Albany, NY Area Wrxer's??????

[smartpnoi]

I'm from the area, but I live in the NYC/Long Island area now. Bethpage is almost impossible, well the Black course that is. I'm usually just playing the the green or blue courses as my game is still in "hacker" stage.

 

I was just up there for the father's day weekend, and played Eagle Crest up in Clifton Park. That muni was set up pretty good, brutal on a walker, but still fun. I want to try Capitol Hills when I go back up there. It seems like a good course also. I've played the Van Patten before, but that was a few years ago, I have no idea how it is now. I also like the prices compared to here in Long Island, hahaha, and the course conditions (with the exception of Bethpage) are pretty horrible here.

 

Hopefully when I go back up again, I can meet up with some Capital District WRXer's for a round of 18

[Cswee10582]

I'm in Schenectady, always looking for anyone who wants to play, seems nobody is around lately! Not any good, but enjoy the time out there!

Finding this just made my summer!

Chris

[straight_shot]

whats up guys im from the albany area as well! im gonna try and revive this thread with some reviews on both public and private course!

Public

Town Of Colonie ( my friends and i joke and call it TPC TOC... anyways!!!)- this is usually not the round of golf i look to hit on the wekened but during the week it is great, after 4pm rates are unlimited play for 16 dolalrs. Its easy to get 36 holes in on a quiet day during the week. Greens are fuzzy but its got some challenging holes here and there and the 36 holes never gets old

Orchard Creek- by far the best public course south of the Twin Bridges, and at an "affordable" rate of like 39 walking its a very nice course with great greens and nice sand.

Schenectady Muny- flat and somewhat similar, but still a very nice affordable round of 18 withgood greens.

Cap Hill- a bit of a B**** to walk but still a very scoreable course especially if you play the back nine first and dont have to get through 16 17 18 being even and blow up!

Normanside- hasd recently gone pubic and for its price not really worth it compared to other public courses...but still nice and a tier above course liek schenectady toc and van patten. PLayed here for high school matches against bethlehem and it was private and very well maintained. Wish i could say the smae about its public ownership.

Van Patten and Fairways of Halfmoon- windy when its windy. but on nice sunny days both are hidden gems for playable rate. Avoid fairways on a busy day.....only public course outside of SPA that i played at 5 and half hour rate

Private

If you play alot of the local golf tours around the upstate ny area you know the tournaments im refferring too. NYSGA and neny pga.

Best private course is easily Albany Country Club...although ive never played The Roost which ive heard is amazing as well
other great private clubs are Colonie country club, Troy country Club, Pinehaven, Schyular( very very nice) and Queensburry which is semi private so check that out. I like eddison alot although i met the golf pro out at a bar in toga...the one by deandreas pizza. He was a wash out pro who was at some really nice club in VT but seems like he got fired. if you ask me it was probably because he was a raging alcoholic. That the vibe i got when we were at this bar. The bar was dangos i think. Anways he was really negative about it and kept syaing it was a piece of s***. Also in that area is Mohawk which is again a beautiful course.

CAN ANYONE SAY SARATOGA!!!!

Alright so i got a chance to live in saratoga a few summers ago when i came home from schol. I lived on boardway with my older brother. I worked at restuarants during the night to make cash. Partied all night when i got outta work and woke up every day and played golf till 2 for my shift. My brother was a cook so we had the same work schedule and that all we did all summer long. Untill about JUly 26th...then the real fun starts. For those who have never experienced the race track you gotta get into it. I was making so much money but yet saving none of it. Thus place is where you live only if you make alot of money or dont care about spending it all each week. When the track opened it was liek sleep didnt exist. We would wake up and play Spa which is my favorite course up there, or saratoga lake, whish is a unique and sometimes annoying course, but still a nice public course. Get out of golf by like 11 or 12 cause rounds up there take forevrrrr. Go grab lunch! then we hit the track and the paddock. Have some drinks hit on some girls. Go to work and then by 11 oclock Caroline street is bumping! Best town on earth if you like HOT GIRLS GOOD GOLF GAMBLING AND NOT SAVING MONEY!!!! check it out sometime.

[Tom D]

[quote name='straight_shot' timestamp='1389160749' post='8420521']
whats up guys im from the albany area as well! im gonna try and revive this thread with some reviews on both public and private course!
[/quote]
I'm all for trying to get this thread going again. I'm from the Loudonville area.

