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Ronald Montesano

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Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Holes 1-18 Posted
« on: December 18, 2014, 09:00:19 AM »
Saranac Inn Golf and Country Club (http://www.saranacinn.com/) is located in Saranac. New York. No longer part of the Saranac Resort, it still does well on its own. Designed by Seymour Dunn, the course portrays itself as having "tight, lush fairways" yet "designed in classic Scottish fashion." I hadn't played a Dunn prior to our visit last summer. I'll begin this MPT with a few overhead shots, to give an idea of the area and the layout, then jump into the first hole, feet first.

Saranac Inn got its arse kicked by Mother Nature last Winter/Spring. It experienced the same beating that the Toronto-area courses took and you can see the damage (we arrived in late June) throughout my photo series. Hole locations were lost for a time and the greens could not be cut to speed.

Hole 1: Par Four_404_370

Entire hole from sky



Overhead one~must be difficult to keep firm with all the lakes nearby.



I think I'd appreciate the layout more with each playing. Saranac Inn has some terrific holes and a lot of movement. As I think back, it might be my #1 candidate for course most in need of some TLC.



Tee Ball on Number One



Same Tee Ball, Zoomed In



A Fairway Look



Hidden From View Is This Fronting Fairway Bunker. Check Out The Drop From Back To Front



A View From The Side



A View From The Left Rear

« Last Edit: January 02, 2015, 12:10:37 PM by Ronald Montesano »
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~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

John Kavanaugh

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2014, 09:15:50 AM »
MCE (Merry Christmas Everyone)

Chris_Blakely

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2014, 10:01:58 AM »
Glad to see a photo tour of this course.  I played this course and several others in the area awhile back.  Did you play the 9-hole Alex Findlay course (Saranac Lake I believe) down the road?

Thanks,

Chris

Terry Lavin

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2014, 10:18:31 AM »
MCE (Merry Christmas Everyone)

Is that a JKG?  (John Kavanaugh Greeting)

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people.  H.L. Mencken

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2014, 10:30:47 AM »
SMD

No, Chris...on our tour we played (in order) Teugega, Tupper Lake, Saranac Inn, Sagamore, Glens Falls, and Yahnundasis.
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Tim Martin

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2014, 11:27:11 AM »
MCE (Merry Christmas Everyone)

TYJSTYAY-(Thank you John. Same to you and yours.) ;)

Richard Hetzel

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2014, 11:54:10 AM »
Glad to see a photo tour of this course.  I played this course and several others in the area awhile back.  Did you play the 9-hole Alex Findlay course (Saranac Lake I believe) down the road?

Thanks,

Chris


I played that one a few years back and posted pics of it. Conditions notwithstanding, it was a fun 9 hole course.
Best Played So Far This Season:
Crystal Downs CC (MI), The Bridge (NY), Canterbury GC (OH), Lakota Links (CO), Montauk Downs (NY), Sedge Valley (WI)

Mike Hendren

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2014, 12:06:43 PM »
Ron, that is a clumsy-looking green that reminds me of the 18th at Glens Falls.   The flattish front of the 18th at GF is original as I understand it with the more dramatic and bunkered rear added on.  Can't help but wonder if that's not the case at SI.

Bogey
Two Corinthians walk into a bar ....

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2014, 12:38:34 PM »
Hmmmm...good question. Ian Andrew should be able to tell us more about Glens Falls. I would think it might be the opposite with Saranac. In fact, due to the loss of pinnable spots to ice, they might have cut the front area to green height temporarily, but I don't know.
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Matt Frey, PGA

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2014, 01:06:52 PM »
While I was a PGA assistant professional at Malone (New York) Golf Club, Saranac Inn was probably the most visited / requested reciprocal facilities we worked with. I'm looking forward to the rest of this MPT!  ;)

Kevin Lynch

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2014, 01:15:59 PM »
Hmmmm...good question. Ian Andrew should be able to tell us more about Glens Falls. I would think it might be the opposite with Saranac. In fact, due to the loss of pinnable spots to ice, they might have cut the front area to green height temporarily, but I don't know.

I don't think the shape was a result of the ice damage.  Looking at the Google Earth aerials going back to 2006, the "L" shape was maintained in prior years. 

