The course first opened for play in 1932. The course was built by three local men, including Dr. Hubert Carroll, on property owned by another physician, Dr. Carol Goulet.
In 1947 Dr. Goulet sold the course to Dewey Brown. Mr Brown was a black man who had learned the game as a caddie in New Jersey. He was a black pioneer in a white world, a superb athlete, a sportsman and a gentleman. He was one of the first black members of the PGA. Brown was also a highly skilled club-maker who made a set for President Harding. After he retired, in 1972, he gave the property to his son, who sold it in 1976. The course was closed and went to seed. The property/course was again sold in 1986 to Peter Goldblatt who restored the course and reopened it for play.
This hilly course has wide open fairways and small greens. Cedar Rivert flows throughout the course and comes into play on a few holes.
#1 is a nice 340-yarder over a dip; the second hole is a beautiful dogleg left, with the river along the right, winding through the middle of the course, waiting to receive a slice.
#3, at the end of number three you gaze at pristine wilderness across the river. Only the Links (formerly the Lower) course at the Lake Placid Resort compares for scenery, but this is much wilder. The river frames the third green on three sides, then it snakes around so on the 155-yard #4 it's hooking and pulling you have to worry about.
#9 requiresa near vertical pitch of maybe fifty feet, and is one of the Adirondacks' great elevated finishing holes, on par with those of the Lake Placid Mountain Course and the Barracks.
The greens are lightening fast by Adirondack standards.
Par for the course is 36. From the back tees the course plays to 2,665 yards. From the foward tees the course plays to 2,205 yards. The longest hole on the course is # 3, a par-5 that plays to 550 yards. The shortest holes on the course are # 5 and 8, both par-3s that play to 150 yards from the back tees.
Watch out for # 3, the 550 yard par-5 challenge is the #1 handicap hole on the course. The easiest hole at Cedar River is # 4, a 155 yard par-3.
Latest Golf Course Reviews
$21 (cart included), played on Saturday, June 2012 at 10am
We tried to play Wakely Lodge in Indian lake last weekend only to find out that the course had closed. Having no other option in the area and having not played the Cedar River course before, we decided to give it a try. Price was decent and we only saw two other groups on the course while playing, and this was mid-day on a Saturday in decent weather?! The layout is ok with some surprising length on a couple of holes. Greens were nice, but the fairways were choppy at best. Driving the cart was a spine-buster at any speed more than a slow crawl. It's the only game in town now, so we'll make the best of it whenever we're in the area. Keep your expectations reasonable, and you can enjoy a good day's hack without much fanfare.