"Backbreaker Sundays"
part of Dyker Beach's
Brooklyn attitude
By Chris Baldwin,
Senior Writer
BROOKLYN (April 14, 2005) - Eddie Kwan felt like he was serving
his golf ball to Andy Roddick. The ball kept coming back to him,
harder and harder, at worse and worse angles. Not exactly what you
expect in a leisurely Sunday round.
As the ball rolled back off the fifth green yet again, Kwan could only
shake his head. Everyone knows life, and especially golf, isn't fair,
but this was getting ridiculous. Heck, it had passed ridiculous three
putts ago.
"I don't know what's up with these pin placements today," Kwan said.
"Crazy. Just crazy."
Kwan might as well have been one of Paul Newman's marks in The
Color of
Money. For he had unwittingly stumbled upon Dyker Beach Golf Course's
Backbreaker Sundays. This is when the Brooklyn institution places its flags
in the
most difficult spots possible on the greens.
Some Dyker Beach regulars live to putt on Sundays. Others avoid the
backbreakers at all costs. "All right, I'll clean out the garage, honey.
Just don't
make me play golf."
And then are the golfers like Kwan who have no idea what they're
getting
into.
"I've played here a number of times before during the week and
it's never
been like this," Kwan said, shaking his head.
Ah, the innocents. Dyker Beach changes its pin placements every day
to
reduce the wear and tear on one of the busiest golf courses in the
country.
There is a population of eight million in New York's five boroughs.
Dyker
Beach is one of the few real courses that's a relatively easy subway
ride
away from many of them. The math is easy, adding up to 80,000 rounds
played per year on average (this in a northern climate where it's
often not
possible to play year round).
Every
golf nut and his buddy have been here, building up a storied past fit
for both the History Channel and Court TV. The late baseball Hall-of-Famer
Pee Wee Reese used to be a regular, back when he was playing for the nearby
Brooklyn Dodgers. In the one infamous 1990s stretch, the FBI became a
regular, searching for bodies around the sixth hole.
Yes, you too could be raking over Jimmy Hoffa's cousin!
Of course that was back when the neighborhood was a little
different than it
is now. There was a time in the late 1980s and early 1990s when burnt-out
automobile
shells used to end up on the fairways over night. Hey, there are not a lot
of places
as conveniently dark and empty to dump big problems in Brooklyn as a golf
course at
night.
It has all changed now though. A cleaned up neighborhood and a new
management
company (the giant American Golf Corporation) have allowed a dedicated
staff to
return Dyker Beach to its glory days. Now it is one of the most coveted
rounds in the
city, a place where sanitation workers and stock brokers alike get in their
golf fix.
Charles Pepio has been playing here long enough and well enough to have
collected holes-in-one on three of the four par 3s. Retired now,
he lives across the street and still chases his Moby Dick -- that
fourth par 3 -- two to three times a week.
"I've been on this golf course for 35 years and I still see some
of the same
faces,'' Pepio said. "These guys don't ever leave."
Dyker Beach isn't paradise, but it easy to see how it can get a
hold over a
golfer. It is a course without gimmicks or a fancy PR campaign behind it.
It just
presents decent challenges in a honest, sometimes surprisingly picturesque
fashion.
On a clear day, you can see the Verrazano Bridge -- the most
underrated of
New York's suspension bridges -- from the 7th hole. It is sight to behold,
but this
is not the place to get distracted. Not if you're looking to post a decent
number.
The seventh is a 423-yard, uphill par-4 that can play with your mind.
Shooting up the
hill adds an extra 20-30 yards in distance that you will not find on any
yardage
marker.
After the beauty of the Verrazano on the 7th, you get the view of
an ugly
highway sign on the eighth. This is how it goes at Dyker Beach. Whenever
you forget
you are in midst of one of the largest cities in the world, and you can
forget on a
few holes, reality is waiting around the bend.
This is not a course with a particular theme. The long-forgotten
architect
simply made use of the natural surroundings, which are surprisingly varied
for a city
course. So on the 461-yard par-5 15th, you are suddenly battling a long
fairway
filled with hills and dips.
The closing stretch is the strength of Dyker Beach, particularly the
211-yard, par-3 17th, which has left more than one golfer feeling like
Captain Ahab.
And not chasing a hole-in-one. Chasing par. It hugs the trees on the left
side off
the tee, forcing a golfer to go right immediately. Then, it is an uphill
approach to
an elevated green guarded by decent-sized bunkers on both sides. When the
pin is
placed on the edge of green, like it is on this Backbreaker Sunday, survive
and move
on is the optimum strategy.
"The 17th is one little tough par 3," said Matt Glynn of Brooklyn,
one of the
golfers who relishes Backbreaker Sundays. "Actually it's not that little
for a par
3."
Dyker Beach can surprise you like that. You expect the course to
be urban.
You expect it to be run down. Instead you get a track with plenty of trees and
extremely playable fairway lies. The course superintendent is known for
arriving at 4
most mornings and staying till 6 at night, the better to battle the effect
of all
those feet.
"Most of the people who do work here are golfers," Mike Spano of the
operations department said. "And they keep it in the condition that they
would want
to play it. It's very important to them."
Dyker Beach is very important to a lot of people, a rare golf
oasis in a sea
of New York concrete, a character from the very beginning.
The
Verdict
Dyker Beach may be the best course you find on a subway ride from
New York
City. It is certainly the best with the least attitude. Its staff is largely a
collection of regular working guys retired from other jobs and it shows.
These aren't
golf industry insiders. They're just golf fanatics. They are here because
they love
the game, they love their course and they want everyone else to enjoy it.
On a non-Backbreaker Sunday, Dyker Beach isn't the most
challenging course.
It measures only 6,538 yards from the back tees and many of its holes are
straightforward. Still it is an enjoyable, honest test of golf. This isn't
the place
to go if you have to wowed by vistas during your golf round. There is nothing
designer about it, no manufactured ponds or unnatural-looking bunkers.
It almost comes across as stripped down golf in today's age. With
so many
marquee courses that look better in a postcard than they play though, it
can make for
a very refreshing change. There is something pure about this little course,
something
worth experiencing.
Places to eat
Brooklyn offers almost as many great dining options as Manhattan.
A Table
((718) 935-9121) is an unpretentious little French bistro with high
ceilings, long
wooden tables and tasty traditional dishes. For something with a little
more daring
kitchen, though still a low-key scene, The Grocery ((718) 596-3335) offers
a menu
that changes often and an extensive wine list.
Places to stay
The Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge ((718) 246-7000) is a sleek, glass-tower
branch of the chain in the shadows of the Brooklyn Bridge. Overall, the
hotels in Brooklyn are much cheaper on average than similar accommodations
in Manhattan and if you have a car, it's not a far trip. Avoid the Lincoln
Plaza Hotel which combines a questionable neighborhood with questionable
service.
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management. The information in this story was accurate at the time of publication. All contact information, directions and prices should be confirmed directly with the golf course or resort before making reservations and/or travel plans.
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