Location » Wellesley Island, N.Y.
Phone » 800-928-8422
Fees » $62 Weekend; $52 Weekday
Par/Yardage/Rating/Slope
71/6404/70.5/127 (Old Course)
70/5005/70.0/113 (Lake Course)
Conditions » 4
Layout » 4
Facilities » 3
Value » 4
* Out of a possible five golf balls
Description » Resort facility with 36 holes, including an executive 18 (Lake Course), traces its roots to 1894, when the Thousand Islands was a playground for the rich. Before the Depression, this was a private club with an initiation fee of $100,000. The course is quirky and scenic with a wide variety of holes.
Reasons to play » For a trip back in time to a once-grand facility that has settled into a comfortable groove as a course for everyone. The TI Club no longer aspires to greatness, but there are still flashes of it at every unpredictable turn. Stay-and-play packages are inexpensive. Good conditions, true greens and welcoming staff.
Grand designs » The design career of Seth Raynor was short (13 years before he died of pneumonia) but distinguished. Raynor strayed from tradition of the era, moving earth, creating large, undulating greens, wide fairways and favoring bold strokes over subtle ones. Other famed courses he built include Yale University, Fishers Island, Greenbrier, National Golf Links and Chicago Golf Club.
Historic perspective » The original course was nine holes and built by self-made millionaire George Boldt. Raynor entered in the 1920s and crafted the rest of the course. Boldt, of Waldorf Astoria fame, built nearby Boldt Castle for his wife Louise. She died young, however, and Boldt never returned to the island.
Miles from the ordinary » The area is not considered a traditional golf destination, but there are enough interesting courses to make it a worthwhile stop. Golf here is inexpensive, uncrowded and casual. C-Way Golf Club (Clayton), Watertown Golf Club and Highland Meadows (Watertown) are short and have some maintenance shortcomings, but all have quality greens and plenty of old-school charm.
Best Hole
No. 7, par 3, 192 yards
How can a windswept par 3 with no water, bunkers or trees in play be a great hole? Raynor pulled it off by setting the green along a hillside and obscuring it with revetments 30 yards in front of the green. The hole plays downhill, but from the tee, players can’t see the green.
Strategic hole
No. 5, par 5, 524 yards
The four par-5 holes on the Old Course measure between 505 and 541 yards. All have multiple options and require considerable thought. The best is No. 5, where players lay up right or left, short of a pond, then hit a blind approach to a green backed by flagpoles flying U.S. and Canadian colors, which serve as targets.
