Golf in New York City

The 27 holes that comprise Centennial Golf Club cover 340 woodland acres of pristine greenery, earning the Larry Nelson-designed course a difficult to achieve rating of Outstanding from Golf Digest. The nine-hole slates—dubbed the Fairways, the Lakes, and the Meadows—are characterized by frequent undulations and numerous encounters with intersecting waterways. Evergreens line the fairways on most holes, stretching out their needles to snag errant shots and raise golf balls as adopted pine cones in the family tree.

Centennial Golf Club's sprawling facilities include state-of-the-art instruction, practice facilities, and the Grille Room with indoor and outdoor dining spaces.

Course at a Glance:

• Three 9-hole, par 36 courses

• Maximum 18-hole length of 7,133 yards

• Maximum 18-hole course rating of 75.3

• Maximum 18-hole slope rating of 145

• Four sets of tees per hole

• Scorecard

Horsham Family Golf takes up more than 16 acres of space where players of all ages can fine-tune their skills. Guests can practice putting at a gold-rush-themed 18-hole mini-golf course, aiming for holes in one while avoiding dips and obstacles. The facility also houses a driving range equipped with laser-precise distance markers and buckets of high-quality golf balls yearning to feel the wind in their dimples. 28 of the 50 golf stalls are private and remain lit for evening play, and a new practice bunker challenges golfers with a large sand trap. After practice, guests can visit the onsite pro shop, where they can stock up on golfing accessories or purchase a set of custom-fitted clubs.

PGA-certified instructor Michael Lanzetta imparts golf wisdom from the expansive practice facilities at Mansfield Golf and Learning Center, which he has owned and operated since 1997. The passionate pedagogue sleeps on a bed of neatly mown bentgrass to maintain the pin-hunting skills that led him to victory in more than 100 competitive tournaments, including the New Jersey Head Professional Championship. A simple teaching philosophy of improving clients’ ball-striking fundamentals is the driving force of every lesson, during which pupils crush orbs from a 36-stall, 14-acre driving range, which features covered, enclosed stalls to offset meteorological uncertainties. Lessons may also include the use of video analysis, which plays back shots in slow motion and introduces players to a digital doppelgänger soon to be their inferior. Mansfield Golf also showcases a pro shop that carries golf equipment from top brands and offers club fitting, repair, and regripping services.

Though it's often said that the game of golf requires a lifetime to master, it seems the world neglected to mention that to Philadelphia Golf Lessons’ maestro Adz Kozlowski. Adz's ascendancy to membership in the PGA of America required only eight years; he first started golfing as a 14-year-old and won his pro certification by the age of 22, beginning a 20-year-and-running career as a reputed instructor with an impressive competitive resume, as evidenced by the sizzling round of 67 he carded at a 2006 New Jersey pro invitational.

Adz focuses on making the most of his pupils' natural swing motions by placing emphasis on the "impact position," or the orientation of the clubhead as it makes contact with golf balls or neighbors' flowerbeds. Adz has also created two golf instructional DVDs—"'N Synch Golf" and "Stroke Savers Golf"—which cover concepts such as how to adapt a smoother swing tempo, tackle every type of short-game shot, and hypnotize fellow golfers into giving pupils a gimme on any putt within 10 feet of the cup.