Glens Falls Country Club formed in 1912, and that year Ross visited to evaluate potential sites. Club chronicles record that he “strongly advised the Round Pond site,” citing both the topographic interest and access via the local trolley—an early decision that fixed the course’s present valley setting. A nine-hole course opened on June 2, 1914, with the remaining nine designed upon Ross’s return on June 3, 1921; the full 18 debuted for the 1922 season. The club’s internal historical notes even map how the original nine was absorbed into the completed routing—today’s 1, 8, 9, 10, 6, 12, 15, 16, and 17 trace to the 1914 loop.
Ross reappeared on June 29, 1938, to review the course. Minutes summarized on the club’s site say he believed the 4th, 10th, and 15th greens “had not settled” and were meant for “hit-and-run” (i.e., running) approaches rather than pitched shots. He also endorsed converting the road-crossing 16th into alternating par-3 and par-4 configurations to eliminate a short 18th; estimated cost halted the idea. This on-site consultation is the last documented Ross intervention.
The one substantial routing change came decades later when increased traffic on Round Pond Road forced a reconstruction of the 16th hole. The club’s account and independent directories agree that the straightaway Ross 16th was re-laid as today’s dogleg-left par 5 in the mid-1980s, with a further green redo a few years later.
Recent stewardship has focused on recapturing original playing widths and vistas. Since 2011, architect Ian Andrew has served as consulting architect, guiding tree removal and the restoration of grassing lines to re-expose the course’s downhill approach character and ridge-line views. Contractor documentation from late 2024 lists Andrew as architect of record for ongoing work.
Unique Design Characteristics
Several greens and hole concepts at Glens Falls can be dated to Ross’s construction period and remain distinct today. The short par-3 9th is an archetypal “volcano” hole: a raised target with close-mown fall-offs on multiple sides, where a slight miss can tumble 10–13 feet below the surface. Links Magazine singled it out among the country’s best “volcano” examples; GolfClubAtlas’s course profile explains how the absence of base bunkering accentuates the recovery dilemma.
Ross’s handling of the central ridge yields a cluster of down-slope approaches that define the round. The 4th green shows the theme: a swale short, with interior contouring that creates a back-right knob and lower left bowl, making exact landing points essential even from the fairway. The 6th features a broad, roly-poly putting surface with semi-punchbowl qualities to the right; the 7th, a drivable two-shotter, is defended by diagonal bunkers cut into the far slope, rewarding the aggressive line with an open pitch. The 12th, a long par-3 benched into the hillside parallel to the dominant ridge, demands a precise flight to a substantial, elevated pad—its teed corridors and green platform are explicitly attributed to Ross’s early-1920s build.
Two additional holes clarify how Ross used natural falls and false fronts on this property. The 14th rises to a green perched with bunkers in play on multiple lines and a severe fall-off behind, producing nervous approaches to back pins. The 17th presents a cinematic tee shot down the valley to a green with a pronounced false front; holding the correct plateau is a hallmark of the hole. The distinctive “top-hat” green at the 5th, a compact putting surface with brimming shoulders, epitomizes the way the architect enlivened the course’s calmer land. Each of these features is documented in the detailed hole analyses and photographs compiled by GolfClubAtlas.
The clearest surviving ensemble of Ross work would include 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12, and 17. These holes together display his original contouring at the targets, strategic diagonal bunkering, and reliance on ground-contour defense rather than added water—traits the course retained even as the 16th was later re-routed for safety.
Historical Significance
Within Ross’s New York output, Glens Falls is one of the few inland, valley-set designs where he leveraged mountain-rimmed relief to produce repeated down-slope approach play. Its historical profile was boosted when GOLF Magazine placed it No. 86 in its 2020–21 “Top 100 Courses in the U.S.,” a first-time entry for the club that underscored the impact of recent restoration and renewed architectural attention.
