Golf, Golf, Golf

For a quiet game, golf is generating quite a bit of noise on the South Fork. Sag Harbor golfers are teed off about the state's plan to overhaul the Sag Harbor course. Montauk golfers are teed off over the eternal wait to play at Montauk Downs. Environmentalists are teed off about the plan to put sand traps where salamanders thrive behind the Bridgehampton Winery and, as The Star reports today, at the notion of clearing in Hither Woods to make room for another public course.

Racing fans are teed off that fairways will replace the speedway at the Bridgehampton Race Circuit. And neighbors of the proposed Bistrian family golf course are teed off over threats to their drinking water. The list goes on.

Nothing seems to mobilize neighbors, planners, environmentalists, and lawyers quicker these days than what has become a dreaded planning issue: a proposed golf course. Every other week, or so it seems, a golf course - existing or proposed - makes front-page news. It's not surprising, given the land-use implications, environmental questions, and, on the other side, the recreational desires of the populace.

Golf is in demand, especially affordable public courses. The State Parks Department is responding to pressure in contemplating a new course on public parkland in Montauk, and others proposing golf courses on private land are within their rights to pursue them.

But consider this: In the roughly 40 miles between the Shinnecock Canal and Montauk Point, we already have 11 golf courses, comprising 153 holes. Using a conservative figure of 50 acres for nine holes, that means about 850 acres of land are already devoted to the pursuit of golf.

If all five golf courses being considered come to fruition, the South Fork will boast 225 holes of golf on over 1,250 acres. That may seem a drop in the bucket compared to communities such as Palm Beach, Calif., which has about 50 courses in a 10-mile radius, but for the conservation-minded South Fork, it's a whopper of a statistic.

These figures seem worth keeping in mind as the review of each new course progresses.