Will,
I am going to preface this by saying that I loved Lake Placid on my one and only visit there last summer. Beautiful area of the country, fun downtown area, and a GREAT brewery in Lake Placid Brew Pub (try the Ubu or Moose Island ales).
As far as golf goes, I only played one round, it was on the Mountain course at the Lake Placid Club. It was a little underwhelming, I guess I was expecting a little more MacKenzie there. I have played Pasatiempo, Valley Club, Meadow Club, Green Hills, and didn't get the feeling that the same designer was a part of all those courses. It was ok, nothing to make a special trip for. It was strange in that the course has the longest par 3 I have ever played (around 280 yards, downhill, but still hitting driver) and then a drivable par 4 of around 255 yards. It was kind of bizarre. The Links looked pretty cool, but I only saw it from a distance.
I have a buddy who is an assistant pro at a club in upstate NY who favors Whiteface Club when he makes his rather frequent trips up to Lake Placid. We passed by Craig Wood on the way into town, it looked quirky, a little rough around the edges, but thought it would be a fun place to play. I don't have any knowledge of the Ausable Club, that is one I will ask him about next time I talk to him. He favored the Links course of the two at LP Club, but I know he prefers Whiteface above all else up there.