4 Paul Harber of the Boston Globe once said that “finishing holes to golf courses are like climaxes to novels. There are 17 holes building you up to the fateful 18th.” Like the action after the novel’s climax, once the finishing hole is played, the story essentially is over. So, if it is a finishing hole that makes a course memorable, the question that needs to be asked next is: what qualities make a great finishing hole? Some may argue for scenery, others for drama, still others for challenge. A fine finishing hole should provide a stiff test because so many matches will be won or lost there; it should force the golfer into risk/reward decisions, thus upping the challenge ante; and it should offer an aesthetic impression, allowing the golfer to carry that lingering memory when walking off the course. New York is home to some of the finest finishing holes in the Northeast, those that meet the qualifications of aesthetics and design while bringing something truly unique to the table. According to golf architect Roger Rulewich, “Our clients are looking for an impact hole to affect scoring at the end of a match.” He mentions the finishing hole at Saratoga National Golf Course in Saratoga Springs, which he designed. It’s a 470-yard par 4 requiring a 200-yard carry over wetlands, playing uphill to an elevated green bordered by a huge trap on one side, a pond on the other, and fronting a Victorian-designed clubhouse. “If your clubhouse is on an overlook,” says Rulewich, “you design your finishing hole to play to it, and you’ll have some type of rise up to the green. So elevation is usually a factor the golfer has to consider.” Talking to assistant pro Anders Mattson, he explains that the fairway at Saratoga National “slopes right to left so a good drive will favor the right side. We get a prevailing wind out of the west, so usually you’re playing into it from the tee.” What he doesn’t mention is the stunning view of the clubhouse with the sun setting behind it on a summer’s evening. It’s the impact—challenge and aesthetics—Rulewich speaks of. Closer to New York City is a course with classic credentials: the Knollwood Country Club in Elmsford. Redesigned by A.W. Tillinghast in 1926, the golf course provides a sturdy test, and the 18th hole, stretching 455 yards from the back tees, culminates that experience. According to assistant pro Walter Janeczko, a perfect 18th hole “requires a demanding tee shot and a demanding second shot with the green not too tricked up or difficult to read.” Does this describe the 18th at Knollwood? “Absolutely,” says Janeczko. “Your ideal drive goes down the left side with a slight fade, then you have 175 to 180 yards to an elevated green, but because the fairway slopes left to right, you will be hitting with the ball below your feet. The green sits on a knoll and is very undulating.” There is a lateral water hazard down the right side of the fairway, and because of the fairway slope, the water hazard can act almost like a magnet for errant golf balls. “It’s a tough hole,” Janeczko adds. Sometimes length itself is the real challenge. Such is the case at the Atunyote Golf Course at Turning Stone Resort in Verona. From the back tees, this par-5 18th measures 624 yards and requires three strong shots. There is sand to the left, water to the right, and generous landing areas for the tee shot and the second shot. Designed by Tom Fazio, the element of risk/reward allows the golfer to shorten the hole, but the consequences can be onerous. “If you want to go for the green with your second shot,” says director of golf Robert Todd, “you have to hit over a well-placed fairway bunker first. And for the average player that means a drive of about 225 yards; for big hitters from the back tees, it means a shot of almost 300 yards. Either way it still means a long second shot.” And the hole narrows as it moves toward the green with water following the fairway on the right and yawning bunkers on either side of the undulating green. “The average golfer should play this hole smart,” adds Todd. “Hit to the widest portions of the fairway and come into the green from the left.” It won’t take the water out of play entirely, but it will minimize impact. Architect Barry Jordan underscores the idea of a challenging 18th but thinks there should be limits. “The final hole should be on the more demanding side but not a brutal beast,” he says. “After all, the match may be over by that time.” He agrees with Rulewich on the need for aesthetics on the final hole but doesn’t feel the entire course should be hostage to it. “The 18th has to fit in the available space, and you don’t sacrifice other holes to make the 18th extraordinary,” says Jordon. Jordon points to the finishing hole at the Lazy Swan Golf Course, a new nine-hole facility he designed in Saugerties. A par-5 hole, it stretches 505 yards, which isn’t excessively long. But the drive is demanding because there is water on the right, the hole doglegs left slightly, and there is water around the green. Jordon advises golfers to pick their line from the tee, as there are risk/reward opportunities that can shorten the hole or add unhappy consequences. The point, according to Jordon, is to design a hole in which “the more spectators who can see players coming in, the better.” The links-style finishing hole rises slightly to the green, and with all the openness at the green, spectators won’t