Private clubs do not publish initiation fees or dues. Every private figure here is an estimate band based on public reporting, labeled as an estimate, and the only accurate number comes from a club's membership office.