One of the grand resorts of the Northeast, the Sagamore Resort was opening in 1883. On Lake George in upstate New York, this Victorian-era resort was named after an American Indian in the novel Last of the Mohicans. After fires severely damaged the resort, they rebuilt it in 1921. After sixty years of slow decay, the hotel was a developer purchased and restored it in 1983. It has hosted celebrities and dignitaries with its long-standing hospitality.
With the beauty of the Adirondacks mountains and Lake George, the resort is a magnet for upscale travelers looking for a comfortable retreat. The seventy-acre resort complex consumes most of Green Island, connecting to the town of Bolton Landing by a short automobile bridge.
Sagamore Golf Course
The golf club is three miles to the northwest in dense forest. They added the Sagamore Golf Course in 1928. The most celebrated architect of the time, Donald Ross, leveraged the natural beauty to create a remarkable layout. An old small but cozy clubhouse surrounded by trees invites the player to partake of an adult beverage after the round imaging what it was like in the 1920s. However, the kitchen only opens for dinner so bring some food.
Fairways are lush and lined with dense hardwoods. The course was in good condition with lush fairways and rough. But we expected the mountain-like fairways to have some inconsistencies. Narrow rough allows errant shots to penetrate tree lines. If you find your ball, there is usually no shot. Several holes have blind tee shots that move sharply left or right narrowing the landing area.
These traditional Ross greens are gently undulating uphill plateaus with subtle breaks. High quality reasonably fast greens for a heavily wooded course near the mountains are unusual. Ross penalizes bold shots as fallaway slopes are common around the greens. Other less plateaued greens invite run-up shots but maintain fallaway slopes beyond.
With mature landscape, excellent mountain and lake views, and Donald Ross style greens, the Sagamore Golf Course is a fun course to play. Despite varied fairway conditioning during the year, it’s a pleasant track.
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