Thursday, October 25, 2001
At Leatherstocking GC, you have to see it to believe it
AREA GOLF COURSE REVIEW BY ROB CENTORANI
COOPERSTOWN — Any semblance of coordination had long since left as I positioned the golf cart to cross the long, narrow bridge leading to the 18th tee.
By this time, a 9, 10 and 11 had shown up on the scorecard.
I failed to make contact on a 50-yard shot en route to a 10 on the fourth hole at Leatherstocking Golf Course. If that could happen, there was no guarantee I wouldn't crash into the Black Bird Bay. Slowly, I moved the cart over the bridge, using the greatest caution to keep it dry.
While my playing companions looked in awe at the scenic par-5, 18th hole that required a tee shot over the bay, I wondered if there were enough balls in my bag to finish the round.
Never had I felt so completely worthless in a sporting endeavor. Oh, I've played plenty of poor golf, but this was something entirely different.
The combination of the course's rolling terrain, well-placed water hazards, countless sand traps, slippery greens and my inability to execute any shot led to this embarrassment.
By round's end, another 9 made its way into the scoring column. I hit one green in regulation, made one par and struck 40 putts.
And I was trying!
My first tee ball on the fourth hole wound up at the Farmer's Museum. There were also the two tee balls on the 394-yard seventh hole that dribbled into the pond 20 yards in front of the tee. And let's not forget the four consecutive topped shots to begin the 533-yard 11th.
Anyone watching would have said, "This is no course for a guy playing his first round."
One-hundred and 14 strokes!
That it came in the BUY.ROB Tour's final major of the season made it all the worse. It'll be a long offseason, listening to Cell-phone boy brag about his two major championships.
He was only slightly less pathetic, shooting a 105 to take the inaugural SOS Championship. The guy spent more time in the sand than Rommel. He didn't apologize for his ugliness, saying: "Two-time major champions need not make excuses. I'll leave those for no-game hacks who don't have a major."
Slim made me feel a little better, firing a 122. His round included a 4-iron snapped over his knee on the fourth hole.
It was especially distressing that we saved perhaps our worst collective effort of the season for a course that has so much beauty. The only factor that kept me from breaking all my clubs was the peaceful, easy feeling this course exudes.
The 114 was my high this season by three strokes, but I only hurled two clubs. The best came on the 12th hole, a picturesque, downhill, bunker-laden par-3, where I skull-hooked a pitching wedge off the back corner of the green. The 60-yard, helicopter toss that followed was one of my best this season.
This was a tremendous course. The tour has played harder courses, it's visited longer courses, but I don't know that it's seen a better course. Though this was our equivalent to the PGA Championship, the course was more reminiscent to Augusta National (perhaps next season we'll turn Leatherstocking into the site for the second annual Hacksters Tournament).
We had to block out all the annoying leaves and aerated greens. That aside, Leatherstocking is perfectly groomed all the way around.
As far as finishing holes go, you'll be hard-pressed to find a course that can match Leatherstocking's Nos. 17 and 18.
Seventeen is a short par-3 that played only about a 115 yards on Tuesday. You have to drive the ball over the bay to an enormous green. It would be the only green I hit, but my shot stopped on the back side, about 60 feet from the front-pin position.
The only drama left was whether I would three- or four-putt from there. I was quite pleased with my three-putt.
The 18th is a 505-yard, par-5 that, for normal players, would be a test of courage. The farther left you aim, the more water you have to carry. It's a risk-reward scenario, but a daring drive that stayed dry would leave a short shot on the dogleg left.
Naturally, I hooked one in the water before pushing the next ball onto the sixth fairway. The predictable three-putt, my fifth of the round, finished off saddest performance in tour history.
The season-ending BUY.ROB Tour Championship will be held next week at Riverbend Golf Club in New Berlin.
Rob Centorani covers area golf for The Daily Star. E-mail him at rcentorani@thedailystar.com.
Area Golf Course Review
This week: Leatherstocking Golf Course.
Overall recommendation: The rolling course will teach players how to hit from a variety of lies. It's unusual to find a flat lie. You'll also learn to play from the sand. There are plenty traps around the greens and on the fairways. The greens are extremely quick, but don't break as much as they appear. You'll likely have to travel quite a ways to find a course in better condition. You'll also have to take out a second mortgage to pay for greens fees, but it's a place every golfer should play at least once.
Page 17: Course layout, course breakdown, inside and outside the numbers and The Golf Caddy.
Next week: Riverbend Golf Club.
Leatherstocking GC general information
Public greens fees: $80.
Carts: $17 per person.
Memberships: $1,000 for a single; $1,250 for family.
Instruction: $100 per hour for non-members; $80 for members.
Note: Prices subject to change next season.
Inside the numbers
Breakdown of Leatherstocking Golf Course.
Holes: 18.
Yards: 6,056.
Par: 35-36 —71.
Par 3s: four. Par 4s: 11. Par 5s: three.
Longest hole: 11, 533 yards.
Shortest hole: 12, 122.
USGA slope rating: 69.7/132.
Outside the numbers
Breakdown of Rob Centorani's round at Leatherstocking Golf Course.
Score: 58-56 — 114.
Fairways hit: Four.
Greens hit: One.
Number of putts: 40.
Clubs thrown: Two.
Clubs broken: None.
Seasonal statistics
