The Pristine 9 is a fun par three course with great mountain views all around. It was designed in 1910 by Alex Findlay the same year he was doing the Mountain course. Technically, it’s executive length since five and six are par fours in the 270 range (the big dog can eat a couple times!) but the other seven holes play between 93-200 yards.
(The 140 yard first hole shares a fairway and sand trap with the finishing hole on the Mountain course. The giant ski jumps in the distance give it a distinct sense of place as Lake Placid was the home of the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980.)
(The 113 yard third features a green between two ridges. From the tee, all one sees is the top of the flagstick. Gauging distance is bit nuanced as the ball can take some hard bounces off the front and back slopes.)
(The 262 yard par four fifth is wide open off the tee. The green lies against the slope, pitching to the back left. Judging the bounce and spin separates a three from a four. The green in background is from Mountain course.)
(The 270 yard sixth plays over a diagonal wetland with trees on the right pinching the driving line. Obviously it’s fun giving it a whack, but serious players might cheat down the previous fairway, or layup just over the hazard. Interesting hole.)
The Pristine 9 only has one tee marker on every hole so everyone regardless of gender or age plays from the same spot. Findlay placed the greens in variety of locations. A few highlights are the dell green on number three; the up n over green on the long fourth; the punchbowl green on eight; and the benched green on nine. The entire round can be played under 90 minutes. This means it’s accessible before work, during lunch, or after work.
(The 122 yard eighth has a small pond well short of the green. There’s no awkward ridges so good chance to get close. I hit it within 4’ for birdie.)
It seems like every big name upscale destination is adding a short course to their repertoire, but many of them are the pitch n putt variety. Pristine 9 has some real bangers that require long irons or hybrids. It’s definitely worth enjoying if you’re visiting Lake Placid.
(The 93 yard finishing hole is uphill below the clubhouse and eighteen green on the Mountain. It’s the shortest hole on Pristine. I tried to spin it off the back slope but my ball didn’t come back as much as I wanted. My comebacker was 10’!)
(I bogeyed three holes, two of them being the long par threes, and I hit the wrong line on the par four with the wetlands. 4 GIRs, 1 birdie.)
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