Review: The Fairways of Halfmoon (Part 2)

It's time to take a look at the back nine at The Fairways of Halfmoon, go here to see the front nine.

The tenth hole is 420 yards, making it the longest par 4 on the course. The tee shot is very straightforward, with no hazards in play; however, I would probably favor the left side. The angle is marginally better going into the green, which is narrow and slightly angled left to right, but it's more because there's water left of the green, and if you're approaching from the right, you're aiming more at the water instead of away from it. So long as you don't hook the second shot into the pond, this isn't a tough hole.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is a fairly short par 4 with a drive that plays across a valley (with the pond from the previous hole at the bottom) up to a gently curving fairway. While the drive is wide open, the green here actually presents some difficulty. It's got quite a few humps and a noticeable tier in the back, so a precision wedge shot is important.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays noticeably shorter, as it's significantly downhill. The tee shot is to a blind fairway framed by forest, and while the fairway and playing corridor is fairly generous, it does narrow and curve off to the right the further you go. You can definitely run out of space if you stray left, so longer hitters may want to use less than driver. A solid drive will leave you a downhill 125-150 yards into the green, so just a wedge or short iron. The green itself is pretty straightforward, though it's guarded by two bunkers.

The twelfth hole.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is 160 yards, making it exactly the same length as the previous two par 3s. However, while they're the same length, they play very differently. The eighth plays 40 feet uphill, this hole plays several dozen feet downhill. So while the green is quite large and an inviting target, it's not quite as easy as it looks. You need to judge your distance well, which is a challenge in fairly strong, swirling winds; out of the four tries our group of generally competent golfers took at this green, we hit the green in regulation precisely none of those times. 

The thirteenth hole.

The thirteenth green.

The fourteenth hole is a shortish par 4 squeezed down into the bottom of the property; much like 4, 5, and the start of 6, holes 12-15 have been squeezed into land not exactly ideal for golf. The flattish field the majority of the course sits on was definitely plenty for 9 holes, but not 18. That leaves several holes to deal with nonideal golf terrain. And while the elevation change isn't extreme like on the previous hole (or the next hole), the hole definitely feels way more cramped than any other hole other than 4. With a narrow fairway, O.B. left in the form of dense shrubbery and a railyard beyond that, and more native area and a whole paved hiking/biking trail left, you'd be crazy to hit driver here. Use a long iron, get into the fairway, and settle for a full wedge or short iron. The green is small, fairly narrow, and is separated into two tiers, with the back much higher than the front. While it's only 355 yards, this may be the toughest hole on the course.

The fourteenth hole. The elevanted paved hiking trail is at top left.

Approaching the fourteenth green.

The fourteenth green.

The fifteenth hole is the reason why everyone takes a cart at this course. It's a very short par 5 (though 20 yards longer than the seventh, which plays over level terrain), but it effectively plays much longer, since you're quite literally climbing a mountain the whole way. Which make sense, you've come down the past few holes (particularly on 13), of course you have to go back up. And in a way, I'm sort of glad they do it all at once rather than spreading it out over more holes. This is more memorable, which is good because this hole is pretty unremarkable otherwise. No bunkers, no hazards beyond forest lining the fairway, a small, fairly flat green. Yes, it's a brutal climb, but I'd still choose to walk the course in the future, even knowing how bad the hike up this hole is. It's literally just one hole.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is a driveable par 4 and by far the most interesting hole on the course. It's very reminiscent of the tenth of Riviera: While you can go straight at the green, doing so presents a lot of challenge. For one, there are four bunkers around the green (especially impressive, considering the course only has 18 bunkers in total), with one large bunker in front and three smaller ones behind. The green itself is shallow, angled to be best approached from the left side, not the tee. There's even a fairway bunker left of the fairway about 250 yards out, guarding the ideal landing spot to approach this green. That's the ideal way to play this hole, lay up just short of that fairway bunker, pitch down along the long axis of the green. This avoids having to pitch over any bunkers. But the green is so close and so tempting, it takes a lot to resist going straight at it. And if you can pull it off, great. If not, you're going to have to work to make par, let along birdie.

The sixteenth hole.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is a bit of a cliche, being a par 3 with a green perched partway out into a lake, but at least it's not a long hole, being just 155 yards. The green is sloped from left to right, so while the golfer is obviously going to be drawn away from the water, bailing out too far left and ending up in one of the two bunkers left of the green will result in an incredibly dicey second. Everyone loves bunker shots with water lurking behind the green. Not as interesting as the previous hole, but not too bad either.

The seventeenth hole.

The eighteenth hole is just under 400 yards and plays over the side of the same lake from the previous hole. It's about 225-250 yards to fully clear the lake from the back tees, so longer hitters will be able to swing away with driver without much concern. Shorter hitters will have a more interesting choice: Either play away from the pond, leaving a longer, tougher approach into a green protected by two bunkers, or challenge the water fully and giving yourself just a wedge or short iron second. A solid if not spectacular hole to end the round.

The eighteenth hole.

Approaching the eighteenth green.

The eighteenth green.

I didn't have much to say about Halfmoon before, and I still don't have much to say. Not to say I didn't enjoy the round, because the course is perfectly fine. Not difficult, with a few really quirky holes. The Fairways of Halfmoon is (are?) the perfect example of a whelming golf course. Not overwhelming, not underwhelming, right in the middle between them. I had expectations going in, and those expectations were met but not exceeded. It's a perfectly nice, occasionally fun, occasionally head-scratching golf course. It costs exactly what you'd expect a suburban public course in upstate New York. $40 to walk, $60 to ride. Not insane value, but not a ripoff either. 