As for much older aerials, I can't tell for sure due to the lower resolutions.  However, the 1953 aerial had the same front bunker well before the two flanking bunkers, which would lead me to believe the green still came down that far. 


Kevin Lynch

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #11 on: December 18, 2014, 01:21:17 PM »

I hadn't played a Dunn prior to our visit last summer.


As a wintertime member, I will express dismay over that statement on behalf of the Cazenovia Park Men's Club. 

How soon you forget those hidden gems right in your backyard. 

Carl Nichols

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #12 on: December 18, 2014, 01:45:23 PM »
My mom lives outside of Lake Placid, so I've played Saranac Inn many times.  Was pretty underwhelmed.

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #13 on: December 18, 2014, 02:56:00 PM »
Oh, right, Caz. I love Caz. Thought it was some other guy. All right, now I've played 1.5 Dunns.

Carl, what underwhelmed you? Was it the conditioning? The more I think about those holes on the back nine, the more I realize how terrific that stretch is.
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Ronald Montesano

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 1 Posted
« Reply #14 on: December 20, 2014, 04:42:26 PM »
After the opening, two-shot hole, the second brings a bit more brawn as a three-shot piece. If Dunn built Saranac Inn in the image of a Scottish course, then the two negative alterations to the course are evident on this hole: small, waste trees and high rough. I'm not sure what "par" they are protecting, as no tournaments of note are held here. The first two holes are not even the worst offenders, but they do give us a sense of what is to come.

The hole is a gentle dogleg left, narrowing a bit as it nears the green. I enjoyed this hole, as I kept it in the short grass all the way. The green is a bit undulating, but nothing earth-moving.

As with some other course shoots, I'm noticing the missing images that were lost in a media transfer. Shame, as I don't know what might have been in the camera, originally.

Hole 2: Par Five_558_420

Entire hole from sky



Tee Ball on Number Two



Same Tee Ball, Zoomed In



A Fairway Look from the par five bend



Closer to the green about 125 out



Zoomed toward the green

« Last Edit: December 29, 2014, 07:58:51 AM by Ronald Montesano »
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Ronald Montesano

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 2 Posted
« Reply #15 on: December 21, 2014, 09:00:28 AM »
The third hole is the first one-shot device employed by Dunn. We were just invited to play through by a cheerful group of northern neighbors, so there isn't much in the way of photos to give a sense. Three is a typical "how to get from here to there over broken ground or a stream" par three and it is a great test of nerves after two blaise holes.

Hole Three: Par Three_160_115

Entire hole from sky



Tee Ball on Number Three



Same Tee Ball, Zoomed In

« Last Edit: December 29, 2014, 07:59:23 AM by Ronald Montesano »
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Matt Frey, PGA

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 3 Posted
« Reply #16 on: December 21, 2014, 06:46:55 PM »
How much do the trees on the right come into play from the far right tee box?

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 3 Posted
« Reply #17 on: December 21, 2014, 06:51:00 PM »
Not much, as I recall. More a visual hazard than anything else.

You can always tell when I've shot while playing, vs shot while not playing, vs shot while playing through a group on that precise hole!
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 3 Posted
« Reply #18 on: December 22, 2014, 07:02:16 AM »
The fourth hole has nice movement from the tee to the valley, then up to the green. There is a slope, or camber, from right to left, so a ball starting up that side will move nicely to the left. Don't start too far to the let, as you will end up in the corridor of unnecessary trees. The green is fairly round/pie shaped, which may or may not have been a Dunn trademark. The wraparound bunkers certainly are!

Hole Four: Par Four_333_285

Entire hole from sky



Tee Ball on Number Four



A look from high right



Zoomed in to green

« Last Edit: December 29, 2014, 07:59:50 AM by Ronald Montesano »
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Kevin Lynch

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 3 Posted
« Reply #19 on: December 23, 2014, 02:01:23 AM »
The fourth hole has nice movement from the tee to the valley, then up to the green. There is a slope, or camber, from right to left, so a ball starting up that side will move nicely to the left. Don't start too far to the let, as you will end up in the corridor of unnecessary trees. The green is fairly round/pie shaped, which may or may not have been a Dunn trademark. The wraparound bunkers certainly are!


