Cliff:
Among the mid-Atlantic and New England states -- I think one could make a very good case that Massachusetts has the best combination of public and private courses in the area.
JNC:
Of all the states I have played in America I'd have to say besides my home state of NJ I have played plenty of golf in The Empire State.
I don't doubt the quality public courses in western NY -- but keep in mind that the bar for their recognition is low given the overall piss poor nature of what calls itself quality golf in The Empire State. The Black draws much of the fanfare -- although I have somewhat soured on the layout -- because of the recent penchant to bastardize the course with overly extreme length and narrowness.
When NY went through a "surge" of public course development in the 90's the overall gains versus what was gained in other states in my mind is night and day. States such as Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, to name just three, made big time leaps forward on the public side. Even my little state of NJ has a better overall depth of courses from the public side than NY.
I've got to state this again for YOUR benefit. You have not played SN but you are then going off in stating that it has "no standout holes" and that it's only asset is its stern test. There's more to the course than that. I said this before -- Rulewich did a stellar job in routing a layout through a series of wetlands AND still achieving playability -- provided one plays the appropriate tees as Ron said he had not when he played there.
JNC, before you extrapolate some sort of conclusion about modern golf with SN as your prime example -- I would repsectfully ask you to play the course before jumping off with such a high bridge.
Clearly, you have the right to avoid SN for any number of reasons. I would just ask that you not apply your core beliefs to a place that is a bit more than what you might believe. In one of your comments you stated, "A demand for shot-shaping is certainly something I look for in a golf course ..." Well, SN has that in plenty of situations. I'm not saying Leatherstocking is not fun and for those who prefer such old school layouts it will be high -- very high -- on their list of must plays.
In regards to BB -- I have seen many people who have come to the Black and had their proverbial butt kicked-in and left swearing never to return. Unfortunately, too much of what constitutes BB today -- is about monster length and little in terms of finesse. Having Tiger win there in '02 was a great validation but I long for the days of when the Black provided a better sense of elasticity and strategic implications.
JNC, my point on NY public golf was that The Empire States has the widest gap between what it offers publicly and what is available on the private side. I can't think of a state that is remotely close -- save for Pennsy which would earn my silver medal vote and I have said so previously. As good as the privates are in those two states -- the public side is really shocking for its low level stuff -- albeit with a few exceptions as has been noted.