U.S. Open practice at Shinnecock Hills gives fans, commuters sign of traffic to come

Links lovers and commuters who were anywhere near the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Monday got an abridged preview of what likely awaits motorists and Long Island Rail Road riders for the rest of the week as thousands descend on Southampton for the U.S. Open.

Golfers competing in the annual PGA Tour event, hosted by the U.S. Golf Association, began practice rounds Monday, which will continue until they tee off for real when the four-day tournament begins Thursday.

Drivers faced morning delays of more than 30 minutes to go about 10 miles down Sunrise Highway in Southampton. But many of the delays Monday were short-lived and cleared by mid-morning.

Some delays were reported on the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road because of late-arriving equipment, according to the railroad.

"We expect to move tens of thousands of riders to the tournament, so trains will be busier than normal," the LIRR said in a statement.

For Robert Bracken, 61, of Greenport, getting to Shinnecock quickest Monday to watch the players practice meant a combo-commute — partly by car, partly by LIRR.

Bracken said he wasn’t surprised "at all" about the traffic on his way to the Hampton Bays LIRR station, where he said he parked his car before planning to finish his trip by rail.

"It could have been hours," Bracken told Newsday as he waited at the station. "Less stress for us to take the train."

The LIRR is running extra trains this week with special schedules and stops at a temporary train platform near Shinnecock and adjacent to the Stony Brook Southampton campus. The LIRR was nearly doubling its fleet for the Open, compared to 2018, said Ryan Murphy, Southampton Town's emergency management administrator.

Drivers traveling early Monday from the west to Shinnecock on the Long Island Expressway met fairly smooth traffic. Signs encouraged U.S. Open attendees to park in Calverton Enterprise Park, about 25 miles east, and take a shuttle to Shinnecock Hills.

Some drivers in the area looking to avoid traffic were redirected by GPS maps onto back-roads through Hampton Bays, including Montauk Highway and Flanders Road to the north.

Traffic cones lined the median of Montauk Highway south of Shinnecock, and volunteers directed traffic, preventing westbound drivers from making U-turns.

It was a slight improvement compared to the last time the U.S. Open was held at Shinnecock, in 2018, when traffic jams spread more than 10 miles on the first day of practice rounds, according to a Newsday story at the time.

Murphy credited Southampton Town, Suffolk County and state officials and traffic engineers hired by the USGA for their efforts aimed at reducing traffic delays to the area this week, Murphy said.

"Undoubtedly there will be some additional traffic due to the increased visitor presence to the community, but hopefully the impacts can be reduced due to some of the plans put in place," Murphy said in an email Monday.

Local officials and tournament organizers created an express lane on Sunrise Highway, approved by the Shinnecock Nation, for more than 125 shuttle buses bound for the Open to reduce delays, Murphy said.

The separate lane helped reduce delays Monday morning, Murphy said.

For golf fans from Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Sag Harbor and Southampton attending the Open, a free parking and shuttle service is available at the Hampton Classic fairgrounds on Mitchell Lane in Bridgehampton.

Paul Saulnier, a volunteer for this year’s Open, got a text Monday alerting volunteers that heavy traffic was causing delays to get to Shinnecock Hills. So, Saulnier, 68, of Queens, took the LIRR. He also has a home near Shinnecock Hills.

From the Hampton Bays LIRR station to Shinnecock Hills "is only like 10 minutes," he said. "But it'll take you like an hour and a half in a car, so they say."

Officials urged spectators to take the LIRR, especially as the championship rounds were scheduled at the end of the week. Visitors can sign up for real-time U.S. Open traffic advisories by texting OPEN26 to 38276.