[quote name='straight_shot' timestamp='1389160749' post='8420521']
Town Of Colonie ( my friends and i joke and call it TPC TOC... anyways!!!)- this is usually not the round of golf i look to hit on the wekened but during the week it is great, after 4pm rates are unlimited play for 16 dolalrs. Its easy to get 36 holes in on a quiet day during the week. Greens are fuzzy but its got some challenging holes here and there and the 36 holes never gets old
[/quote]
I agree that Colonie is a well designed course that can be fun, but the greens can be awful at times (mostly because of the large amount of play that they get every day). You're right in saying that it is not a course to be played on the weekend because of the slow pace of play.

[quote name='straight_shot' timestamp='1389160749' post='8420521']
Schenectady Muny- flat and somewhat similar, but still a very nice affordable round of 18 withgood greens.

[/quote]
Schenectady is a pretty nice course for a muni and the greens have always been in good shape when I played there.

[quote name='straight_shot' timestamp='1389160749' post='8420521']
[color=#282828]Orchard Creek- by far the best public course south of the Twin Bridges, and at an "affordable" rate of like 39 walking its a very nice course with great greens and nice sand.[/color]

Cap Hill- a bit of a B**** to walk but still a very scoreable course especially if you play the back nine first and dont have to get through 16 17 18 being even and blow up!

Normanside- hasd recently gone pubic and for its price not really worth it compared to other public courses...but still nice and a tier above course liek schenectady toc and van patten. PLayed here for high school matches against bethlehem and it was private and very well maintained. Wish i could say the smae about its public ownership.

Van Patten and Fairways of Halfmoon- windy when its windy. but on nice sunny days both are hidden gems for playable rate. Avoid fairways on a busy day.....only public course outside of SPA that i played at 5 and half hour rate

[/quote]
I haven't had the chance to play Orchard, Capital Hills, Normanside or Van Patten, but Fairways of Halfmoon is a pretty good course even though it was a few gimmicky holes (the massively downhill par 3).

[quote name='straight_shot' timestamp='1389160749' post='8420521']
Best private course is easily Albany Country Club...although ive never played The Roost which ive heard is amazing as well
other great private clubs are Colonie country club, Troy country Club, Pinehaven, Schyular( very very nice) and Queensburry which is semi private so check that out. I like eddison alot although i met the golf pro out at a bar in toga...the one by deandreas pizza. He was a wash out pro who was at some really nice club in VT but seems like he got fired. if you ask me it was probably because he was a raging alcoholic. That the vibe i got when we were at this bar. The bar was dangos i think. Anways he was really negative about it and kept syaing it was a piece of s***. Also in that area is Mohawk which is again a beautiful course.

[/quote]
I was able to play Albany Country Club once and it was a very nice course. The greens were VERY fast and VERY undulating, which made the course play much harder than I was expecting. It is definitely worth playing if you ever get the chance, but be ready for a challenge.
I have only played nine holes at the Roost. From what I saw the course was very well maintained (even in the late fall, when I played it) and well designed. From what I had heard before playing it, I was expecting more though. I think it is at least a little bit over rated, but again it is worth playing if you have the chance.
Pinehaven is a nice course that is well maintained. Their practice facility is the best that I have seen locally because they have a nice range, as well as a few pitching ranges and a sizable putting green.
I have been lucky enough to play Schuyler Meadows twice and it is by far the best course that I have played in the Capital Region. The two times that I have played it were both in early September, it was still in pristine condition. The greens rolled perfectly, the sand was nice and fluffy (sometimes hard to find locally), and the fairways were cut nice and tight. Its too bad that membership is insanely expensive their or I would join without a second thought.
Another good local CC is Van Schaick Island CC in Cohoes. Its a nice nine hole course with two sets of tees that make each nine play very differently. Sadly, the club is struggling to find members and is having some financial issues. The course is still in great shape and membership is very affordable. To be fair, I am a member there, so I am a bit biased.

Some other good local courses:
Saratoga Spa-which you mentioned and I agree 100% on it being a great course
Eagle Crest-a pretty nice public course in Clifton Park
Ballston Spa CC-open to the public and is a great course with tough greens, but it is rather short.

If anyone has other suggestions for courses to try, I would love to hear.

Last thing, anyone know a good instructor in the area? I have worked with Peter Gerrard and Luke Scala, who are both great. Luke wanted to change a little too much with my swing though. If I can't find anyone else I'm probably going to work with Peter this year.

[Franmann]

In '86 I lived in Troy and Clifton Park. Worked at Stratton Vt that winter. Seeing the posts from all these towns and cities I am familiar with is bringing back good memories. Thanks.

