Chenango Valley State Park Golf Course

Chenango Valley State Park Golf Course in Chenango Forks is one of the lesser-known but architecturally-layered state-park courses in New York. The original 9-hole course, known as Riverside Golf Course, was designed by engineer James Evans and landscape architect Laurie Cox and built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s as part of the New Deal's state-park construction wave. In 1967, Hal Purdy redesigned the course and expanded it to the current 18 holes, keeping the CCC-era routing intact while adding the back nine. The 6,271-yard par-72 layout plays to a 70.6 rating and 124 slope. Purdy, who designed throughout the Northeast in the 1960s-1970s, worked tight, irrigated tree-lined fairways, rolling terrain, undulating greens, and difficult approach shots into the 18-hole routing. A notable rock outcropping on the 15th is one of the quirky landmarks players remember. For visitors doing the NY State Parks Golf Trail, Chenango Valley is the Southern-Tier stop worth including alongside Saratoga Spa (upstate) and James Baird (Hudson Valley), three state-park courses spanning three distinct NY regions and three distinct architectural eras.