[David Harshbarger]

Devereux Emmet has a lasting legacy in the Capital District around Albany, NY.  From McGregor Links, which Emmet opined could host a championship, to a host of private clubs, he left his imprimatur on the upstate landscape.

One lightly chronicled addition to his resume is the Mechanicville Country Club in Mechanicville, NY.  The club founded in 1909, and while I've seen no definitive evidence of the exact year of design, by 1925 a 9-hole, par 35 course existed on the property.

Today, the course plays to a par 36, and with the addition of a new clubhouse, the course now finishes at the original number 3, to provide the deck view of the closing hole.

On the day I played, the course was both fast and firm.  The greens are small, but offer a variety of challenges, including a mix of slopes, bunkering, and surrounds.  Water plays a limited role.  Instead, the routing brings into play swales and blind shots.  Doglegs are limited to the par 4 3rd, which apparently was a par 3 originally,  

As this is my first course, review, apologies in advance for the errors and omissions.

Next post PHOTOS!

[David Harshbarger]

The first hole (previously 4) is a straight away Par 4 with as I learned a hazard right.

View from the tee.


Swale about 100 out



Green.  This green was relatively level with subtle movement within.  The backing bunkers keep balls out of the woods/hazard.

[Phil McDade]

David:

Nice; good to see more Dev here posted. I like the low-profile nature of that 1st green.

[Ronald Montesano]

1. At what yardage from the tee/green does the fairway dip?

2. What is the condition of the bunkers? They look lipless in the photos.

Thanks!

[Mark Saltzman]

Yardage of 1st hole?

[David Harshbarger]

1. At what yardage from the tee/green does the fairway dip?

2. What is the condition of the bunkers? They look lipless in the photos.

Thanks!

The fairway dips at about 120 from the green.  These greens were pretty much lipless, and as you can see the margins are ill-defined.  IMHO this wasn't the way for the course to put its best foot forward.

I believe hole 1 is 378 yards.  Will update when wife returns with car.

[David Harshbarger]

The 2nd, originally the 5th, is 135 yard par 3 over a modest ravine.  From the tee the hole presents a small taste of green between uninviting bunkers left and right.....



To give you an idea of how perfectly visually calibrated this hole is, my tee shot landed just over the left bunker, kicking right, and I watched as it rolled right, past the flag, finally disappearing from view on the back of the green. What surprise awaited? 

From the left of the green.  An eight bunker necklace encircles the green.  The green has a sort of cowboy hat slope, inwards from the sides, but outwards front and back.



The left side of the green from behind.



All in all a classic short par 3 into a natural little greenspace.

[David Harshbarger]

3rd hole.  Par 4.  289 yards.

Risk/reward has always been a part of the golf course calculus, but one area where the equation has changed from the era of the ODG is acceptable green-to-tee transitions.  While not shown, the teeing ground for 2 was immediately to the right and back from the green for 1, and to ensure safety, was "protected" by a bunker.  Many other holes offer similar convenience.  However, the transition from 2-3 was not one of those.

To reach the 3rd tee required a very long walk through the woods.  Along the way, you get to see the "imported" sand used for the bunkers.



Once to the tee, the par 4 3rd presents a short downhill dogleg right protected by a big ole tree on the inside, and a relatively narrow fairway in an otherwise large landing area.

[David Harshbarger]

3rd continued...

The pushup green is well defended by 3 bunkers, necessitating a flier in, and preferrably from the front to take advantage of the green's depth.



From greenside left: those bunkers are not where you want to be.



From behind the green right.  Note the big hairy mound in the foreground, as well as the front to back/left-right slope (which was I was back here).



Inside the dogleg, the recovery area is quite generous.



From the left of the gren, more hairy humps

[David Harshbarger]

4th Hole (originally 7th), Par 5, 485 yards (will confirm)

From the 4th tee the hole presents a very wide potential fairway with a goofy mowing pattern that narrows the fairway to 20 yards in the landing area.



Why they maintain the course like this is beyond me, as the rough is short anyway.

That big gap in the fairway down there comes into more relief from the approach shot.  The fairway runs out to a finger on the left at about 135 from the green.  



On the right and in front the land drops to a ravine with a small creek.  The ravine is about 75 yards across, I reckon.



From down in the ravine, as I learned the view of the pin evaporates.

[David Harshbarger]

The 4th Green has a serious back to front slope and is open in the front, encouraging run up shots.



From the left side of the green (taken from the tee box for 5), you get a better sense for the slope of the green, and the basic but effective defense.  I managed to get up and down in 4 from here, as even though my chip artfully struck the side of the green slope, it still rolled down and away to far side of the green.   And the tough side slope ate up three putts.



If you look closely in the background you can see more of those hairy bumps. Hopefully, you never put those in play.

[David Harshbarger]

5th hole, Par 4 - 365 yards (will confirm).

Spinning around 180 degrees from the last photo, you get the 5th fairway. 



As is common on 9-holers, there's a separate set of tees going out and coming in.  This is the first hole where the back nine plays differently, and in this case the blue tees are to the right and back about 30 yards.  Hence, the fairway mowing patter is oblique to the 5th tee.  Not much else going on on the tee shot, just get it out there....



