Urban links

Van Cortlandt Golf Course

Fri
When it comes to golfing, a lot of New Yorkers may not be aware of the range (sorry) of courses close to home. Stay in town and you won’t have to worry about packing any bags—except your golf bag. Start after work by warming up at Chelsea Piers (Pier 59, W 23rd St at the Hudson River; 212-336-6400, chelseapiers.com). You can hit balls onto the pier from one of the self-teeing stalls—four tiers’ worth, so the wait is rarely more than an hour—or get in a practice round on one of 51 full-swing simulated championship courses. Closing time isn’t until midnight.

Sat
Hop the Staten Island Ferry and head for LaTourette Park and Golf Course (1001 Richmond Hill Rd, Staten Island; 718-351-1889, nycgovparks.org; take S108 or S105 to S108), and spend the day at its three facilities. First, hit up the Nike Golf Learning Center for a private lesson, if one would behoove you; $50 gets you a 30-minute session, a video recording of your swing and an equipment consultation.

Once you’ve worked up an appetite, try the LaTourette Grill Room(718-351-1889, ext 4) for typical bar food in a not-so-typical setting—the clubhouse is three stories tall and 170 years old. Then it’s tee time (see nycgovparks.org for info; visit nycteetimes.com for booking). LaTourette’s course, which hosts the New York City Amateur Championship, stretches for more than 6,700 yards, with wide-open fairways but small, fast-moving greens that require accurate strokes.

Sun
Squeeze in another round at Van Cortlandt Golf Course (Van Cortlandt Ave South at Bailey Ave, Bronx; 718-543-3114, nycgovparks.org), the nation’s first municipal links. It’s crowded on weekends, so start early. Among the attributes here: two of the city’s longest par-fives, gorgeous historic -locker rooms, a cameo in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, and -alumni such as Babe Ruth and the Three -Stooges.

Top off your weekend with a hearty meal atSt. Andrew’s(120 W 44th St between Broadway and Sixth Ave; 212-840-8413, standrewsnyc.com), named for Scotland’s “home of golf.” Wash down your haggis or shepherd’s pie with a Belhaven Scottish Ale at the oversize oak bar. By late afternoon, you’ll be ready to pay your tab and get home to your bed. Despite the naysayers who think golf’s not much of a sport, the athletes among us know it’s a real workout.—Lisa Freedman