Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point: A Bronx Landfill, a Nicklaus Course and a Name That Came Off in 2023

Aerial view of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and the Ferry Point peninsula in the Bronx, from the MTA archives

Looking north over the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge toward Ferry Point and Westchester Creek. MTA Bridges and Tunnels archives, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY 2.0. This view predates the golf course.

Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point was a public golf course in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, at the foot of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. It carried the Trump name from its opening in 2015 until 2023. The course is on city parkland, and Donald Trump did not build it. The city started it, a Jack Nicklaus design, and a string of earlier contractors worked on it for years. Trump's company took over the project in 2011, finished the grass, built the clubhouse and ran the course for about eight years. It is now called Bally's Golf Links at Ferry Point.

Where the sources disagree, this article gives each version.

What was at Ferry Point before the golf course?

The NYC Parks historical sign for the park traces the land back to 1643, when the early English settler John Throckmorton bought it from the Governor of New Netherland. The Throggs Neck neighborhood takes its name from him. Farming families worked it through the nineteenth century until the shipping magnate Augustus di Zerega and the Lorillard family bought it in 1850. The Catholic House of the Good Shepherd bought it in 1916.

The city bought the first 171 acres from the House of the Good Shepherd in 1937, while acquiring land for the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. The park was named for the ferries that crossed between the Bronx and Queens until the bridge opened in 1939. The west side of the park opened in 1941, scaled back from 1930s plans for a beach, bathhouse and cafeteria complex. In 1948 the city took 243 more acres by condemnation. The Department of Sanitation then ran a landfill on the east side. Parks says that ran from 1952 to 1970. The New York Times says the landfill closed in 1963. The sources do not reconcile those dates.

Aerial photograph of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and the Ferry Point peninsula, National Archives

An aerial view of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge and Ferry Point from the National Archives, dated by the archive only as 1917 to 1964. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Who designed the course, and why did it take so long?

The course is a Jack Nicklaus Signature Design. NYC Parks says it was built on regraded land from the former landfill, and the New York Times described scores of vents on the links that release methane. The Times also said the course was framed on one side by housing projects and modest buildings.

Getting it built was slow and expensive. Club + Resort Business reported in October 2013 that construction finished 12 years after the course was first scheduled to open, after several contractors and more than $100 million. City Limits quotes an earlier news report saying the budget had grown from $22.5 million to more than $40 million, with environmental problems threatening the project. It also quotes a 2007 audit by then-Comptroller Bill Thompson, which found that the city overpaid the original concessionaire almost $6 million and lost more than $3 million in license fees. The original developers later dropped out.

How did Trump get involved?

NYC Parks announced on December 23, 2011 that it had negotiated a 20-year license with the Trump Organization to operate the course. The company had been picked through a public Request for Offers and committed to at least $10 million to design and build a new clubhouse, which Parks said would create 100 construction jobs. CNN says the license dates from 2012, so the sources differ by about a year on the start. Club + Resort Business adds that Trump put $850,000 into the grass grow-in.

The city's own comptroller at the time, John Liu, opposed the deal. City Limits reports that he called it a public subsidy for a luxury golf course that did not give taxpayers a fair return, and that he was the only member of the review committee to vote against it. Jack Nicklaus said in 2013 that there was half a golf course before Trump got involved, and that Trump got it over the line. Trump said that without his selection it would have taken 15 years to open.

Walking path and park lawn at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx in 2022

A path in Ferry Point Park, 2022. Photograph by Jim.henderson, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

When did it open, and how big is it?

The course opened to the public on April 1, 2015, according to the New York Times. Trump's company held an official opening on May 26, 2015, according to a Trump Organization press release. The Times gave the length as about 7,400 yards. The Trump Organization's page says 7,407. Greens fees at opening were $169 for a New York City resident on weekends and $215 for a nonresident, about three times the fees at the city's other courses, the Times reported. Those are 2015 prices, so check Bally's for current rates.

How new the course was depends on the source. The Times called it the first golf course built in the city since 1964. NYC Parks' sign says it was the first built within city limits in 35 years. The Trump Organization says the course was completed in less than two years under its leadership, and that a 20,000-square-foot clubhouse followed. The 2011 plan had called for a clubhouse of about 12,000 square feet, according to Club + Resort Business. CNN reports the clubhouse and restaurant opened in 2019, and the Times said the course opened in 2015 with a temporary clubhouse and restaurant.

Ferry landing and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge seen from the shore at Ferry Point Park in the Bronx

The waterfront at Ferry Point Park with the ferry landing and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge beyond, 2022. Photograph by Jim.henderson, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Why did the Trump name come off?

City Limits reported in January 2021 that the city moved to end the Trump Organization's contracts for the Central Park carousel, the Wollman and Lasker rinks and the Ferry Point course. City Hall's stated reason for Ferry Point was the PGA's decision to cancel the 2022 PGA Championship at a Trump course, since the city's contract had called for a championship-level course that could draw major events. CNN says the company sued for breach of contract, won, and that the city never appealed, so the course stayed in Trump's hands.

In September 2023 the Trump Organization sold its lease to Bally's Corporation. The purchase agreement is dated June 26, 2023, and Trump announced on September 12 that Bally's would take over operations immediately, according to CNN. The New York Times reported that Bally's would pay millions for the lease and hoped that dropping the Trump name would help its bid for a casino license. Eric Trump said the company had no prior intention of selling. NYC Parks said it supported the transfer. Comptroller Brad Lander said he was delighted that Trump's name would no longer deface city parkland.

Bike path and walking path through Ferry Point Park in Throggs Neck, the Bronx, September 2023

A path in Ferry Point Park, September 2023. Photograph by Bebo2good1, via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Where can you eat or drink at Ferry Point?

The clubhouse has a restaurant called The Waterfront NYC. Bally's describes it as an upscale, casual New American restaurant with a veranda, brunch on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and a 30-foot marble bar with weekly happy hour specials. The restaurant page lists all-day hours of Monday to Friday, 12 PM to 8 PM. The course FAQ says restaurant hours vary by season and tells guests to call 718-414-1555, so the two pages are not fully consistent. Reservations are recommended but not required, according to the FAQ. Verify hours with Bally's before you go.

Who owns Ferry Point today?

The land is city parkland run by NYC Parks. Bally's Corporation holds the lease and operates the course as Bally's Golf Links at Ferry Point, according to the Bally's site and the 2023 reports. The course is open to the public, and the FAQ says it is not a private club.

Sources

Visiting the Trump Golf Links at Ferry Point

Address: 500 Hutchinson River Parkway, Bronx, NY 10465. Phone 718-414-1555.
Access: The course is public. A NYC resident rate requires a valid driver's license showing a five-borough address. Collared shirts are required, push carts are not allowed, and there is no overnight lodging.
Booking: The Bally's FAQ gives both a 7-day and a 14-day booking window in different answers. Single players cannot book online and must call.
The park: NYC Parks lists a waterfront walkway and saltwater marsh completed in 2020 at the surrounding Ferry Point Park.

Checked against Bally's Golf Links FAQ and NYC Parks Ferry Point Park page. Confirm hours and ticket rules there.