Lake Placid Club - Mountain Course

I finished off the long weekend by playing 18 holes at the Lake Placid Club's Mountain Course. The Mountain Course was built in 1910 by Alexander Findlay, and then remodeled in 1931 by Alister MacKenzie. Golf nerds will recognize Mr. MacKenzie as a co-designer of Augusta National, home of the Masters Tournament. The round cost me only $30 and there was barely anyone on the course. Perfect. I ended up playing with a friendly chap named Stewart who teaches cooking at a chef school. He played lacrosse for Syracuse University, and believe it or not, this is not the first time I've been paired up with an ex-Syracuse lacrosse player. Small world.

Here's a stock photo of the first hole. Notice the Olympic ski jumps in the background. They're so tall they look like TV towers.

I was happy to shoot an 89, although my card was rife with penalty strokes due to a few humdingers that I launched into trouble. The one piece of local knowledge that I was sorely lacking is the fact that there are no water fountains on the course. To make matters worse, the first nine holes take you away from the clubhouse, and then the back nine bring you back. In other words, after nine holes you are really far from anywhere to get a beverage. I ended up buying a bottle of water from some construction guys who where working across the street at a motel.