By BRUCE VITTNER

We recently had the opportunity to visit Turning Stone Resort for an International Network of Golf conference. ING always has excellent conferences, but the key for this writer is that they always have great golf venues.

Turning Stone, located 275 miles from Providence off Interstate 90 just short of Syracuse, certainly qualified with great golf courses. We had a chance to play three of their five courses, and also visited the most famous one, Atunyote, that hosted a PGA Tour event last year with only three weeks notice when the B.C. Open had to be moved because of flooding conditions at En Joie C.C. in Endicott, N.Y.

This year Atunyote (which means eagle in the Indian language) gets to host its own event from Sept. 17-23 as part of the PGA’s Fall Series. The players loved the course designed by Tom Fazio, and you will too. The course is not on the Turning Stone property, but it sits only two and one-half miles away. Several lakes, including the largest that runs along the 18th hole, and beautiful open terrain make this a must play. It’s not often that you can play where the pros play.

The most difficult of the three 18-hole courses is Kaluhyat designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. Make sure you play the correct tees. This writer had to play the blue tees because it was a tournament, but the white would have been more fun. There are quite a few forced carries over wetlands, and many of the holes have narrow, tree-lined fairways. The stretch of holes from number 5 through 9 is spectacular. Number 5 is a short par 3 carved right out of the woods with wild flowers all around and an elevated green protected by large bunkers in front and to the right. Number 6 is a serpentine par 5 that has a pond on the right off the tee and then a forced carry for a second shot over wetlands.
 

Picturesque Kaluhy 5th at Par 3.

Number 7 is a 424-yard par 4 with a huge pond in front of the large, undulating green. Thank goodness there is a path around the pond to the right. The eighth hole is a tough uphill par 3 well bunkered in front. When you get to the ninth, you won’t believe it is a par 4. Measuring almost 450 into the prevailing wind, you need to really blast two shots to get a greenie.

The other 18-hole course we played was Shenandoah. This was the easiest of the three, but still an excellent test. Rick Smith designed this course, and the pretty par-3 Sandstone Hollows course on the property. The course was built to conform to Audubon International specifications and you will love the wildlife you see on it. The course meanders through trees to an open field to provide both parkland and links feel to your golfing experience. There are many elevated greens with wild fescue surrounding them and providing an additional hazard.

The rough on each of the courses was rough. Probably how it got its name, hey. Keep the ball in the fairway if you want to score. The greens on all three courses were so smooth and true, and good shots would hold on the soft but fast greens.

We snuck out of the conference to play Sandstone Hollows, just a minute from the casino and conference center. What a treat. The nine par-3 holes varied in length from 100-234 yards, and each hole was excellent. Robert Harper, director of golf for Turning Stone, suggested playing one nine from the white tees and the other from the back tees to get the best experience. We only had an hour and one-half, so we only played the white tees but were more than satisfied.