Review: Albany Country Club (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at Albany Country Club, go here to see the front.

The tenth hole is a fairly short par 4 at 350 yards, the shortest on the course. Of course, when you're playing straight into a 20 MPH wind, 350 quickly becomes much more than that. So while the two bunkers pinching the fairway in from both sides could normally be cleared with a solid drive, they were very much a factor for our round. Of course you could lay back short, but then you're leaving yourself with 150 yards on a short par 4, and that just doesn't feel good. Fortunately the green is fairly open in the front, though there is a bunker left and a bunker behind that you really don't want to be in, considering the back-to-front tilt of the green. 

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is 550 yards and quickly sweeps left around trees and a bunker; if you want to hit driver, you'll need to hit a draw up the left side. You also need to get far enough on the drive to avoid being blocked out by more trees further up on the left side. The lay-up is complicated not by sand but by trees; the fairway is narrowed by a gate of trees about 100 yards out. It is very easy to get blocked out by them, especially when the hole's playing into the wind and you're 200 yards out on your third shot. This hole did not go well for me. The green is fairly small and undulating, and is flanked by bunkers. This hole, in my opinion, could do with some tree clearing, especially at the gateway 100 yards out. There is really not much space to work with.

The eleventh hole.

Approaching the eleventh green.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is an interesting proposition. Looking at it from above, you wouldn't think much of it, other than it's clearly going to be tough. Water in front, four bunkers covering the rest of the green? Clearly precision will be in order. And while that's also true, there's a definite element of strategy and risk involve. The green slopes sharply from back to front; it may be the most heavily sloped green on the course. You very much want to be below the hole, but naturally that brings the water in front more into play. The alternative is to play safely past the hole, but at best you're going to have an incredibly fast, big-breaking putt. At worst? Well, I wouldn't want any part of a bunker shot from one of the two back bunkers. Downhill stance, green sloping away, water lurking beyond. The odds of getting up and down are minimal, to be kind.

The twelfth hole.

The thirteenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that doglegs right around a bunker to a blind landing area. The landing area is pretty wide open and the bunker's pretty easy to clear with a driver, so there's not much reason not to go for it. Much like the previous hole, the green here slopes sharply from back to front, and there are two bunkers around it, one front right and the other back left. Not a tremendously complicated hole, but the severely tilted green at least gives it something.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth green.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole also doglegs right around a bunker, but the difference here is that the bunker is much further away and the hole's 445 yards, making it the longest par 4 at Albany CC by a significant margin. Even more so when it plays into the wind. It was essentially a par 5 for me. That bunker wasn't even really in play; I couldn't reach it, even though it was only 250 or so yards out. And don't think length is the only defense this hole has, as the green is protected by five bunkers, making it the most well-guarded green on the course. Par is a very good score here.

The fourteenth hole.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is on the longer side at 420 yards, and the essence of the hole is basically the same as the previous two. Dogleg right, bunkers in the corner of the dogleg. This is my favorite of the bunch, as the tee shot is just more fun in my opinion. The bunkers are more in your face and actually in play, and the fairway and landing area are more visible. The long, narrow green is sloped significantly from back to front and framed by four bunkers, two left and two right.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is trying a little too hard. The final par 3 at Albany CC plays 170 yards downhill over a pair of ponds (each complete with their own fountain) to a fairly large green with one bunker beyond. This is quite similar in general concept to the twelfth, except this hole is much less interesting. There's no punishment for bailing out long, as the green doesn't have a sharp back-to-front tilt. And the dual fountains are a bit silly. It's a bit disappointing, since the other three par 3s are among the strongest holes on the course.

The sixteenth hole.

The seventeenth hole is a mid-length par 4 that swings left around a road, so missing the fairway left is not the greatest idea. The outside of the dogleg has a pair of bunkers about 250 yards out, however, so if you want to get the drive anywhere close to the green, you'll need to either keep the drive close to the left tree line or swing a big draw around them. Of course, it's also better to hug the left side, as the green favors approaches from the left. The green itself is undulating and medium sized, with bunkers front right and left.

The seventeenth hole.

Approaching the seventeenth green.

The seventeenth green.

The eighteenth hole is a long par 5 that sweeps left for basically the entirety of its 570 yards. There's a small bunker left of the fairway, but the main obstacles are the trees and the narrow, sloping fairway itself. There are few flat lies on this fairway, as it mostly slopes from left to right. It's also very easy to either get caught up in the trees left or bounce through into the trees right if you don't play aggressively enough on the tee shot. The second shot plays uphill, with a bunker about 75 yards short of the green guarding the ideal right side. The green is long and narrow, with three bunkers left and one right.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

Albany CC is a tough course. Tough in the classic parkland sense, with not particularly wide fairways, a generous but not overly dense helping of trees, bunkers pinching in the landing areas, and fast, undulating greens. The sort of course the PGA Tour plays week in and week out. You could imagine this course getting extra nasty if they grew the rough out at all. It's probably a little short to host the Tour nowadays, since it doesn't reach 7,000 yards, but back in the 60s it very easily could have. More importantly, unlike the Links at Gettysburg, Albany CC doesn't rely on a trillion water hazards for its difficulty. The course is hard, but it is entirely possible to go the whole round without losing a golf ball. I did, and I am extremely far from anyone's notion of an accurate golfer.

I do think this is a good, solid golf course, but many of the things that make it a tough course also hold it back from taking that extra step up, design wise. The greens are fine, but beyond that, Albany CC doesn't present anything really interesting. The challenges on the tee shots are pretty similar; there will be trees and a bunker or two pinching in the fairway in the landing area. It's fine and it works, but it's not exactly the most intellectually stimulating design. The positives definitely outweigh the drawbacks for me, at least, so I'd be happy to play the course again should the stars align for that to happen.