Golf Travel Guide To New York State By Brian Weis

Golf Travel Guide To New York State

An Interview With Rod Christian, New York Golf Trail, President

By Brian Weis

Looking to plan the perfect golf trip to New York State? Planning a buddies trip or a romantic golf getaway can be a full time job not to mention pressure filled to deliver a memorable experience. Below is an interview with Rod Christian, President who shares some insider information about golfing and traveling to New York State, must play courses, a sample itinerary and where you can go for more planning tools.

Give our readers an overview of your destination and why they should consider it for their next golf trip?
New York State, according to Johnny Miller, has "more top courses than any other place on earth." The New York Golf Trail represents 28 of the top courses, as well as nearby inns and hotels for the ultimate in convenience.

Our regions include well-known destinations like Saratoga, Cooperstown, Lake Placid, Niagara and the Finger Lakes. You'll have a chance to play the local courses, stay in town, enjoy Main Streets and meet locals. It's the "Un-Resort Experience!"

New York's courses offer great variety ranging from those in the Lake Placid region that are over 120 years old to newer, outstanding tracks like Seneca Hickory Stick in Niagara and Saratoga National.

What are the must play courses in New York State?
Saratoga National Golf Club...one of the top public courses in the Northeast
Greystone Golf Club...a Finger Lakes gem, with magnificent vistas and rolling fairways
Mansion Ridge Golf Club...designed by Jack Nicklaus
Centennial Golf Club...designed by two-time US Open Champion Larry Nelson
Seneca Hickory Stick in Niagara...consistently rated as one of the top public courses in the state

What is the hidden gem and/or best value course?
Reservoir Creek in Naples in the Finger Lakes
Niagara Frontier Country Club, Niagara Region
Radisson Greens in Central NY
Leatherstocking in Cooperstown

Tough to choose just one!

Can you provide our readers with an ideal itinerary for a long weekend?
We cover seven regions of the state, so there are multiple activities in each region. Suffice to say that if you have time after playing golf there are activities, restaurants and experiences specific to each of these seven gorgeous regions.

After golf, what are the "must do" things or attractions to see?
Niagara Falls
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown
The famed Saratoga Racetrack
Finger Lakes wineries and craft breweries
Lake Placid Winter Olympic sites, including your own bobsled run!
Hudson Valley wineries

What is the best time to travel?
Anytime from May through October. Fall foliage in New York is spectacular!

Anything else you would like to share about the New York State?
We love New York and you will too! I started the New York Golf Trail because it used to be such a hassle to set up a golf trip in New York. My college friends gave me a hard time after staying in some lousy hotels and playing courses that weren't worth the trip. I also had trouble getting advance tee times. I saw how easy it could be to set up a golf trip in other destinations...one call or click and the rest was done for you. I also knew that New York State has some of the top courses in the Northeast. And of course our seven regions were already known to most...Cooperstown, Niagara, Lake Placid...you get the picture. So I decided to take the plunge and start my own business. It's been a great ride...we've had golfers from as far away as South Africa and Argentina, groups ranging from one to 80, and golfers of all abilities.

Where can golfers go for more information to research and plan their trip?
www.nygolftrail.com New York State 5857339770

www.nygolftrail.com

Revised: 02/03/2020 - Article Viewed 18,191 Times

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.