Saratoga Lake Golf Club

Congrats to the staff/crew at Saratoga Lake on the improvements to course conditions in past couple years ... especially the greens which are now as good or better than other courses I play in the area. 2-3 years ago they had 'lost' all or parts of many of the greens ... large bare spots. It's clear that the massive tree removal program has been huge benefit.

The course is still heavily tree lined with lots of doglegs and position shots. Very hilly with numerous elevation change holes... most players ride; wouldn't recommend walking on a warm summer day. With the exception of the long, uphill par-4 13th, no especially difficult holes. Nevertheless a tough course for high-handicappers with lots of ravines and still plenty of thick woods to lose your ball. Conditions off the fairway are not always good, but understandable given the significant 'healing' that is happening post tree removal.

The Hideaway restaurant and banquet facility is very good place for post-golf lunch and is a popular destination. Was there on late cold autumn afternoon. Golf course was mostly empty but restaurant very busy.

Played the front 9 early morning Sunday. The fairways were in great shape considering it's mid October, and the greens were fast and true. They were a little on the firm side, but again in great shape for October golf. Lots of bends and twists where you really have to set yourself up for the next shot. Only used driver on two holes because positioning is more important than distance. Clubhouse is nice, beer selection was great, and the food was excellent. Staff was very friendly and welcoming. Will be back again.

What a fun golf course. Ended up using every club in the bag. A great equalizer if you are not a monster hitter of the ball. Pretty much a target course. Played it for the first time and totally enjoyed it, can't wait to go back.

For the past few summers we've done a golf trip around the Travers and played this course on and off. This will be the last time as the condition of the greens bordered on horrific. Two years ago, the starter had the decency to tell us the greens were a little sub par. This year nothing was said and we found diseased, bare and patched greens. If they've cut down on course maintenance to build that new clubhouse they are erecting then it's a major mistake, unless they are transitioning to the catering business and golf is just an after thought. That said, everyone that works there was very nice.

Nice layout with two different nines. Front is short with decent greens. Back is long with awful greens. Some were close to unplayable. Need to bring in some outside help to fix the greens. From what I was told from a twosome we played with is that this course is usually in fantastic shape. The food truck serving food was awesome. The pork loin sandwich was a 10!

Love the course and the location. Very peaceful and extremely interesting course. Some great elevation changes. Greens well sloped but not overly fast

Review soley based on todays round. Short track with narrow fairways. Must plan on where to place most tee shots. Course is beautifully designed on a mountain creating many elevation changes off tee shots and approaches. Course conditions were decent. Some burnt out areas on greens but didn't really come into play. If you haven't tried golf boarding, you should. This was the first time we tried it and the friendly gentleman in the pro shop helped us get situated on our boards. Would definitely play here again when in the Saratoga Springs area.

I really enjoyed this course. It was a nice challenge. Shot
placement is critical especially on the sharp doglegs, the
holes with hazards running across the fairways and
danger around the greens. Many holes have an elevated green,
and this requires you to really think about club selection.
Driving accuracy is important because there are trees lining
every fairway, but I never felt like the fairways were too
narrow. The greens were in very good condition, and for the
most part they rolled true. Bunkers have really nice soft
white sand.

The only negative was that the group infront was very slow,
and there wasn't a marshal to tell them to speed up. But
since I was playing in November I assumed that the course
was short on staff and this will be less common in the
summer. If you are a really really bad golfer you might want
to stay away from this course since there are many shots
over ravines, over water, and up to high elevated greens.

Overall this course was a great value. I look forward to
playing it again in the Spring.

played in the fall with an early Sunday a.m. tee time. Beautiful colors all around and exceptionally quiet. Nice soft greens but the putts moved quick. Not just a grip it and rip it course; many holes required precision yardage shots in order to set you up for your desired approach to the green.

pro shop and sandwich shop had good service. we used the sandwich menu board to callin from the 9th tee. It was 1pm on a Sunday afternoon our order was ready and tastey at the turn. the course is hilly, narrow in places and has a variety of challanges. This was the first time I played th course, so I played conservitively and used my hybred 2,4,& 5 irons a lot. This is not a course for novices. Play time ran close to 41/2 hrs on a Sunday because novices where playing below their ability. I would play the course again.