bogeyextraordinaire

Ballston Spa Country Club has a special place in our hearts here at The Bogey Extraordinaire seeing as it was the first course we ever played as a kid, as my grandparents were members at the country club. Given my history with the course, it has been near the top of my list of courses to review once TBE was up and running.  This par 71 semi-private course has a lot to offer those who decided to tee it up in the landscape of Ballston Spa. Golfers beware, though, this course is only open to the public Monday through Thursday. It is closed for members only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as well as Holidays. The cost for 18 holes with a cart is $59, and the cost for 18 holes walking is $39. Whilst the course does offer online tee times, you cannot book walking tee times or singles tee times through their online services. 

First, lets talk about their practice facilities. Ballston Spa CC offers two practice greens, one up front by the parking lot and one in between the 18th green and 1st tee. The parking lot green offers players the chance to chip from up to 15 yards off of the putting surface, and provides multiple surfaces to do so (rough, fringe, fairway). The driving range has been seemingly lengthened since the last time I was at this course, but that could be my imagination. The range offers nicely manicured grass tees with a variety of yardage signs for targets. ​

A lot has changed in the 11 years since I last played this course, and what once seemed like a harrowing behemoth from the junior's and men's tees (mostly due to my ability at that age) when I was younger now stands moderately short when compared to courses in the area when playing from the tips. At just over 6300 yards, it certainly is not the longest of courses but what it lacks in length it most certainly makes up for in forcing creativity with the ball. The grounds crew has removed a slew of trees on several holes that have opened the course up a little bit, but does not necessarily make it any easier. Sure, the openness is aesthetically pleasing and soothing on the tee, but it can give you a false sense of security on certain holes (hole 12 comes to mind). The removal of trees has also allowed the movement of tee boxes on at least one hole (14) and turns what used to be a simple dogleg right into a force to be reckoned with, but we will get to that later. I was fortunate enough to be able to walk 36 holes here on a Monday afternoon, finishing in just under 5:45. Upon asking a few members of the staff regarding usual busy times, they said that weekdays around 11 or 12 are practically empty. The staff was even kind enough to allow me to do a replay for free seeing as it was intermittently misting/raining, I wasn't using a cart, and the course was practically devoid of life.

I chose to walk due to cost, and The elevation changes certainly give you a great workout but aren't severe enough to really effect your game in terms of being exhausting. 

The course layout is great for all ranges of golfing ability, a majority of fairways are open that you don't need to be pin-point accurate with your tee shot (there are a few exceptions that do come to mind). The other side to that, though, is that if you do miss the fairways the rough can be punishing. Most approach shots also provide you with places to bail out without too much danger of hazards. Having said that, there are plenty of water hazards on this course that are pretty well placed for some risk/reward decisions. However, for anyone who is a 14 handicap or lower, this course is great from the tips! For anyone with a higher handicap, I highly suggest the middle tees. It will push you to be creative with your tee shots and approaches in terms of the shape of your shots and club selection. I found that I was consistently having to grab different clubs on my approach shots on every hole. There is nothing more drab and boring that hitting driver off of the tee and always having, say, an 8-iron into the green. I found myself hitting anywhere from a 5-wood to a gap wedge for my approach shots on par 4's, and a variety of wedges on the par 5's. The par 3's also provide players with a few shot selection choices as well. On the 5 par threes, I hit 5 different irons from the tee. The course puts a premium on hitting fairways as the rough can get pretty nasty. 

The ultimate test comes from the par 4, 14th, which plays much longer than the 453 yds listed on the scorecard. Not only is the tee shot daunting with the hole shaped left to right, but if you miss the fairway slightly to the right, there is a slope that leads directly into the woods that guards the entire right side of this hole. Too far left will leave you 225 + into an elevated green that is guarded by a bunker on the left and not much room to bail out right with thick rough and the woods lurking. Hit the ball too far straight and you will not only be hitting from behind trees and out of testy rough. I treated it as a par 5 taking 3 wood off of the tee and chose to lay up to a lob wedge distance and one-putted both times I played the hole. 

In between my two rounds, I decided to stop by the restaurant, Henry's on the Green. Not only did I encounter a friendly wait staff who were attentive and social, but my food came out quickly and quite delicious. The menu offers a wide range of golf club standards, as well as several full entrees. The beer options, while not extensive were not your typical keg beers you often see at golf courses. Too often are beer choices devoid of substance and filled with monochromatic light beers. Not here. I personally enjoyed a Sullivan's Ale while scarfing down my delicious flatbread, and chicken tenders, carb loading for my next 18 holes. The price of the beers seemed a bit high in relation to other courses in the area, but worth it in my opinion based on the selection. 

In summation, BSCC offers a great challenge for golfers of all abilities, and requires golfers to actually make decisions on shots. Ball placement is key coming into most greens to avoid bunkers or hazards on your approach shots. Certainly an excellent parkland layout course, I certainly recommend this course to golfers looking for a weekday (Monday - Thursday) adventure. 

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I booked a tee time here on my way back from the Boston area after visiting family. I played here the previous Friday on my way out, and wanted another crack at the long course layout. The prices are pretty good for a course of this style, length and condition. With cart, 18 holes will cost you $39 and walking will cost you $24. With that being said, if you book online through their website, you can often get an mind boggling cart rate for 18 holes of $20 for a tee time after 12pm as an online price!

On this day I decided a nice long walk was just what I needed in the Granby countryside seeing as the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I ended up being paired with a local player, much older than me, who was also walking but only 9 holes. We instantly hit it off, talking about various courses we had played in the recent months and recommending a few tracks to each other. From my interactions here at Westover Golf Course, this is quite the norm with the clientele ; genuinely nice golfers who just enjoy their time on the course and are very easy going.

The course layout is almost strictly left to right, or straight away, so if you play a fade, this course is certainly for you. The golfer I was paired with told me a sort of urban legend surrounding the course layout revolving around the XO of the Westover AFB back when the course was being designed. According to the legend, the XO had somewhat of a habitual slice and had asked the designer to accommodate that into the layout. Sure enough only one hole, the par 5 7th, demands a tee shot that shapes from right to left. Almost every hole has woods in play on either side of the fairway, often times both sides, meaning danger of losing your ball is prevalent (I lost one on the 11th hole thanks to a extremely sloped chunk of woods and a slew of poison ivy i wasnt willing to search through).

I found that because of my length off of the tee (I usually only hit about 240-250 off of the tee) I was routinely hitting 5 irons and sometimes even longer clubs into par 4s on the front side. The length can be daunting on holes 2, and 6 on the front, and 11, and 15 on the back, depending on your driving length.

For the most part, this course was in phenomenal condition, plush green fairways, thick rough that puts a premium on hitting the short grass, and enough sand and trees to really cause you problems with shot shapes. The greens were in pretty good shape except for a few burnout spots towards the edges on 2 holes.

The staff was extremely cordial and very helpful, and the beverage cart was efficient in getting around the course. I saw the cart at least 3 times in my 18 holes, and the cart offered a wide variety of refreshments.

Practice facilities offer the usual grass tee range at reasonable prices, and a sizeable putting and chipping green out front near the first tee. Nothing over the top, but the green is in great shape.