Turning Stone...A Premier Golf Destination in the Northeast
Skyrocketing air fares and baggage fees are forcing golfers to choose travel destinations closer
to home to save a few bucks.
In just a 4-5 hour drive (from Massachusetts and RI) you can arrive at the Oneida Indian Nation's Turning Stone Resort and Casino, which has evolved into a premier golf destination in the Northeast. Nestled in upstate New York's Mohawk Valley, in Verona, it's an easy, scenic drive (route 146 to 90 west). The resort features four hotels, RV Park, 21 dining options, five golf courses, two spas, a world-class casino, tennis pavilion, a dazzling nightclub and celebrity entertainment.
Turning Stone offers a variety of accommodations to fit every budget. Choose from twoAAA 4-diamond hotels -- The Lodge and The Tower; The Hotel, aAAA3-diamond award winner; The Inn, a moderately priced roadside inn, or The Villages RV Park.We stayed at The Lodge, an elegant all-suite boutique hotel that resembles an Adirondack lodge, overlooking two of the courses. With its exquisite décor, luxurious amenities, intuitive service, and peaceful ambiance, it's no wonder The Lodge received the 2007 "Most Excellent Resort" award by Conde Nast Johansens, one of the world's leading luxury travel authorities. Our stay at Turning Stone was the ultimate in pampering from the time we pulled up to their door to the time we left. No need for a car at the resort as everything is a short walk or they provide shuttle service.
Golf at Turning Stone is at the top of the leaderboard! Their five golf courses –including
three 18-hole championship courses, created by world-class designers Tom Fazio, Robert Trent
Jones Jr. and Rick Smith–make the resort one of the premier golf destinations in the country.
The courses were voted "2006 Best Golf Destination-Northeast" in Cigar Aficionado's annual
review of "The World's Best Public Golf Courses", and recognized as the "Top 75 Best Resort
Courses in the US" (Golfweek-2007).
Atunyote (uh-DUNE-yote) Golf Club, designed by Fazio, is five minutes from the hotelcasino, located in a secluded setting with a winding two-mile entryway along wetlands and forested areas. Host site for the first stop on the PGA Tour's Fall Series, it's the only PGA Tour event held on Native American soil. The longest of the three championship courses has five tee options, ranging from 5,120-7,315 yards with a rating of 75.6/slope-140 from the championship tees. Atunyote's parkland setting is highlighted by spacious, sloped, rolling fairways, large, undulating, elevated greens and steep-faced bunkers, hallmarks of a Fazio design. It's a pretty course with its meandering streams, rock formations, waterfalls and several lakes. The largest body of water...measuring 13 acres, runs alongside three fairways, including the dramatic 18th hole. For the ladies, Atunyote is the shortest of the three 18-hole courses, and I thought the easiest to play due to the wide open fairways, few hidden hazards, and of course, the assistance from our forecaddie (included in the greens fee).
Kaluhyat (ga-LU-yut) Golf Club, "tough to say and tougher to play", has one of the highest
slope ratings in New York from the back tees (rating 75.5/slope-150). In creating Kaluhyat,
Jones preserved the innate features of the site, incorporating mature forested areas, ancient wetlands,
native grasses, wildflowers, and wildlife corridors. It's an Audubon recognized "Certified
Signature Sanctuary". Keep your eyes open for the deer crossing on the 10th and 11th fairways,
and if you're lucky you may catch a glimpse of wild turkeys trotting down the cart path.
Kaluhyat has no parallel fairways, features dramatic elevation changes (measuring as high as 50
feet in some areas), plateau settings with impressive views, picturesque lakes and terraced
greens. To score well, players must navigate narrow, twisting, tree-lined fairways, many forced
carries over tall native grasses, water hazards and well-protected greens. Club selection is crucial
on every shot. Kaluhyat, "nature's beauty" at its best, offers players peacefulness and solitude;
providing you can manage the frustration of playing this tough course. Prepare to have
extra balls on hand for this one!
Shenendoah Golf Club was Turning Stone's foray into championship-caliber golf. Smith used the natural landscape to create a diverse assortment of wooded parkland, open links-style, and low country-style holes. A "Certified Signature Sanctuary" course, it also includes environmentally protected marshlands, tall fields of native fescue grasses and deep wooded areas. Shenendoah's generous, rolling fairways and sizeable greens make it player-friendly, but beware of the hidden hazards! Ladies, Shenendoah was recognized as one of the "Top 50 Courses for Women in the USA" (Golf for Women-2008).
Sandstone Hollow is a fun but challenging nine-hole, par-3 course that winds through woods
and wetlands, with greens surrounded by wild fescue grasses and rock outcroppings. Designed
by Rick Smith, it was rated among the top 25 par-3 courses in the USA by Golf Event Magazine.
It's the ideal venue for novices or accomplished players looking to fine-tune their short game.
Pleasant Knolls, a regulation-length nine-hole course, features wide-open fairways, gently
rolling terrain, and challenging water hazards. Purchased by the Oneida Indian Nation in 1999,
it was their first golf acquisition.
Don't leave Turning Stone without experiencing the award-winning Skana Spa. Steeped in American Indian design, it offers a range of all-natural treatments based on modern and ancient Indian healing traditions.
Turning Stone offers an assortment of "Stay and Play" packages. For more information turn to their website: www.turningstone.com
