Marine Park Golf Course

Overview: At the edge of Jamaica Bay in southern Brooklyn, Marine Park presents a public links-style layout of 18 holes. The official course page presents it as a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design from 1964, while the current USGA rating record lists the blue setup at par 72 and 6,833 yards. With few trees, open berms, quick greens and wind coming off the bay, the course plays differently from the more enclosed parkland layouts elsewhere in New York City. Water views and the broad coastal setting are part of the challenge, not just scenery.

History: Marine Park was developed as one of New York City’s major public golf facilities in the mid-1960s. The course’s official history credits Jones with the design, and the park’s current operation continues that original municipal-golf purpose with year-round public play, a driving range and practice areas. A separate Marine Park Alliance history dates the golf-course opening to 1963, one year before the official course page’s design date. Because the sources distinguish opening from design, this profile keeps the stored course year at 1964 and records the earlier date as a source-level nuance.

Did You Know? The course has a par-35 front nine and a par-37 back nine. That split helps explain why the full round can feel more demanding late in the day, when the bay wind is often part of the decision on the longer closing holes.