The public course threads on New York State got me thinking about LEATHERSTOCKING a little bit more. I have written about the merits of Leatherstocking several times on this site, and the few people on this site who have played the course seem to love it. However, I constantly come back to Leatherstocking in my mind and start wondering, "why don't more people talk about Leatherstocking?"
Mike Cirba put it best when he told me he thought Leatherstocking was the North Berwick of the United States (and it does have stone walls!) Leatherstocking is 6,400 yards at maximum, but it is filled with wild terrain and brilliant architectural features that make it compelling from the first tee shot at the short first to the thrilling par five finisher along Otsego Lake. Leatherstocking is great for a few reasons:
Despite a strangely-shaped property that causes a couple decent hikes from green to tee, Leatherstocking possesses a clever routing. The course was cobbled together from an original nine by Devereux Emmet and several additional holes from Emmet, local pro Len Rayner, and NGLA member and local philanthropist Stephen C. Clark. The result works beautifully, as the course works along the outer boundary of the course for the first 5 holes and drops down to the lake level for the 6th. Then, starting at the 7th, the golfer climbs up into the hills to the east of the lake. By the 11th tee, the golfer is high up above the lake with a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. From the there, the golfer slowly descends to lower elevations, before finally hopping off an escarpment on the 16th to play along the lake for the last three holes.
The routing also makes the golf course play much longer. The longest par four is only 410 yards, but each of three longest fours, 2, 7, and 10, all play steeply uphill to heavily fortified greens. Several holes will climb gracefully uphill, and then one grand par five will tumble back down, as at the 11th and the 4th. The routing also takes golfers all varieties of terrain, meaning uneven lies are the norm. In my first round in Cooperstown, I did not face a level lie until the 16th fairway. Unlike many modern layouts, which string individual holes together in a stilted format, Leatherstocking is a journey, a story to be read and enjoyed.
Leatherstocking is filled with great architectural features. The par fives are the hallmark of the golf course. The 4th hole features a blind, downhill tee shot along the stone wall that guards NY-80. This sets up a second shot over echelon bunkering to a slippery sidehill green. The next one comes at the 11th, a massive par five to a fairway that cascades steeply from right to left and ends with a hidden hollow green that allows for all types of approach shots. The 15th, my favorite on the course, is a short, sidehill five where hugging the high right side of the fairway leaves a good view and angle into a punchbowl green. Finally, the grand finale at the 18th is a boomerang par five playing around Otsego Lake from a precarious island tee originally built on junked automobiles. The par fives demonstrate all sorts of variety, excitement and strategy that continue throughout the rest of the course. From the sidehill, two-tiered first green, to the 3rd green hard by the stone wall on Route 80. From the Reverse Redan 9th, to the drop shot, bunker-laden 12th. From the false front at the 6th, to the humpback fairway at the 13th, Leatherstocking is filled with whimsical features that inspire the player.
Leatherstocking is by no means a championship test, but it never relents in terms of inspiration and variety. Even the 17th, which many consider the least-sophisticated hole on the course, features a heroic tee shot over Blackbird Bay that will test anyone's meddle at that stage of the round. From beginning to end, I find it more interesting than several of the nation's most highly regarded courses, including places like The Country Club (Brookline), The Ocean Course at Kiawah, Galloway National, and Oak Hill (East) to name a few.
In my mind, Leatherstocking is brilliant throughout and compares well with courses that are highly-regarded on a national level. So WHY does it not get more attention and respect from the American golfing community?