Sag Harbor Golf Club: Locals Outplay State

It's official. The Sag Harbor Golf Club will continue to operate the state-owned nine-hole course at Barcelona Neck. The club's board of directors, who have been negotiating with representatives of the State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, sent a signed contract to run the course to Albany on Monday.

Under the deal, family memberships will be phased out, but individuals will still be able to purchase a card for unlimited play for $240. Daily greens fees will remain $10 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. While the club used to allow unlimited play, a greens fee will now be good for 18 holes.

State Relented

The club will not be required to pay rent, but it must turn over its profits at the end of the year to the state.

Although the current contract expires at the end of the year, Marshall Garypie, the club's president, said the state "has been receptive to us working on a five or 10-year deal." He said he expected negotiations to begin shortly after Labor Day.

The golf course has been run for years by the nonprofit club. However, earlier this year, the State Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the Barcelona Neck preserve, announced that it was going to upgrade the club, seek new management, and turn the club over to the Department of Parks.

Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. and other East End public officials came to the club's defense and helped broker the new deal. The state has finally realized the wisdom of leaving the club's management in local hands, according to Mr. Garypie

"They got a lot of grief up in Albany," he said. "They don't want to go through that again, just as we don't."