Crucially, I think Halfmoon never pretends to be something it's not. It's pretty short, just 6,200 yards from all the way back, so it was never going to be a very tough course. And I think they've done a good job steering into that idea of just being a pleasant place to play. There aren't very many bunkers, and aside from the few holes routed through the forest, there aren't many trees either. They also introduced the more-claustrophobic holes early on, and then returned to it later in the round. Which I think is good from a routing/pacing perspective. Neither stretch from 3-6 or 12-15 really stuck out as not belonging on the course, even though the majority of the round happens in a basically open field.

Apparently I did have a bit to say after all. As to the question of whether or not I'd play here again, I mean, I wouldn't say no, but if I'm looking for a round at a public course in the Albany area, I'd go for Orchard Creek every time. Either that or take an hour to drive over to Copake. Halfmoon is fine and I'm sure you could do worse, but you could also do better.

Review: The Fairways of Halfmoon (Part 1)

I'm always a bit dubious of courses with the naming scheme "the X of Y," though admittedly "the Fairways" is less egregious than "the Links." A course hundreds of miles from the ocean will have very little in common with true links courses, but a course named "the Fairways of Halfmoon" is probably going to have fairways. 

It does. 

And that's about all I knew going into the round, other then that the course – located in Halfmoon, New York, a bit northeast of Albany – was okay, with a few quirky holes. Also, I was advised that walking would be a mistake, but since my youngest brother insisted on walking, I decided to see just how tough a walk the course would be. 

The first hole is, by a hefty margin, the longest hole at Halfmoon, playing 560 yards. Make that even longer for our round, since it was playing pretty much straight into a pretty strong wind, and the course was very wet. A downpour about 2 hours before our round made extra sure of that. Anyway, the hole quickly turns hard left after escaping through a wide chute of trees, so you definitely want to hit a draw. Slicing a drive adds distance, and this hole is long enough. The second shot is very wide open, but there is a pond lurking right of the green. Not a big concern if you're approaching the green from 100 yards away, but the long hitters who can reach this hole in two will need to be wary of it.

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a pretty quiet mid-length par 4, as it has almost literally no hazards in play. The only thing to watch out for are mounds left of the fairway and a big tree directly in line between the green and the tee. Hitting a fade around that tree works very well and should give you just a wedge into the green. This green is pretty large, and while the greens at Halfmoon aren't flat, they're not filled with big, exciting undulations. There's break and slopes, but they're subtle. Still, this is definitely not a difficult hole.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is just 330 yards and plays downhill; while technically it could be driven, that is very much not the smart thing to do. The green is carved into the side of a hill, with a steep falloff into brush and trees just right. The best play is an iron into the admittedly narrow fairway, leaving a wedge up and over an oddly placed tree (it is right in the way, so you really want to avoid the left side if you can) to the green, which is quite long and very narrow.

The third hole.

Approaching the third green.

The third green.

The fourth hole is not a long hole at just 345 yards, but what it lacks in distance it makes up for in narrowness. There is very little room between the dense forest left and dense forest right. 30, 35 yards. Accuracy is king here, though if you can get to the top of the little ridge in the fairway, that will give you a full look at the green. If you have to miss, a miss left is much more likely to bounce you back down into play thanks to the sideslope. Right is completely and thoroughly dead. Find the fairway, and the second shot is pretty straightforward; the green isn't complicated and there's no hazards around it.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is 160 yards and plays around the shoulder of a hill to a partially blind, fairly shallow green. The elevation change in the green isn't dramatic, but it is quite noticeable, and the back left portion is distinctly higher than the rest of the green. Long is a very, very bad place to miss.

The fifth hole.

The sixth hole is 370 yards, but it effectively plays longer, as you can only really use a long iron on this tee. The hole bends nearly 90 degrees right about 200-225 yards out, so a solid lay-up to the middle of the fairway will leave you about 150 yards. A solid short iron, or even more if you don't hug the right tree line. Fortunately, the green, which is long and narrow, has no bunkers or hazards around it, so it's a fairly inviting target. And yet, my brothers and I all doubled this hole, because we all fumbled the tee shot in various ways. Golf is weird sometimes.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is every golfer's dream: A 440-yard par 5. And that makes it pretty easy, as there's a ton of room to play with left. No need to mess with the tree line and bunker right. Sure, that lengthens the hole and makes the second much less inviting, but at the end of the day, it's still a mid iron second shot into a par 5. Of course, you still have the option of taking the ideal line down the more-dangerous right side. Doing this gives you a better angle into the green, which is protected by a pond short and left as well as two small bunkers short left. I actually like that this hole is a par 5, instead of the par 4 most courses would present. The written par doesn't make a difference in what the golfer actually makes, but because the scorecard says a par 5, it flatters the higher-handicap golfers. And I can't say that's a terrible decision for a public golf course to make.

The seventh hole.

Approaching the seventh green.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole isn't technically a long par 3, as it's just 160 yards, but it plays steeply uphill, so you'll need to add at least a couple clubs to whatever you'd normally hit. There's a single bunker a bit short of the green that can catch anyone who doesn't use enough club on the tee; go in that bunker, and you'll have a nasty 30-yard bunker shot, one of the hardest shots in golf. The green is tilted fairly significantly from back to front, so the golf ball will stop, even though it'll be coming in at a lower than normal angle.

The eighth hole.

The ninth hole is a pretty uncomplicated short par 5 at just under 500 yards. There's very little to worry about on the drive beyond a few trees, and with just one bunker protecting the green, you've got a green light to go for the green in two, even if your drive isn't optimal. The green isn't what I'd call easy, but this is still an excellent opportunity for a birdie.

The ninth hole. Fun fact, the tees pointing off to the right in the middle of the picture belong to the eleventh. For some reason, the back tees for that hole were placed directly in the line of fire for this hole. They do not belong there. We played from the next tees up on 11.

Approaching the ninth green.

The ninth green.

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