The clubhouse at Bethpage State Park is getting a facelift.

As part of the renovations at the park's center of golfing activity and catering services, the golfer registration area has been moved and expanded, and the catering facilities will be refurbished, according to George Gorman, director of recreation for New York State Parks.

The golfer services aspect of the renovations is being handled by West Babylon-based Global Golf, Inc., which is spending $1.75 million on the state-contracted project, Gorman said. The western area of the clubhouse has been the new golfer check-in area since Sept. 24. It features more customer service windows than the old area (which had only one) and monitors that reveal to golfers tee-off time availabilities, as well as a new pro-shop that will be expanded. This new area formerly housed several underutilized lockers, according to Gorman, who added that there are still plenty of lockers in the facility.

The catering renovations are being handled by Bethpage Management Company, Inc., whose principals are Steve Carl of Carlyle on the Green and Arthur Waldbaum of the Long Island-based supermarket chain. Bethpage Management is spending $3.75 million on the project, according to Gorman. The company was awarded the state contract for the project after the contract of the former caterer, Lessings, expired in June. (Lessings did not participate in the competitive bid for the new contract.) According to Gorman, the catering renovations consist of the following: the banquet hall will be refurbished; the outdoor dining area will be enclosed and moved to near by the 18th green; the cafeteria will be renovated; air conditioning will be added to the club room; and a takeout window will be added. These food service renovations are expected to begin in the winter and be completed in May of 1999.

Planning for the renovations began in the spring, according to Gorman, who said that it was prompted by a desire to enhance services for golfers and by an awareness that the clubhouse needed some "major reconstruction."

As the conversions began, a group known as "The Friends of Bethpage" distributed a flier that expressed a belief that the changes were turning the clubhouse into "an independent catering hall for which the golfer would be an annoyance." The flier adds that the renovations are "just another way for the state to make money at the public's expense." It also asks golfers to contact New York State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro in order to stop the work. The flier specifically opposes the enclosure of the outdoor dining area, the renovation of the cafeteria, and the reduction of the locker facilities. It also noted that the dining area move will require the removal of 2 large trees - and that one of them is a rare elm tree over 100 years old. Attempts to contact the authors of the flier for their current opinion on the renovations have been unsuccessful, and a handful of golfers interviewed recently at the clubhouse said they did not oppose the changes.

In response to concerns about the removal of trees, Gorman said, "At this point, I'm not sure if all the final approvals are in place for the renovations." He added, "We will address the environmental concerns to mitigate them."

He also insisted that the clubhouse renovations will not hurt, but rather benefit golfers. "Nothing is being taken away and services are being enhanced," he said.