 The
Shenendoah
Golf Club is Flush
with Challenges
By Tom Robinson,
Staff Writer
VERONA, N.Y. - Many golfers have been known to bring gambling
to the course. The Oneida Nation has brought the golf course to
a gambling center.
The Shenendoah Golf Club, with its pro shop situated about a 9-iron
away from the back entrance to the Turning Stone Casino Resort,
opened May 25, 2000. The Oneida Nation has lofty aspirations for
its new showcase course.
 Within
three months of its opening, the Shenendoah Golf Club hosted the
Telergy Celebrity Classic, an eight-player skins game, featuring
PGA pros Phil Mickelson, Fred Couples, Craig Stadler, Rocco Mediate,
Joey Sindelar, Jeff Sluman, Wayne Levi, and Tom Sherrer. The event
included a Pro-Am the day after the skins game. A more significant
connection with the PGA Tour is one of the goals at Shenendoah.
Located between Syracuse and Utica, about a mile off the New York
State Thruway, the course is open to the public. Casino guests,
both overnighters and Diamond Card-carrying gamblers, play at a
reduced rate.
For such a young course at a northern location, the greens are
exceptionally fast. They play hard too, making it tougher for some
players to get close to the pin. Of course, getting close to the
pin requires getting to the green first. And, that is not such a
breeze.
| |
| Rolling the Dice at Turning
Stone |
| VERONA, N.Y. - Turning
Stone Casino Resort guests have two distinctly different
options for golf on the property. Shenendoah Golf Club
represents a championship test of the highest caliber.
Sandstone Hollow presents a challenge, but one of an
entirely different kind.
The nine-hole, par-3 course is small in stature, but
not in quality. It features holes that would fit comfortably
on the layout of its larger and more prestigious neighbor.
Its construction was handled by the same designer (Rick
Smith) and architect (Warren J. Henderson) as Shenendoah.
From the white tees, there are eight holes between
116 and 151 yards, plus an uphill 88-yard hole played
to the most severe of Sandstone Hollow's large, fast
greens.
The greens are protected by the same bunker arrangements
that can be found at Shenendoah.
The course plays 1,175 yards from the white tees.
From the black tees, it is 1,482 yards, including the
234-yard third hole. The red tees set the course up
at 912 yards, with six holes of more than 100 yards
and three others at 58, 84, and 92 yards.
Rounds of 18 holes and cart at both Shenendoah and
Sandstone Hollow are part of the "Up to the Tee"
golf package that includes a night at the Resort hotel
and a breakfast for a rate of $168/person based on double
occupancy.
Sandstone Hollow can fit the newer golfer or someone
trying to get in a little extra work on his irons and
short game.
The course can be the site of some fun side action.
Although it can be played quickly, it still offers plenty
of challenges to keep the short round interesting.
Turning Stone Casino also owns the nine-hole Pleasant
Knolls Golf Course off site in nearby Oneida. The course
is much more open with far less trouble than Shenendoah.
Considered more of a match for the recreational golfer,
Pleasant Knolls has tees that play to lengths of 3,393,
3,268 or 2,710 yards for nine holes.(TR) |
|
The white tees play 6,328 yards with a course rating of 70.9 and
a slope of 135. The black tees play all the way back to 7,129 yards
and allow the course to match Pebble Beach's course rating of 142
from there. There are three other sets of tees: blue, 6,685 yards;
gold, 5,839 yards , and red, 5,185 yards. Length is a serious factor
on a three-hole stretch early on the back nine.
The par-4s at 11 through 13 play 448, 494, and 420 yards from the
black tees. Even from the white tees the stretch starts with a 360-yard
uphill hole, followed by a 448-yard monster and a 391-yard hole.
Factor in the bunker positioning around the green and many players
will simply have to treat the 12th as a par-5.
The third (402 from the white, 452 from the black) is another well-bunkered
and lengthy par-4 that ranks among the course's toughest holes. Bigger
hitters may want to roll the dice and take aim at cutting off the
dogleg to shorten the 312-yard, par-4 fourth hole. For those going
over the corner on the dogleg left, there is even room to miss the
green left and chip back.
The 304-yard 15th offers much more punishment for gamblers with
wetlands left of the green and three long bunkers covering the left
edge of the fairway for about the last 100 yards. Without trying
to go right at the green, big hitters can go for distance and aim
for the small landing area that could produce an up-and-down opportunity
from the right front.
Nationally recognized golf instructor Rick Smith, who also designed
Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Mich., provided the design for Shenendoah.
Smith, named one of the top 100 teachers by Golf Digest and one
of the top 50 by Golf Magazine, has one of his three golf schools
at Turning Stone.
Audobon International bestowed its highest ranking, Audobon International
Certified Signature Sanctuary Status, on Shenendoah for its environmental
sensitivity. There are 17 courses in the country which have received
the award. Shenendoah is the first in New York State and the first
operated by an Indian Nation.
The course is named after Chief Oskanondonha, later known as Shenendoah,
who encouraged the Oneidas to fight on the side of the Americans
during the Revolutionary War. Shenendoah signed two important Iroquois
treaties with the federal government that still affect Oneidas today,
according to Ray Halbritter, CEO of Turning Stone Casino.
In protecting the land that it was built on, the course winds along
seven miles of cart path. An otherwise comfortable walk is made
tougher by some lengthy treks from green to tee, especially between
6 and 7, 9 and 10, and 14 and 15. Walking is allowed, but the rate
is the same as for players taking carts.
The basically level terrain, with gentle rolling hills, means
players can usually see what is in front of them. Often that means
targets defined by bunkers. There are 69 sand traps, more than half
of which are fairway traps.
Shenendoah Golf Club
Turning Stone Casino Resort
5218 Patrick Road
Verona, NY 13478
Resort: 800-771-7711
Golf Club: 315-829-4653
www.turningstone.com
Greens fees, including cart:
18 holes: $95, $75 for casino guests
9 holes: $60, $50 for casino guests
After 2 p.m. $65, $60 for casino guests |