[straight_shot]

i grew up down the road from mill road. If it wasn't for my grandfather and my proximity to mill i never would have become a solid golfer. Though i have never had lessons from Peter, he has talked with me while i practiced on the putting green. He is a very nice man and a top ranked pro in NYS.

[joey2aces]

[quote name='Kuz013' timestamp='1301318434' post='3095542']
'cuse
[/quote]
I'm in 'Cuse as well...

[518TitleistX]

I'm a member at both Airway Meadows as well as Kingswood golf course. I live in Clifton Park about a mile from VanPatten. I've been noticing the course quality dip recently and the cost of play rising considerably. Van patten, Saratoga lake, eagle Crest, and saratoga spa...all of which have below average or straight out poor condition of fairways and greens during the prime summer months. Fairways Of Halfmoon has been improving but its constantly windy and greens aerated and hard baked making scoring near impossible. I've been sticking to airway Meadows the past couple years as the condition of the course is generally good but its a short track at only 6000 yds from the white or ~6400 from the blues. I got an insane deal on the membership at kingswood this year... 600$ for unlimited golf, range use and cart for the year. Too good to pass on. Signed up for 6 of the NYSGA amateur series tournaments this year as well so far and considering more.
Sitting currently at a 6.5 ghin handicap with a low last year of 5.9. Always looking for people to play with locally!

[rymail00]

Me and 2 other members live in waaay upstate Ny,exit 38, about 1:45 minutes north of Albany. If you guys get something going we will come down and hack it up.

[Ghost_Orchid]

[quote name='518TitleistX' timestamp='1397959015' post='9128041']
I'm a member at both Airway Meadows as well as Kingswood golf course. I live in Clifton Park about a mile from VanPatten. I've been noticing the course quality dip recently and the cost of play rising considerably. Van patten, Saratoga lake, eagle Crest, and saratoga spa...all of which have below average or straight out poor condition of fairways and greens during the prime summer months. Fairways Of Halfmoon has been improving but its constantly windy and greens aerated and hard baked making scoring near impossible. I've been sticking to airway Meadows the past couple years as the condition of the course is generally good but its a short track at only 6000 yds from the white or ~6400 from the blues. I got an insane deal on the membership at kingswood this year... 600$ for unlimited golf, range use and cart for the year. Too good to pass on. Signed up for 6 of the NYSGA amateur series tournaments this year as well so far and considering more.
Sitting currently at a 6.5 ghin handicap with a low last year of 5.9. Always looking for people to play with locally!
[/quote]

I won a membership at Airway Meadows in the putting contest in their Octoberfest last year. Looking forward to playing there more this season. I live in Schenectady, so it's gonna be a little hike for me. Played Fairways today, greens were punched and lots of ice burn. Then again, pretty much all the local courses will have rough greens and fways this early, especially after this winter.

[518TitleistX]

[quote name='Ghost_Orchid' timestamp='1398037723' post='9132729']
I won a membership at Airway Meadows in the putting contest in their Octoberfest last year. Looking forward to playing there more this season. I live in Schenectady, so it's gonna be a little hike for me. Played Fairways today, greens were punched and lots of ice burn. Then again, pretty much all the local courses will have rough greens and fways this early, especially after this winter.
[/quote]

that's great that you won the membership! that putt is hell. I had made it in 2011 and had the membership for 2012. purchased the diamond membership there for 2013 and 2014. I was actually one of the winners in the a-flight for the Oktoberfest tourney this past year!
I played airway today actually. they finally opened the back 9 to carts for the first time this year... shot 40/40 so all in all not bad but could have been better. some wedge shots id kill to have back. tomorrow im in the NYSGA amateur series tournament at kaluhyat at turning stone. can not wait to see how this goes!

[Drewmun]

Haha just reading this old thread... did anything ever happen with it? BTW I think I know that "washout pro". 

[BraxtonFullerton]

Seems right that this thread is pretty much dead...

[jholz]

Albany? Come on man, no one actually lives up there...

[BraxtonFullerton]

On 10/14/2022 at 4:23 PM, jholz said:

Albany? Come on man, no one actually lives up there...

 

There's some great courses up here and literally zero activity in local groups/forums!!

[jholz]

Never been up that far in New York, unfortunately. But, I'd have to imagine there are some great courses and lots of folks who play. Maybe WRX needs to launch an outreach campaign in the area.

[TallGuy90]

On 10/14/2022 at 4:23 PM, jholz said:

Albany? Come on man, no one actually lives up there...

You mean Canada ?