be climbing over one another to see that risk/reward shotmaking. Due west in the town of Appalachian near Binghamton sits The Links at Hiawatha Landing. Designed by Brian Silva and Mark Mungeam, the links-style course along the banks of the Susquehanna River boasts a No. 18 “do or die” challenge, according to assistant pro John Van Riter. It is 523 yards from the tips, slightly downhill, dogleg left, with the opportunity to carry a large pond, shorten the hole, and set up a birdie opportunity. But it’s a major poke to carry the pond (270 yards from the white tees). According to Van Riter, “it’s a three-shot hole if you don’t go over the pond” with a British-style pot bunker at the green waiting for errant approach shots. “It’s a tough green to hit unless you use a shorter club,” Van Riter cautions. In Cooperstown there’s the challenging layout at Otesaga Resort’s Leatherstocking Golf Course, which offers a finishing hole with an unusual touch—an island tee playing to a dogleg left fairway and setting up a classic risk/reward decision: how much water to bite off before finding the fairway? This 515-yard par 5 can create a lot of trouble. According to Dan Spooner, director of golf at Otesaga, “there are many ways to play the hole, but the best way is to hit driver because there’s a large landing out there.” This leaves a long second shot for big hitters trying to reach the green in two, but for those playing the hole more conventionally, “there’s also a large landing area for the second shot, which will leave about 100-yards into the green.” While scenery and drama certainly come into play (with charming Cooperstown in the background), the finishing hole challenge traces back to the early days of the resort’s founding 100 years ago. Risk/reward off the tee was present then, and it’s present now. Circle back toward New York City and stop at the 18th at Anglebrook Golf Club in northernmost Westchester County. Opened in 1998 and sporting the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design logo, Rulewich, who worked for Jones, was the golf designer on scene. The finishing hole, a 455-yard par 4 dogleg left, carries a unique hazard: a large fairway bunker smack in the middle of the fairway “right in everyone’s wheelhouse off the tee no matter which tee they hit from,” says general manager Matt Sullivan. Rulewich explains why he created it this way: “We had a wide fairway area, so we set the center bunker for golfers to use risk/reward to get around it.” The safest way is to stay right of the bunker, because the landing area is wide there. But it’s not the shortest path into the green. “A golfer can get into trouble on this hole,” adds Sullivan, “and a lot of money changes hands here.” How do golfers feel about this hole? Rulewich chuckles. “At first they complained about it, sort of a love/hate attitude.” And now? “They love it.” Saratoga National Golf Club 458 Union Ave, Saratoga Springs Designer: Roger Rulewich 518-583-GOLF, golfsaratoga.com Atunyote Golf Course at Turning Stone Resort State Rte 31, Verona Designer: Tom Fazio 315-361-8006, turningstone.com/golf/atunyote Links at Hiawatha Landing 2350 Marshland Rd, Appalachian Designers: Bryan Silva and Mark Mungeam 607-687-6952, hiawathalinks.com Knollwood Country Club 200 Knollwood Ext, Elmsford Designers: A.W. Tillinghast 914-592-7411, kccclub.org The Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club 1754 Old Kings Highway, Saugerties Designer: Barry Jordan 845-247-0075, thelazyswan.com Leatherstocking Golf Course 60 Lake St, Cooperstown Designer: Devereaux Emmett 800-348-6222, 607-547-993, otesaga.com Anglebrook Golf Club 100 Route 202, P.O. Box 700, Lincolndale Designer: Roger Rulewich 914-245-5592, anglebrookgc.com true 6 2009-11-21T20:08:08+00:00 true 3 1 true 2 2009-11-21T20:08:08+00:00 Find out what makes some of New York’s finishing holes stand out from the rest.

Paul Harber of the Boston Globe once said that “finishing holes to golf courses are like climaxes to novels. There are 17 holes building you up to the fateful 18th.” Like the action after the novel’s climax, once the finishing hole is played, the story essentially is over. So, if it is a finishing hole that makes a course memorable, the question that needs to be asked next is: what qualities make a great finishing hole? Some may argue for scenery, others for drama, still others for challenge. A fine finishing hole should provide a stiff test because so many matches will be won or lost there; it should force the golfer into risk/reward decisions, thus upping the challenge ante; and it should offer an aesthetic impression, allowing the golfer to carry that lingering memory when walking off the course. New York is home to some of the finest finishing holes in the Northeast, those that meet the qualifications of aesthetics and design while bringing something truly unique to the table. According to golf architect Roger Rulewich, “Our clients are looking for an impact hole to affect scoring at the end of a match.” He mentions the finishing hole at Saratoga National Golf Course in Saratoga Springs, which he designed. It’s a 470-yard par 4 requiring a 200-yard carry over wetlands, playing uphill to an elevated green bordered by a huge trap on one side, a pond on the other, and fronting a Victorian-designed clubhouse. “If your clubhouse is on an overlook,” says Rulewich, “you design...

2009-12-09T17:35:34+00:00