Olde Vine comes to Baiting Hollow's rescue

To borrow a term that golfers use when they make par after having been in a bunker, this looks like a save. Who knows what would have happened to the Baiting Hollow Club had the principal owner of Olde Vine Golf Club in Riverhead not bought it?

George Heinlein recently teamed with Neil Rego, one of Baiting Hollow's mortgage holders, to buy the financially troubled course on Sound Avenue, setting up an agreement that will allow members of each private club to play at the other one. "At a time when a lot of clubs are losing money, this is a way to fortify the bottom line of both," said Ed Wankel, Olde Vine's general manager.

For Olde Vine, the arrangement is seen as a bonus for current members and a way to attract new ones. For Baiting Hollow, it is a lifeline. "The two of them," Wankel said, referring to Heinlein and Rego, "were able to save that club."

Using another golf term, the investment goes against the grain. Others are finding the golf industry precarious. The Holiday Organization this year sold the three Hamlet golf courses and last week received zoning approval from the Brookhaven Town board to build a housing subdivision on the former Links at Shirley, which Holiday bought and closed before last season. The National Golf Rounds Played Report showed that business in the New York-New Jersey region is down 10 percent from last year.

Still, Baiting Hollow's new owners believe in golf's future, as long as the right pieces are in place. "These days, courses have to be in really great condition, they have to offer affordable prices and they have to have something for everyone," Wankel said. "We've embarked on a marketing and advertising campaign and the response has been enormous."

Competition and conversation

Brothers Paul and Greg Ilg of the host club won the Long Island Net Team Championship at Island Hills Monday, shooting 11-under-par 60 . . . Jadie Detolla and Linda Bucario of Port Jefferson Country Club last week won the Metropolitan Women's Net Team title with a 12-under-par 62 at Hempstead Golf & Country Club . . . Andy Anello of the Nassau Players Club won the Long Island Senior Amateur last week with a 1-over-par 73 at Old Westbury.

Jim Liu of Smithtown, a junior at the Knox School, and Annie Park of Levittown, a junior at MacArthur High School, were named Rolex Junior All-Americans by the American Junior Golf Association.

Lee Weitzman made two holes-in-one in a week earlier this month at Woodmere Country Club. He did it on the 153-yard third with a 7-iron and the 183-yard 12th with a 3-wood. He had also aced No. 3 in May . . . Jerry Berman made a hole-in-one on the 165-yard 13th at Tam O'Shanter with a 5-iron -- 18 years after he aced that same hole.

Elizabeth Wintenberger, who has managed state parks on Long Island for the past 20 years, has succeeded Dave Catalano as head of Bethpage State Park. Catalano, having guided the Black Course through two U.S. Opens, has retired out east. He will be an adviser to Sebonac Golf Club as it prepares for the 2013 U.S. Women's Open.

On the 2012 calendar: Along with The Barclays at Bethpage Black in August, Long Island will host the Ike, one of the country's most prestigious amateur tournaments. It is scheduled for June at Atlantic Golf Club in Bridgehampton. And all might not be lost at the Links at Shirley. Brookhaven Councilman Daniel Panico said that one possible use for 100 acres of town-owned open space in the development is a municipal golf course.