Best golf courses near Cooperstown, NY

Just down the road from the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, The Otesaga’s Leatherstocking course plays along the scenic shores of Lake Otsego. The rolling layout finishes strong with the par-3 17thplaying over water and the par-5 18th teeing off from a narrow island peninsula to a fairway bending around the lake.

How old is Otsego Golf Club? One of its early board members, Arthur Ryerson, went down with the Titanic. Otsego is one of the 20 oldest public courses in the United States, and it still looks, feels and plays like golf from another era. It started as a 12-hole layout in 1894, but it's now nine holes and a manageable 2,928 yards from the tips. A visit here is less about making pars and birdies as it is getting a better appreciation of the game's rich history. From the moment you walk into the 19th-century clubhouse, which contains artifacts from its founding members, you're going back in time. The original five wood lockers still sit beside the patio door. Back outside, you're playing virtually the same holes that were played when golfers traveled to the course by steamboat. The greens are tiny, and the layout is relatively flat—aside from the elevated, drivable par-4 sixth. It's an easy walk and even easier on the wallet. For $20, you can play an unlimited amount of holes on the weekend (if you want a cart, it's $13 per 18 holes). Baseball's Hall of Fame is nearby, as is another classic—Leatherstocking Golf Course—in the history-rich hamlet of Cooperstown. —Stephen Hennessey