New York
Southern Tier Golf Courses & Tee Times
The Southern Tier's golf story starts with a shoe company. In 1927 George F. Johnson of Endicott-Johnson had En-Joie built in Endicott so his workers had somewhere to play, and a round cost a quarter. From 1971 through 2005 the course held a PGA Tour stop, the B.C. Open, named partly for the comic strip by Endicott native Johnny Hart. Susquehanna River flooding moved the 2006 edition, the last one, to Turning Stone. The club says it has hosted the Dick's Sporting Goods Open on the Champions tour since 2007.
Good weekend tee times in Southern Tier go fast, and the ones that come back later (cancellations, groups that shrink) aren't announced. Yoink watches the tee sheets at 8 public courses here, from Waverly, Bath, Margaretville, Elmira Heights and Horseheads, and tells you the moment a time you want opens up.
The longest layout here is Tioga Golf Club at 5,873 yards.
Who runs public golf in Southern Tier
New York State Parks runs three courses in the region. Chenango Valley, just outside Binghamton, began as a nine built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and went to 18 under Hal Purdy in 1967; tee times are online. Soaring Eagles at Mark Twain State Park in Horseheads is laid on glacial sand and gravel, with kettle ponds and only two parallel holes. Indian Hills in Painted Post, built in 1964, joined the state system in March 2007 and is run by a concessionaire, so book with the course. The City of Elmira owns and operates the Mark Twain Golf Course, a Donald Ross design built by the WPA in 1937.
Public courses worth knowing in Southern Tier
- En-Joie Golf Club: Built in 1927 for Endicott-Johnson shoe workers, home of the B.C. Open from 1971 to 2005, and renovated by Michael Hurdzan in 1998 and 1999.
- Mark Twain Golf Course: Donald Ross design built as a WPA project in 1937, owned and run by the City of Elmira.
- Soaring Eagles Golf Course: State park course in Horseheads named for Mark Twain, who summered nearby. Glacial kettle ponds and only two parallel holes.
- Chenango Valley State Park Golf Course: CCC-built nine from the 1930s, designed by James Evans and Laurie Cox, taken to 18 by Hal Purdy in 1967.
- Indian Hills State Golf Course: Built in 1964 on the Tioga River in Painted Post and bought by the state in 2007.
8 courses in Southern Tier
Margaretville
Stamford
Why tee times in Southern Tier are hard to get
Golfers in Southern Tier get maybe six months of good weather, and they all want the same weekend mornings. Demand bunches up from May to September.
Each course releases its tee times on its own schedule, commonly a week or two out, with residents of town and county courses often booking first. Leagues, outings and members claim chunks of the sheet in advance, and whatever prime weekend times are left tend to go on release day.
When tee time cancellations happen
A full tee sheet rarely stays full. Many courses let you cancel without a fee up to 24 or 48 hours before your time, so spots tend to reappear in the last couple of days. A bad forecast shakes more loose, and a foursome that drops to three opens a single. None of it is announced. The time just shows up again on the booking page, and whoever looks first gets it.
How to get a tee time in Southern Tier
Yoink
All 8 courses in Southern Tier, watched for you around the clock
Pick the courses you'd play and Yoink keeps an eye on all 8 courses in Southern Tier. You see what's open in one place, and you hear about it the moment a time that fits your day, window and group turns up, cancellations included.
Doing it by hand? Here's what works.
- Know the booking window. Find out how many days ahead each course releases times, and whether residents get an earlier window. Be ready the morning it opens.
- Look again 24 to 48 hours out. That's when most cancellation deadlines pass and spots come back.
- Be flexible on group size. Singles and twosomes fit into gaps a foursome can't.
- Try twilight and weekday afternoons. They're the last to fill and often cheaper.
- Widen the map. If your first choice is full, check the next town over. Waverly has 2 courses on Yoink and Bath has 1.
Read the full guide to getting a tee time when everything's booked
Tee times in Southern Tier: questions
How do I get notified when a tee time opens up in Southern Tier?
Set a watch in Yoink for the courses you want, the days you can play, a time window and the number of players. Yoink checks those tee sheets every few minutes and sends a notification as soon as a matching time appears, cancellations included. You book it directly with the course.
When do tee time cancellations usually show up?
Mostly in the 24 to 48 hours before the tee time, as golfers cancel ahead of the course's cancellation deadline, and whenever the weather forecast changes. They appear without notice and tend to be rebooked quickly.
How far in advance can you book a tee time in Southern Tier?
It depends on the course. Many public courses open bookings 7 to 14 days ahead, and town or county courses often give residents an earlier window. Each course's own booking page has its policy.
When is golf busiest in Southern Tier?
Demand is highest from late spring through early fall. Weekend mornings are always the hardest tee times to get.
Does Yoink book the tee time for me?
No. Yoink tells you when a time opens; you book it with the course on its own booking page, at the course's price, with no extra fee.
More golf in New York
- Western NY — Buffalo & Rochester · 73 courses
- Upstate NY — Capital & Central · 69 courses
- Long Island · 46 courses
- Hudson Valley · 40 courses
- Westchester & Hudson Valley · 18 courses
- New York City · 14 courses
- North Country & Thousand Islands · 10 courses
- Northern New England · 1 courses
Just across the state line
Markets with courses within 25 miles of a course here.
- North Central PA, PA · 9 courses
- Upstate NY — Capital & Central, PA · 1 courses
Sources
Facts on this page come from these pages, checked 2026-09-28. Rates and booking rules change, so confirm with the course.
- enjoiegolf.com · operator
- enjoiegolf.com · operator
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- parks.ny.gov · official
- parks.ny.gov · official
- parks.ny.gov · official
- parks.ny.gov · official
- en.wikipedia.org · media
- golftwain.com · operator
Tee times in Southern Tier, without the refreshing
Watch as many courses as you like. When a time opens that fits your day, window and group, Yoink tells you first.