The course also carried professional relevance in the interwar years as host of the Glens Falls Open, staged annually from 1929 through 1939 on what contemporary accounts recognized as the club’s Ross course. Winners included Billy Burke (1929, 1931), Tony Manero (1930, 1938), Denny Shute (1932, 1939), Ky Laffoon (1934), Jimmy Hines (1933, 1936–37), and Willie Macfarlane (1935). In more recent decades, it has periodically hosted New York State Golf Association championships and USGA qualifying, consistent with the course’s competitive reputation without the distortions that championship set-ups often impose.
Current Condition / Integrity
Apart from the mid-1980s rebuild and reorientation of the 16th hole (necessitated by roadway conflicts), the routing is substantially the one Ross completed in 1922. Internal records mention intermittent changes—e.g., a towering oak removed along the 15th in the 1970s that had once forced a dogleg, the raising of the 18th fairway and construction of an upper 18th green in 1976—but there is no evidence of wholesale re-grading or the introduction of artificial water features through the core of the course. The 18th’s water carry is a natural arm of Round Pond and part of the original setting.
Since 2011, consulting architect Ian Andrew has focused on re-establishing Ross’s grassing lines and sightlines, notably through selective removal of interior evergreens that had narrowed fairways and obscured the course’s ridgelines. The impact is visible on the 2nd and 12th, where removing six large evergreens along the valley wall restored both airflow and the visual drama of the uphill green sites. Contractor notes from December 2024 list Andrew as architect of record for recent phases under superintendent Noah Tubbs, suggesting continuing, incremental restoration rather than a single, disruptive overhaul.
Glens Falls therefore reads today as a high-integrity Ross course: original hole corridors, a majority of green pads and interior contours preserved, and playing widths and ground-game options actively rehabilitated. The primary exception is the 16th, whose dogleg-left par-5 identity dates to the 1980s safety project and subsequent green reconstruction; it nonetheless restores strategic counterpoint to the par-5 1st by turning in the opposite direction on the second nine.
Citations and Uncertainty
Published sources disagree on the course’s “year built,” with directory-style listings showing 1912, 1914, 1920, 1923, or “1923 (Ross).” The club’s own centennial chronology provides the most granular primary-style dating—1914 for the first nine, a June 3, 1921 return by Ross to plan the second nine, and full 18 holes open for spring 1922. In addition, the 1938 Ross visit and his comments on greens (and on the idea of recasting 16–18) appear in the club’s compiled notes. Without access to original Ross plans, correspondence, and construction invoices, some degree of ambiguity persists on exact construction sequencing hole-by-hole, and on any minor, undocumented adjustments undertaken by the club between 1922 and World War II.
Sources & Notes
Glens Falls Country Club, “About Us” (club history, including 1912 site selection; June 2, 1914 opening of the first nine; June 3, 1921 Ross return; spring 1922 opening of the 18; June 29, 1938 Ross visit and comments; mid-1980s 16th-hole reconstruction; other facility dates). GolfClubAtlas, “Glens Falls (2017)” (course profile with Ian Andrew commentary; detailed hole-by-hole architectural analysis; statements on tree removal impacts and preservation of original features; confirmation of 16th-hole alteration due to roadway).
Top100GolfCourses, “Glens Falls” (summary timeline—1912 club establishment; nine by 1914; completion by early 1920s; note on 1985 change to the 16th).
NYSGA, “Glens Falls Joins Fifteen Other New York Clubs on Golf Magazine’s Top 100 U.S. Golf Courses” (GOLF Magazine ranking, No. 86 in the U.S. for 2020–21; note on NYSGA and USGA events; historical reference to the Glens Falls Open).
GolfCompendium, “Glens Falls Open” (PGA Tour event history and winners, 1929–1939); corroborated by Wikipedia entry “Glens Falls Open.”
Links Magazine, “10 Top Volcano Holes in the U.S.” (identifies Glens Falls CC No. 9 as a volcanic green complex).
Turco Golf (contractor project note), “Glens Falls Country Club,” Dec. 16, 2024 (lists Ian Andrew Golf Design as architect; confirms ongoing course work under superintendent Noah Tubbs).