Putnam County Golf Course, Mahopac, NY

The course was in great condition. Especially considering it was a fall day and there hadn't been much rain in the recent weeks. Greens and fairways were in excellent condition and nearly all the fallen leaves were off the course. Well done greens-keeper and staff

Great value and great service for a municipal course. There used to be drainage issues which slowed things down on really wet days, but it appears that those have been fixed this year for the most part. You can't beat the scenery for the value - a much better deal than the westchester county courses.

Nice course. My wife and I played Putnam National on a seasonably warm early March Sunday. The course had just opened for the season a few days earlier. It is still a work-in-progress - traps still need to be raked, some maintenance needs to be done on the fairways, etc., but it is largely ready for play right now.

Putnam National has 4 sets of tees ranging from about 5,800 yards for the ladies to 6,800 yards from the tips. The white tees measure 6.385 yards and are a good enough challenge for the mid-handicapper. Water comes into play on 2 holes only. It plays much tougher in my opinion than its course and slope rating suggest. The lower nine (now the front nine - it used to be the back nine some time ago) is much better in my opinion. The back nine features a bunch of back and forth holes - the word "fore" is quite commonly heard on the back nine. My favorite hole is the 3rd hole, a downhill par 4 that is 345 yards from the white tees.

Pace of play today was tough - almost a 5 hour round on a March Sunday. You can imagine the pace of play when they get real busy. There is no ranger on the course to enforce pace of play - I know it is March and they are just getting up and running, but they do not have a ranger out there either in the summer. At least I cannot recall ever seeing one.

The final four holes are a real tough finishing challenge. The 15th is a long par 3, the 16th an uphill par 4, then the 17th and 18th both are 438 yard par 4s - and those distances are from the whites! Ladies have it equally as brutal - the 15th measures 176 yards, the uphill par 5 16th is 470 yards for women, the par 4 17th is 430 yards - yes, you read that correctly - a 430 yard par 4 for women. And the finishing hole, an uphill par 4 for women measures at 408 yards. Brutal!

We paid $50 for an early afternoon round with cart. Putnam National has a great season deal - $399 unlimited golf for the season - play anytime except for weekend mornings. Carts are mandatory and extra though - $17.50 for a cart under this deal per round. I thought that was a good deal.

In summary, nice course, tough pace of play, good value.