Moving to NY in a few weeks for at least 2 years, I had the chance to go there 10 days beforehand, and obviously, like for any trip I take, my golf clubs were looking forward testing all the nearby golf courses.

I had big expectations, Trump Ferry links, Pelham, Chelsea Piers, to name a few! So my practice started in the plane where I had time to read the entire Ben Hogan 5 lessons book.

And after 12 hours travelling, 10pm at night after eating great Pizza at Uncle Paul’s midtown, Uber took us to Chelsea Piers (15 bucks from Grand Central), scared on the way that we might have trouble finding a free slot…

Well… with minus 15°, we were alone and only one of the 3 public floors was open. And 30 dollars later, the automatic machine threw back the special card after 150 balls (off peak hours).

The place itself looks nice, it is like a myth for every golfer that comes in NY to go to Chelsea Piers because not only it is the only place you can hit a golf ball in Manhattan, but it also literally sits on the Hudson river!

So you can see boats passing by, or like that first evening, a big boat parking by full of drunk teenagers making fun of bad golfers!

And inside, like any confortable clubhouse, a little too 90’s in styling I would say. You’ll have time to admire all the great legend pictures!

So what about the real golf courses you’ll ask me? Well not yet, because during the week, I did two things, played at Chelsea Piers almost every night (30$ Uber and 30$ balls card each time), went golf shopping, and played during shopping.

First of all, I found probably the best golf shop in the World, Dan’s Caddies Corner, for every golf aficionado. You’ll find japanese stuff, his dad’s collectors baseballs for sale, antique clubs, old clubs like Callaway’s Big Bertha drivers and woods.

But that’s not all, you’ll find a lot of stuff you don’t find elsewhere such as prank balls that explode, Bettinardi putters, colorful gloves that are always hard to find in Europe in your size, and loads of colorful hats and visors from Bridgestone and Mizuno!

Dan only has great stuff there and he is located on a high floor of a Building along with many other shops of all sorts, you would never guess he’s there because no sign on the street. But dont miss it out, you wont regret it!

On my way back to the Hotel, I saw the closed for good Golfsmith store and thought about the glory days when John Daly would come for a special exhibition! Sad days for the golf market…

Second of all, I found the best store in Manhattan Madison Avenue, the famous Brooks Brothers that as I had seen on the internet, had on the third floor, a golf simulator. And when I arrived, I was happy to meet Hank, a great guy that hits it hard all day long!

Of course, there is a purpose to that, selling a special golf collection they have entitled St Andrews. Although I really like BB’s famous oxford made in USA shirts, I went there twice and played a lot of holes in St Andrews with Hank. Perfect as close to my office too!

And what about the real golf courses now? Well, I was like an excited kid when Saturday arrived, only to find out that every single golf course was closed because of a tiny snow on Thursday…

Can’t wait to get back in April and find the best ways to play golf without a car, and without spending a lot on golf commute!