Login / Register
Sandy Pond Links is a public nine-hole par-3 golf course on Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead, New York. The course dates to about 1970 and has operated in Riverhead for more than half a century. A current 18Birdies scorecard lists the Blue layout at 1,085 yards, par 27, with holes ranging from 85 to 169 yards and a nine-hole rating of 26.2 and slope of 77.
Brian Stark and Earl Truland acquired the property in 2023, renamed the former Sandy Pond Golf Course as Sandy Pond Links and began restoring greens that had contracted over time. Additional work has included irrigation improvements and a 2024 rerouting that changed the starting and finishing holes. The property also includes Sandy Falls, an 18-hole miniature-golf course that opened in September 2024.
The course is a 9-hole golf course. It plays to par 27, 1,085 yards, course rating 26.2 and slope rating 77. The course originally opened in 1970. It is open to the public. On-site facilities include 9-Hole Par-3 Course, 18-Hole Mini Golf, Club Hire, Golf Lessons.
The small par-3 course has been part of Riverhead's golf landscape for more than half a century. Golf course directories consistently give 1970 as its year of construction, while local reporting in 2023 described Sandy Pond as a Riverhead mainstay for more than 50 years. The golf course formed part of a 36-acre property where the Buckholz family also operated Riverhead Cement Block.
That property was divided in 2016, leaving the golf course on an approximately 18-acre parcel.
A major change came during the 2022-23 offseason, when local businessmen Brian Stark and Earl Truland acquired the course and prepared to reopen it as Sandy Pond Links. Stark had grown up near the property and worked at the course when he was young. Their early work included refreshing the existing clubhouse, improving course conditioning, clearing portions of the property and restoring greens toward their earlier dimensions after years of shrinkage.
The course reopened under the Sandy Pond Links name in March 2023. Further improvements followed. By September 2024, irrigation work and green restoration were continuing, while the golf course had been rerouted so that players began on the former ninth hole and finished on what had previously been the eighth.
An adjacent 18-hole miniature-golf course, Sandy Falls Mini Golf, opened in September 2024. In February 2025, Riverhead approved a special permit connected with further clubhouse and property development.
Sandy Pond Links remains a public nine-hole par-3 course at 1521 Roanoke Avenue. The official club website does not operate a tee-time system: golfers play on a first-come, first-served basis, with callers advised to check weekend wait times. The course operates from sunrise to sunset and uses an honor-payment system when the clubhouse is unattended.
There is no driving range and the club states that it does not provide motorized carts. The property now combines the traditional par-3 golf course with Sandy Falls, its separate 18-hole miniature-golf facility.
No conditions reported yet
to report conditions
Help other golfers by uploading photos from your visit.
| Front 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
| Yards | 85 | 106 | 121 | 169 | 89 | 112 | 145 | 105 | 153 | 1085 |
| Index | 7 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 1 | - |
Help other golfers by sharing what the course was like when you played.