Of course, from the nothing's ever really easy on an Emmet course files, there's an embankment for the road that bisects the course which also, conveniently, obscures your view of the green. ....even when hitting from way over here by the white stakes under the tree.

[David Harshbarger]

Once past the road, the 5th green could hardly be simpler....



There is some defense on the left, more hairy bumps....



Oh and did I mention an incredible amount of back right to front left slope?  Again, I managed to get up in down in 4, as my chip shot checked up.  My 20 foot approach when 16 feet, and my 4 footer went 2 feet past the hole, then rolled back to where it started.  Simple oval, hunh?



From behind the green.

[David Harshbarger]

6th hole, par 4 (out), Par 3 (in), about 300 yards.

Originally the finishing hole, the now-6th would be the pride of any clubs as the closer.  The short hole plays a blind tee shot to a landing area fronting a pond with a fountain, behind which is a large green, visible from the tee.

 

(I assume these are the type of fairway features a Rees Jones type architect would remove so that the entire hole is visible from the tee.)

On the back nine, the tees are to the left above, where the cart is parked.  This is forced carry par 3 coming in.  From the top of the fairway hill, the remaining challenge is apparent. 

Again, the green has a very substantial back right-front left slope, though it moderates near the front.

[David Harshbarger]

7th hole Par 3 (out), Par 4 (in).

Going out, the 7th, originally the first, plays 167 yards uphill to a blind green. 

OK, first off, does anybody nowadays start a course with a blind par 3 requiring a long iron?  (I played a 3-iron).  But, when you think about it, what better way to get the transition from out there to in here than the excitement and anticipation of seeing what became of that first shot?  Obviously, that was then, and this is now, so the position in the routing is a little different.

Here's the view from the blue tees coming in.



And from the white tees playing as a par 3.  Note the aiming marker just above the horizon.  (I didn't until I got to the green).



From the top of the hill, the green and hopefully your ball are revealed. 

[David Harshbarger]

Once to the green, you see that the green is much deeper than it is wide, with a significant back to front slope.  The bunkers left and right are flush on the front sections, but have more pronounced faces in the middle.

When you get to the green you find that it is much deeper than it is wide, with a substantial back to front slope.
And yes, that is my tee shot.  Isn't golf a great game?



From the left side of the green.  The bunkers could use some TLC.

[David Harshbarger]

8th hole, Par 5, 535 yards.

Originally the 2nd hole, the 8th presents a fine 3 shoter with ample width and interest tee to green.  From the tee, a lovely parkland view:



The mowing is a little more generous than on 4, though I still managed to find the rough 265 yards out.  Another 50 yards further two eyeglass bunkers sit atop a ridge crossing the fairway.

I didn't check the yardage coming in, but these weren't in play for me going out, and wouldn't be in play for most but the shortest hitters.



Closeup of the right cross eyeglass bunker, then the left.

[Tim Martin]

7th hole Par 3 (out), Par 4 (in).

Going out, the 7th, originally the first, plays 167 yards uphill to a blind green. 

OK, first off, does anybody nowadays start a course with a blind par 3 requiring a long iron?  (I played a 3-iron).  But, when you think about it, what better way to get the transition from out there to in here than the excitement and anticipation of seeing what became of that first shot?  Obviously, that was then, and this is now, so the position in the routing is a little different.

Here's the view from the blue tees coming in.



And from the white tees playing as a par 3.  Note the aiming marker just above the horizon.  (I didn't until I got to the green).



From the top of the hill, the green and hopefully your ball are revealed. 

Dave-First of all great pictures. The better question really about the hole is not if it is long or blind but who carries a 3 iron?

[David Harshbarger]

From the top of the ridge on 8, you can see the green nestled about 200 yards down and to the left.  The green sits up against the woods, which provide a lovely frame.



The green from about 150.  I had a hard time figuring out the slope of the green.  It kind of runs away, I think, but it's also built up in back against the predominant front-back slope.  



You can get a better view of the mounding and build up behind the green, right.  Did I mention I had a hard time reading the slope?  That's what I got for my littel bump and run.

[David Harshbarger]

The 9th Hole, Par 4, about 400 yards.

Is that a Gasp! blind tee shot?  Again?  Indeed it is, as the 9th (formerly the 3rd), runs back along the left of the 8th, and the same ridge is pulled into both holes to create interest.  For a better player (which I impersonated on this hole), the ridge is not in play.



From the crest of the ridge the approach is straitaway to a subtle green protected left and right by moderate bunkers.  (The deck is also protected by a somewhat deeper bunker, with the deep face facing the clubhouse.  Do you find that odd, too?)



One of the highlights of the round was this Monarch butterfly, who obliged with an action shot.



Lastly, the relatively flat green had enough internal contour to leave me scratching my head as I walled offwith a 4.

[David Harshbarger]

Dave-First of all great pictures. The better question really about the hole is not if it is long or blind but who carries a 3 iron?

Tim, thanks for the props.  The only answer I have is people like me who can't figure out how far a hybrid will fly, can't hit a FW to save their life, and find comfort in having a go-to club for the all-too-frequent woodland recovery shot.

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