Rolling Oaks

Rolling Oaks Country Club

Rolling Oaks is a town Course on Long Island. It is good for early season warm ups, due to it being short. The biggest drawback is that it is narrow. It can turn into a shooting gallery. A funny thing, every time I play here, the same group ends up in front of me, and they let us play through every time. The staff is nice.

The 1st hole is nothing special, a mostly straight par 4. I generally come in with par or bogey. 2 is a nice par 3 but I always end up going the hard way through the woods. I have a mental block with it, and out of how ever many tries, I just can’t par it. The 3rd hole is a nice hole, with a few bunkers to keep everyone honest. It is a good par opportunity. 4 is a chip shot, land it and it is an easy birdie. 5 is a narrow par 3, my score depends on if I get stuck in the trees.

6 is a fun par 5. You can go for the green with your 2nd shot, but there is water and trees, so miss it and it won’t end pretty. I end up there a lot not even going for it, it is a terrible lie. Stay to the left and this is an easy birdie. This is in my opinion the best laid out hole on the course.

Most people hit their tee shots from 7 and 8 at the same time as both tee boxes are together. 7 is an easy par 3, 8 a hilly par 4. Carry the hill and it is an easy shot to the green, come up short and it will cost you a stroke. The shot is blind if you don’t carry the hill. The front 9 closes with another par 3, though it feels longer than the 167 on the scorecard. My usual front nine score is in the high 30’s — low 40’s. This is an easy course.

The back 9 is a lot of the same. 10 and 11 are 2 par 3’s, I usually walk away with a par on each. 12 is the hardest hole according to the score card. Miss the middle of the fair way, there is a bunker on either side, with woods is you miss it. The approach shot has a bunker in front of the green, which I find hard to come out of and hold the green. It isn’t the easiest hole to par.

13 is a nice easy dogleg left. Miss the trap on the right and you’re in good shape. 14 is an easy par 3. 15 is harder. There are a lot of woods if you miss, turning it into a 114 yard debacle. 16 is nothing special. 17 adds a challenge with water in the middle going across the fairway. 18

is the same. 17 and 18 are the most picturesque on the course. I’ve broken 80 here, but it is nothing to brag about. Par is 65.

This is a good beginner course. It isn’t that long, so big hitters will turn it into a pitch and putt. My biggest issue is my slice can punish me on the narrow fairways. The trees are kind of thick, so it can be hard to get out. If you are a scratch golfer, this isn’t worth your time. Attached is a local steak house, so the food is good and the bar is very nice. Covid restrictions have killed the atmosphere, but hopefully it comes back soon.

By Sebastian Wyczawski