Nine-hole golf courses are often someone’s afterthought, where land was developed into a golf course, but not enough land was available to offer a full 18 holes. A general consensus is that nine-hole courses are a good place to practice, won’t cost an arm and a leg, and offer somewhat of a mini-golf experience. Most of this, however, is inoperative when applied to the nine-hole facility at the Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club near Saugerties, N.Y.

“I saw this wonderful piece of land and thought it had great potential,” says Tony Bacchi, who owns Lazy Swan with his wife, Joanne. “I wanted this to be a spectacular golf course, and I think we’ve done it.”

Bacchi, who had no golf course experience but a great love for beauty and aesthetics, searched for a golf architect who shared his sentiments. “Someone suggested Barry Jordan,” says Bacchi, “so I looked on his Web site, and I could see immediately he had a fine eye.”

Jordan grew up on a Donald Ross golf course and admits to being influenced by the great Scottish golf architect. “I try to work forms like cut bunkers into the landscape just like Ross,” Jordan says. “I like my lines to be as graceful and understated as possible—and no mounding.”

Jordan applied Ross’s philosophy to Lazy Swan. “Ross generally set fairway bunkers that seemed easy to carry from the tee but definitely added to course visuals,” says Jordon, noting that Lazy Swan has 15 fairway bunkers spread across its nine holes. And like a Donald Ross design, “the throats of the greens are open.”

But if anyone is looking for a signature hole, they won’t find it here. Neither Jordan nor Bacchi feel comfortable singling one out as so many courses do. “I don’t design that way,” Jordan makes clear. Bacchi adds, “It’s the greens that set this course apart.” Yet both mention the No. 6, a 173-yard par-3 uphill with a water carry, as a particular delight. “The prevailing wind is across,” Jordan says, “and in the background above the trees and the green is a beautiful white steeple that’s lit up at night.”

While the course has some length, it doesn’t rely on distance to make its challenge. The longest hole is the 530-yard par-5 seventh where water spills out of a rock outcropping giving a waterfall effect, and the fairway skirts adjoining ponds from tee to green. “I try to use water more as a visual than a strategic element,” Jordan adds, but a pushed drive or fairway wood will still find the hazard here.

Water does come into play on six holes, and from the clubhouse all greens are visible. “I wanted to create an intimate golf course,” Jordan says. And he did.