The Links at Cherry Creek

The Links at Cherry Creek is the original 18 at the Cherry Creek complex in Riverhead, on the stretch of Long Island where the East End farm country begins. It is a public, daily-fee course, open to anyone, and it shares a clubhouse and practice area with its sister layout, The Woods at Cherry Creek.

The Links plays long. Built across open former farmland with few trees to stop the wind, it is one of the longest public courses on Long Island from the back tees, and the par 72 routing gives you room off the tee in exchange for long approach shots. Fairways are generous, mounding frames most holes, and water and wetland come into play on a handful of them. The par 5s are the talking point: they are genuinely long, and a couple of them reward laying up over a hero second.

Conditions are solid daily-fee standard rather than tournament firm, with greens that run at a fair medium pace. Walking is allowed and the ground is mostly flat, though the length makes it a real walk. Carts, range, food and a full bar are on site, and the property does heavy wedding and outing business, so weekend mornings fill up early and pace can stretch.

Worth a round if you like swinging hard, playing in wind, and finishing under $100 in shoulder season. Golfers who prefer a tight, tree-lined test will get on better at The Woods next door.