Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. -- Located just a Mickey Mantle home run or two from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, Leatherstocking Golf Course predates the Hall of Fame, celebrating its centennial in 2009.
Leatherstocking Golf Course was designed by Devereux Emmet and plays along the shores of Lake Otsego. It plays an old-world 6,400 yards from the championship tees, but it defends itself from modern technology with hilly fairways, steep bunkers and lightning-fast greens that are elevated many times. There are a lot of spectacular holes, including several during the closing stretch. But the course finishes with a real treat: a par 5 that begins on a tee box out on the lake and demands a long carry back to land. The hole hugs the water the entire way and finishes at the back yard of the Otesaga Resort Hotel, which owns the historic golf course.
Leatherstocking Golf Course - hole 2
The par-4 second hole at Leatherstocking Golf Course features a steeply elevated green.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Leatherstocking Golf Course - hole 4
The fourth hole at Leatherstocking Golf Course is a downhill, 513-yard par 5.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Leatherstocking G.C. - hole 6
The sixth hole on Leatherstocking G.C. is a short, dogleg right par 4.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Leatherstocking Golf Course - hole 12
The par-3 12th hole at Leatherstocking Golf Course is a short, downhill shot.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Leatherstocking Golf Course in Cooperstown
Leatherstocking Golf Course, which opened in 1909, predates the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Leatherstocking Golf Course - Otesaga Resort Hotel
Leatherstocking Golf Course is owned by the Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown
Brandon Tucker/TravelGolf
Leatherstocking GC - hole 16
The par-4 16th hole at Leatherstocking GC plays downhill toward Lake Otsego.
Courtesy of New York Golf Trail
Leatherstocking Golf Course - greens
Leatherstocking Golf Course's greens are heavily defended by bunkers and steep slopes with gnarly rough.
Courtesy of New York Golf Trail