(Eighth in a Series)
The Rome Sentinel Golf Tour visited the first industrial golf course in the United States this week: Oneida Community Golf Club.
The club was founded in 1897 with the course being three holes on the south lawn of the Oneida Mansion House.
“The course then became six holes around 1901,” club manager Pete Raynsford said. “Eventually it was nine holes around 1920. It became 18 holes in 1965.”
By 1985, the course had a full tee-to-green watering system. During that time, the course was private, but the members were encouraged to bring guests.
Oneida Limited Silversmiths put in the back nine and added the water system.
“When Oneida Limited owned and operated the course they were quite successful,” Raynsford said. “We had some of the best conditions in Central New York. The greens were quite nice and it was the talk of the town. If you want to play a nice course, go play Oneida Community Golf Course.”
The course has 150 full-time golfing members, another 50 who are considered part-time and 30 of those are social members who get a limited amount of 9-hole or 18-hole rounds of golf for free.
Another 20 members are league only for the Monday night mens league, Tuesday morning ladies league, Tuesday night mens league and Wednesday night couples league.
“Our membership is an older membership,” Raynsford said. “But they are very loyal.”
“I started playing golf here when I was 10,” longtime member Bruce Lanz said. “They would allow us to come on the course and learn to play golf by ourselves of course, as long as we stayed away from the members. If the members came through, get away from them, let them come through and they were very nice about that.”
Lanz said one thing that Oneida Community Golf Club can offer is happiness.
“My idea is putting me out in the driveway and people come in and I say ‘Hello,’ greet them. And if they walk in happy, we want them to walk out of the place happy and satisfied with the services that they’re provided,” Lanz said. “And if they walk in glum, we still want them to walk out with a smile on their face and that’s what it’s all about.”
Raynsford said that golf in Central New York is “very challenging.”
“The season is very short. And because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we got off to a late start,” Raynsford said. “The last couple of seasons were rainy. Last year in particular, we had a rainy spring. It’s just a short season. If this facility was down in North Carolina or in the southern states, we’d be open nine or 10 months. We’d have a much better chance of maintaining it and being profitable.”
Raynsford said that the course has changed over time, so saying that it has a signature hole is tough. But he did say that a few came to mind, especially since the course is in both Oneida and Madison counties.
“Oneida Creek divides the two counties,” Raynsford explained. “There’s six holes in Oneida County, which is in Sherrill, and the other 12 holes are in Madison County.”
“To me, No. 11 would be a signature hole,” Raynsford said. “It’s a little par 3. It has a log cabin on it, which dates back to way back when. I think on Thanksgiving there’s still a gathering at it.”
“To me, No. 3 stands out,” Lanz said. “It looks straight — straight down from the crest of the hill. It’s the hardest par 4 I know.”
“Number nine comes back to the clubhouse and you can’t see anything from the tee,” Raynsford explained. “It’s basically a blind shot. There’s a couple of trees that we all aim for. It’s not a very long par 4, but it has a very challenging green. It’s kind of similar to the eighth hole at McConnellsville.”
As for my time on the course, I really enjoyed this course. The changes in elevation were nice.
When you tee off on the first hole, it’s off an elevated tee box with a little dogleg left. When you come to the second hole, you’re hitting back uphill off of the tee and the green is sitting on top of a hill.
On three, like Lanz said, you’re hitting back off of an elevated green to the top of a hill and then need to hit back uphill to get to the green.
On four, you’re hitting off of another elevated tee, downhill to the fairway with a dogleg left. You don’t come across your first par 3 until the fifth hole, which is straight on from the tee with bunkers on either side of the green.
Six is straight off of the tee, but about halfway down the fairway, be ready to make a hard right hand turn.
Hole seven is another par 3 with a little dip in the fairway. Eight has another straight shot off of the tee and another dogleg right about halfway down the fairway.
Nine, as Raynsford explained, is a blind tee shot, uphill. The fairway rolls to a creek and the green sits above the creek.
On 10, it’s a straight shot off of the tee, with a slight dogleg to the left. Then you begin the climb uphill to the green. But if you look to the right of the fairway, you’ll see a cemetery and the log cabin.
Eleven is a par 3. You want to keep your tee shot straight. The sides are sloped with rough on them and the green sits right on the top of the hill.
Twelve is a straight shot off of the tee and 13 is a long par 5. Oneida Creek runs right in front of the tee box, so get your shot elevated and you’ll be all set.
Fourteen is also a straight shot off of the tee and on 15, there’s a dogleg right.
On 16, you have a straight shot off of the tee, but about 100 yards away from the green, there’s Oneida Creek again. Hit your second shot over the creek and on the green to set yourself up for birdie.
Seventeen is the last par 3 of the course. A trap sits right in front of the green.
And on 18, it’s a straight shot with a little uphill to the green. A decent drive and good second shot, you’ll have another shot for birdie.
Overall, I really liked learning about this course and playing it. I know I’ll be back to play another round at Oneida Community Golf Club.
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July 12, 2020 at 03:00AM
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Oneida Community Golf Club: First industrial course in U.S. - Rome Sentinel
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