Review: Leatherstocking Golf Course (Part 1)

Most people who visit Cooperstown, New York, are going to see the National Baseball Hall of Fame. It is the obvious reason to visit the town, which is otherwise kind of in the middle of nowhere. However, it isn't the only reason for the few people in the world who like golf but don't really get too much out of baseball.

Some very good non–baseball-related reasons to visit Cooperstown.

Leatherstocking Golf Course is associated with the Otesaga Hotel, which you can see in the background of the image above. It's quite an impressive building, perched up above Lake Otsego, source of the Susquehanna River. Why didn't they name the hotel after the lake? I don't know. Anyway, back to the golf course, which was designed by our old friend Devereux Emmet. Yes, old Devereux makes another appearance on the blog. Eventually I'll run out of public Emmet courses, but it won't be this year. Leatherstocking is most known for its finishing hole, which you can also see in the background of the image above, but we'll get to that later.

I'd also like to mention how lucky we were with the weather. Early November in upstate New York is a dicey time to be playing golf at the best of times. As a matter of fact, I'm reasonably sure there was snow covering the course just a few days before my brothers and I played there. But thanks to some record-setting heat, we had a nearly 70 degree day under clear skies to enjoy the course. Sure, some fall foliage would have been nice, but I won't complain too much. Even with bare trees Leatherstocking is still quite a sight.

The first hole is a pretty simple little drive and pitch par 4 and a nice way to ease into the round. It's 340 yards, so you can use anything from a driver down to a long iron off of the tee and you'll probably still have a wedge into the green. There's plenty of room for the drive, but the left side is probably preferable, especially if you use the driver. The green is tilted pretty severely from left to right, and there's a nasty bunker front right that you won't want to be in. When the hole is on the right side like it was for us, a drive down the left is absolutely the best option since you can aim at the middle of the green and run the ball down toward the hole. It's a neat little hole to start, not difficult but not incredibly easy either.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

It was hard to resist taking some pictures looking down at the lake. And without leaves, you could actually see it.

The second hole is 390 yards, which actually makes it one of Leatherstocking's longest par 4s. However, the hole plays steeply uphill, which effectively adds 20-30 yards of distance, a neat little trick that we'll see multiple times at this course. There isn't a huge amount to do on the tee shot other than staying on the hole and getting as far as you can, but the second is a bit more interesting. The green is up the hill, of course, but there are steep drop-offs in front and to the right, and there's a deep bunker left. The green is sloped from back to front and has two definite sections to it. Considering the yardage, it's a tough second shot, but this is still not one of the course's better holes.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

This won't happen on every hole.

The third hole is a par 3 of about 200 yards that I honestly can't believe exists in its current form. The green here is not large and wedged between two significant obstacles: a series of small bunkers right and a road to the left. That road is ridiculously close to the green – we're talking 10-15 feet. Even a fairly mild hook can clear that little stone wall and end up in the road. I would know: I did exactly that, and in the process did something I can't believe it took 20 years of golf for me to do. I hit a car and broke the windshield. So my recollection of this hole is a bit foggy because I was too busy being yelled at by an irate driver. Back when the course was first built I'm sure it was fine having the road so close, but now? It's a state route, the main way out of town. The fact that there's no netting or anything is baffling to me. The group in front of us saw what happened and said to me a hole later that plenty of people do exactly what I did. I can't believe the hotel hasn't been sued yet.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole is a fairly short par 5 with a blind tee shot. The fairway is a couple dozen feet below and runs alongside the road to the right. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the right side of the fairway is the better part to be in if you want to go for the green in two. A series of bunkers cut across the fairway 75-100 yards from the green, so even if you're laying up, you'll have to deal with those bunkers if you want the best angle into the green, which has six small bunkers protecting the left side. The green is not large and sloped pretty significantly from right to left.

The blind tee shot on 4.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is just under 400 yards that plays gently downhill and doglegs fairly significantly from right to left. The ideal tee shot is a draw that follows the turn of the fairway. The second shot crosses over a pair of bunkers that cut across the fairway 50 yards short of the green – a feature that doesn't really come into play anymore – to a long and fairly narrow green guarded by several bunkers that circle around the back half of the green.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is an awkward little 360 yard par 4. The fairway swings from left to right, and there's a cluster of trees right where you'd want to aim a driver. You can go over them, but it's not an easy task doing so. Not everyone can get a driver that high. If you go out to the left though, the fairway runs out pretty quick and you'll have a fairly long second shot. And that's not something you'll want considering the green, which is very small, domed, and protected by five bunkers. The closer you are to the green, the better, but it's not an easy target to hit from any distance.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is the only par 4 at Leatherstocking that exceeds 400 yards, though by only a few yards. Like the third, the hole goes uphill the whole way, making the hole play quite a bit longer than the scorecard suggests, and the drive is not the tricky part. The fairway is pretty wide and there's no trouble to speak of. The second shot is very tough though. While there are bunkers left and behind the green, the big issue is a pit left and short. It's a dozen feet deep and, while there's no sand, the depth is more than enough protection. The green isn't very big either, and has a fair amount of left to right slope.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a mid-length par 4 that doglegs right while going slightly downhill. You will probably be tempted to cut the dogleg and shorten the hole, but I think it's better to go down the left side. The green is very small and there are several bunkers to the right, not to mention the treat of overhanging trees. The shot from the left side of the fairway is a bit longer but the angle into the green is more favorable.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

After crossing over the road, the ninth hole is the start of a four hole stretch that plays on the side of a small mountain. The ninth is a 185 yards par 3, though the tees were a bit forward when we played. The tee shot is very uphill to a semiblind green that's actually a bit of a reverse Redan. It's got a deep bunker front right and the green slopes from left to right. It's not an easy green to hit unless you hit a high fade that lands on the front left part of the green.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

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