Review: Orchard Creek Golf Club (Part 1)

It's that time of year again. I've been on vacation with my brothers, and I played a whole bunch of golf on my trip. Not good golf, but that's now it goes sometimes. Last year, it was glamorous Groton, Conn., this year, it's equally glamorous Troy, N.Y. If you don't know where that is, it's a suburb of Albany, a bit northeast of the city. One of my brothers currently lives in Troy, so we saved ourselves the cost of a hotel room. Unfortunately, the best golf course in Troy is private, so we were forced to explore a bit to find some interesting golf courses. Good thing I like to drive.

The first course we played was the closest to home base, and the only one of the five courses I played that I'd say was actually in the Albany metropolitan area. Orchard Creek Golf Club is about a half hour west from the center of Albany, not that you'd guess that looking at the pictures. We're in decidedly rural territory out here, and this may not come as a huge surprise, but the course is actually integrated with a working apple orchard. Shocking, right? The orchard came first, and the owners of that orchard decided they wanted to build a golf course on some newly purchased land. Orchard Creek was built for less than $1.5 million, which is incredibly cheap for a course that opened in 1999. Courses in the modern age just cost a bunch to build. The question is: How much quality is there in a course that cost so little to build? Let's find out.

The first hole is a 530 yard par 5, and when you step onto the tee, there's not much to see. The fairway disappears over the top of a hill with no indication of where the hole goes after that. So for first-time players, all you can do is hit driver and hope you've made the correct decision. Luckily, you have. The further you get, the better view you'll have of the green, but it's on the second shot where decisions have to be made. The green is well below the level of the fairway, and not only is there a steep downslope you don't want your second shot to end up on, but there's also a fairway bunker about 50 yards short of the green. So you either you commit to a long third shot or you go for the green. There are two bunkers left of the green, which is fairly big and filled with plenty of slope.

There's not much to guide you on the first tee.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a mid-length par 4, but it plays longer for a couple of reasons. For one, the second shot is extremely uphill, and two, it's kind of not a great idea to use driver off of the tee. To the right is a line of trees, to the left is Bozen Kill (Kill being a Dutch word for creek), and the fairway gets narrower the further you go. You do need to be fairly far left, missing the fairway right means you'll probably be blocked out by trees. If you've done things correctly, the second shot is a short or mid iron up a 50 foot hill to an undulating green.

The second hole. The Bozen Kill is left.

The second green is perched up on a hill.

The second green.

The third hole is a very strong reminder as to why the course is called Orchard Creek. It's a short par 5, just under 500 yards, and all along the left side is an apple orchard. There's nothing stopping you from wandering into the orchard, and I imagine a few golfers pick up some apples when the time is right and the fruit is ripe. A fade will work best off of the tee, as the orchard cuts in, limiting the distance you can go down the left side. You have a few options on the second shot, you can lay up short of the two fairway bunkers, you can lay up to the nearly disjointed section of fairway to the left, or you can go for the green. Going left is not a great idea, since you'll be left with a half wedge over a bunker, so I'm not entirely sure why there's fairway there.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is another mid-length par 4 playing uphill, though the elevation change isn't quite as drastic as it is on the second. While there's nothing stopping you from using a driver, the hole is pinched between a pair of fairway bunkers left and a group of trees right, so the playing corridor is pretty narrow. The green is also guarded on the left by sand, so you might be tempted to bail out right. But that will leave a chip to an elevated green that runs away. Not an easy proposition. Accuracy is definitely important on this hole.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fifth hole is a fairly short, downhill par 4. Once again, driver may not be the best choice, as there are three fairway bunkers scattered around the 250-300 yard range. There's nothing stopping you from pulling the driver, which is good though. If you've laid up, the second shot is a wedge or short iron to a green guarded by one bunker in the front. This is another undulating green, so be wary of that.

The fifth hole.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is the first par 3 on the course, and it's a bit of a weird one. It's slightly uphill, 160 yards, and plays to a big bunkerless green. It sounds pretty easy, but there's one big complicating factor: a big knob in the middle of the green. It's a simple thing, but it really dominates the hole. Every shot, every chip, and virtually every putt has to deal with that mound. It makes things interesting.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green, complete with large knob in the middle.

The seventh hole is a long par 4, running straight down along a forest on the left side. The tee shot is completely blind, but other than that and the O.B. left, it's pretty straightforward. The interesting part is the second shot. The green runs from front to back, which means second shots will be difficult no matter how long they are. And considering the hole is 455 yards, there's a good chance the second shot will be quite long. However, the green is completely open in the front and receptive to run-up shots, so don't worry too much if you can't hit a big soaring long iron that lands softly.

The seventh hole. This was taken from a lookout tower, since the view from the tee is blind.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a 190 yard par 3 that plays back across Bozen Kill, though the stream doesn't really come into play. There are two bunkers right and the green is particularly undulating; otherwise, this isn't the most interesting hole in the world.

The eighth hole, heading over Bozen Kill.

The ninth hole is a mid-length par 4 with a very uphill and very blind tee shot. The hole bends left around a small fairway bunker, but considering all the room you've got, you'd have to be pretty unlucky to end up in it. A bigger concern is driving through the fairway, where you can easily get caught up in a cluster of small trees. Once again though, the green is of interest, as a ridge divides it into left and right sections. End up on the wrong half, and I imagine two putting would be a real challenge.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green has a big ridge running through it.

That's all for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.