"....as you will end up in the corridor of unnecessary trees."

I'm going to set the over/under at 20 for the times that phrase is repeated.  I saw this on the website "Though the Scottish layout remains as its designers originally intended,....." (I don't think that word means what you think it means).

Buried among the evergreens is a graceful sloping little hole (333 yards) that is a relic of long-gone technology.  In 1901, this was probably a nice challenge with a scenic overlook of the back 9.
 

I was curious whether the wrap-around bunkers was a Dunn style or perhaps simply a later renovation by the Inn owners (like the tree planting).  But looking back to the 1953 aerial, those same bunkers seemed to exist. 

However, looking at aerials of many of his other NY designs (Locust Hill, Ticonderoga, Tuscarora, Cazenovia), I don't see many with wraparounds like those so common at Saranac Inn.  I note many greens with pure flanking bunkers, and some that are surrounded (but not dug as closely as Saranac).   

Dunn didn't seem to use much variation in bunker shapes (mostly little strips) from what I was able to see in my cursory review.

Any Dunn students among the lurkers?

Ronald Montesano

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 4 Posted
« Reply #20 on: December 23, 2014, 08:01:57 AM »
Another victim of the great external hard drive crash of 2014 appears to be hole #5 at Saranac Inn. Truth be told, it's a breather hole. Not much happening here. Rather than add a bunker in the fairway portion of the drive zone, to delineate a bit, they added trees. A bit of bunkering around the green, but nothing noteworthy. For the optimist, a blank canvas awaiting a master's hand. For the pessimist, a corridor to the 6th tee.

Hole Five: Par Four_445_436_364

View From The Sky





« Last Edit: December 29, 2014, 08:00:40 AM by Ronald Montesano »
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Ronald Montesano

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 6 Posted
« Reply #21 on: December 26, 2014, 07:30:59 AM »
By this point on the course, I was feeling (if it had not escaped my lips in a gasp) a sense of plangent ennui. Forth, then back, then forth (or was it the other way?) This was fortunately about to end, but not even the wrap-around, green bunkers could save it on this hole. Another straight par four, no character in the drive zone, no real movement on the ground, uggh.

Wait just a second...I liked the spine in the green. Yes, I did.

Hole Six_Par Four_398_382_297

View From The Sky







« Last Edit: December 29, 2014, 08:01:21 AM by Ronald Montesano »
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 6 Posted
« Reply #22 on: December 28, 2014, 04:23:47 PM »
The second par three on the course is #7. When we saw that node fronting the green, we wondered aloud what it might obscure. The answer? Very little. A pie-shaped green with a bit of movement and a lot of winter damage. No great, golden-age golf course architect got away with boring greens. That might be why Dunn is not held in any sort of regard, beyond being a decent router, as we will see on the back nine..

Hole Seven: Par Three_223_161

Entire hole from sky



From the tee



From the native high and right



The look from the left

« Last Edit: December 29, 2014, 08:02:01 AM by Ronald Montesano »
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!

Kevin Lynch

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 7 Posted
« Reply #23 on: December 28, 2014, 10:29:33 PM »
Ron -

It may help to add a scorecard or the yardages on each hole.

#5/#6 didn't leave too much to discuss.

The node on #7 was a nice little piece of quirk to spice up an otherwise straightforward flat one-shotter.  I imagine this was even more interesting in the hickory days, when this was a true obstacle, rather than a mere visual impairment.  The little chipping area left of the green may have been the target for those unable to carry the node.

I also wonder whether you can be sure this green was designed to be this boring.  Once the trees over grew the course, the difficulty of maintaining this little pocket increased.  The current oval may have been from years of lax maintenance.

Ronald Montesano

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Re: Saranac Inn MPT (Montesano Photo Tour) Hole 7 Posted
« Reply #24 on: December 28, 2014, 10:43:05 PM »
Sabu,

Notice my careful use of "might." As it is, it's a boring pie. If Dunn designed it to be something else, it's a shame it devolved to this.
Coming in 2024
~Elmira Country Club
~Soaring Eagles
~Bonavista
~Indian Hills
~Maybe some more!!