Review: En-Joie Golf Club (Part 1)

When I went to go visit my brother in upstate New York back in October last year, our plan was perfect. Equinox one day, then Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown the next day. The fall foliage would be at its peak in both places, and I'd get plenty of great pictures. Then Leatherstocking had its green aeration delayed because of rain right to the day we had our tee time (though we'd get there in November, thanks to some unusually nice weather; come back next month for my review of that). We needed a backup course, and that brings us to En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott. 

If that name seems vaguely familiar, it should. En-Joie was the host of the former B.C. Open, a real fully fledged PGA Tour stop, for 35 years until the mid 2000s, and is the current host of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, a Champions Tour event (that's the senior tour, in case the excessive branding makes that unclear). This isn't the first former host of a PGA Tour event that I've played, since Mount Pleasant held one in the 50s and 60s, but I actually remember watching the B.C. Open on TV when I was young. Happily, just like Mount Pleasant, En-Joie is a municipal golf course accessible to all. Actually, reading through the course's history is fascinating; it dates back to the 1920s and was built because the owner of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company (which employed 20,000 people back then) loved golf and felt that his workers shouldn't be excluded from the sport. A round there originally cost just a quarter, which would be about $3.50 in 2021. It costs a bit more than that to play there now, but En-Joie is still very affordable. 

There is, however, a slight problem, one that you can identify by looking at the course on Google Maps. En-Joie is not located on a large piece of land, and the holes are, by and large, narrow, straight, and parallel with each other. The Susquehanna River is just a few hundred feet to the south and En-Joie has dealt with severe flooding in the past; it couldn't host the B.C. Open in its final year because the course had been damaged by flooding. So it's flat too. That is not a recipe for success. So, can En-Joie overcome those hurdles and be a golf course worth playing? Let's find out.

The first hole is fairly modest, being a shortish par 4 that plays slightly downhill. The drive is pretty straightforward unless you can it 300 yards, in which case a small pond comes into play, so if you're a long hitter a 3 wood may be the better choice off of the tee. The green is long, fairly narrow, and guarded by the pond to the left and a bunker right. It's not a particularly interesting start, but it's not awful or anything.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole is 350 yards and the one true dogleg at En-Joie. There's no need to use the driver here, and doing so is really not a good idea. The fairway runs out about 250 yards from the tee and turns hard left, and there's a pond that separates the fairway from the green that a hooked or pulled driver could easily end up in. Either that or you could end up underneath a tree with water between you and the green. A conservative play is really the prudent option. The second shot is a wedge over water to a big green with a decent amount of slope to it. You'll notice that, while you're on the tee, the back tee isn't really the back tee. A good thing that En-Joie does is not even put tees out where the professionals play from. They get a 7,000 yard course, but the normal back tees are at 6,600 yards. Basically no casual golfer needs a course that's 7,000 yards, and removing the option surely speeds up the pace of play, because we all know golfers love to play from the wrong set of tees.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green. The pond is invisible but definitely there.

The second green.

The third hole is the first of three par 5s on the front nine. It's 545 yards, so it's not really reachable unless you're a really long hitter, and a bunker that eats into the fairway on the right side right where a drive would end up makes the tee shot a bit complicated. The lay-up shot is best hit down the left side, flirting with the bunker about 75 yards short of the green. Then you've got a little wedge into a big green guarded by two bunkers on the right side.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

I hope you like mid-length par 3s with water on one side, because En-Joie has three of them. The fourth is the first and the longest at 190 yards. The water is left, along with a single greenside bunkers. The green is actually not too bad, with a swale running across the middle making putts hit from the wrong level very tricky.

The fourth hole.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 5 yards longer than the third, making it En-Joie's longest hole. It plays slightly uphill down yet another narrow fairway (I haven't really commented on that because every hole is the same in that regard), with the fairway bunker in view being more decoration than an actual threat. The second shot has a bit more to consider. Two crossbunkers cut in about 75 yards from the green, which is right where a lot of people will try to lay up. Unless you're confident you can carry them, I'd recommend restraint and settling for a longer third shot. The green is medium sized and has three bunkers around it.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

If you're laying up on the fifth, do it short of the bunkers.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is 420 yards, slightly downhill, and dead straight through the trees. A single bunker on the left side narrows the fairway, but it can be easily cleared with a good drive. That will leave you with a short or mid iron into a very slightly elevated green. I'm really trying here with this course, but I can't pretend there's really anything interesting going on here.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is 170 yards, and features water on the right side instead of the left, plus it has two bunkers – left and right. The green has two separate levels separated by a tier, with the back higher than the front. 

The seventh hole.

The eighth hole is 530 yards, and while there are no bunkers on the tee shot, you'll want to avoid the left side, otherwise your second shot will be blocked out by big trees that come into play more than most trees at En-Joie. If you're going for the green in two, you'll have a tough long iron or fairway wood over a cluster of bunkers to a shallow green with a false front. If you're laying up ... well, it's a wedge instead of a wood. 

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green, featuring some weird guy.

The ninth hole is a mid-length par 4 with fairway bunkers left and right that you're probably supposed to hit a draw between. Alternatively, you can hit driver over both bunkers if you're fairly long. Then you've got a wedge to a green with a bunker left and a mound to the right. At the very least, this hole doesn't play through a 30-yard-wide corridor of trees, so it's got that going for it.

The ninth hole.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green, featuring a very angry golfer.

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