Mention Cooperstown and baseball invariably springs to mind. Home
to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, this charming village in upstate
New York is a
sacred spot to purists of the game.
At the opposite end of town are a grand hotel and golf course
that you might not be so aware of. But the Otesaga and Leatherstocking Golf
Course are as full of charm and tradition as the national pastime.
From the moment you pull onto the circle drive fronting the
hotel’s white-columned entrance, you know you’re in for an elegant experience.
Full of turn-of-the-century class and hospitality, the five-story, 136-room
structure overlooks shimmering Otsego Lake, the “Glimmerglass” so oft-praised by
novelist James Fenimore Cooper, whose father, William Cooper, founded the town
in 1786.
The Otesaga takes its name from an Iroquois Indian word
meaning “place to meet.” You’ll see why when you step onto the massive, curving
veranda out back, where dozens of wooden rockers are nearly always occupied.
The golf course, whose moniker was inspired by Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, is likewise
brimming with personality. Bounded by the water on one side and Lake Street,
Cooperstown’s main boulevard, on the other,
it’s a delightful journey, full of quirkiness—tiny greens and blind shots
abound.
Highlights include the fantastic closing holes: No. 17 is a
182-yard par 3 that demands a knee-knocking carry over an inlet of the lake; the
risk/reward, par-5 18th begins at an island tee and ends at a long, narrow green
in full view of the iced tea-sipping guests up on the veranda. Leatherstocking
is a highlight for golf nuts like Mike Schmidt, Rollie Fingers and George Brett
when they visit each summer during Hall of Fame Week.
From the Otesaga, the Hall is only a 10-minute stroll through
the village, although it’s likely to take longer as you discover a rich slice of
Americana along
the way. Adjacent to the golf course is the Fenimore Art
Museum, an impressive collection of folk and Native
American art. Across the street is the Farmer’s Museum, a sprawling complex that
depicts rural American life, right down to its live roosters and milk cows.
Village sidewalks are lined with locally owned shops, restaurants and cafes, and
tree-lined neighborhoods sport a generous display of Victorian gingerbread
homes.
