Context and commissioning (1914–1927). A generation before Ross arrived, Sagamore interests (or their partners) acquired roughly 188 acres on Federal Hill in 1914 “to construct a golf course,” establishing the idea of a hilltop facility separate from the island hotel complex. The First World War and subsequent economic headwinds delayed execution. Resort histories then record that Ross was hired in 1927 to create an 18-hole “championship” course for the resort as it repositioned in the prosperous late-1920s. These accounts are consistent across curated histories and modern course directories.
Construction and opening (1928–1929). The resort’s golf page and brand communications state the course was “designed and built under Donald Ross’s personal supervision in 1928,” while a parallel hotel history notes “a new Sagamore Golf Course…completed in 1929 at a cost of $500,000,” and that the resort purchased the course a year later—an acquisition linked to early Depression economics. Taken together, these sources indicate construction and first play in 1928 with formal completion/purchase recorded in 1929. No public evidence shows Ross returning for a second phase after opening.
Later stewardship and renovations. Accounts agree the course went through periods of decline and revival, including a significant restoration in the mid-1980s under new ownership as part of a larger resort reinvestment; public summaries emphasize that this was “multi-million-dollar” in scope, though they do not consistently identify a named architect of record. In the 21st century, the resort cites renovations and conditioning upgrades and promotes the course’s inclusion in resort-course rankings (e.g., Golfweek’s Top 200 Resort Courses in 2020). Specific architect attribution for post-1980s work remains thin in public documents; some directories list Ron Forse in connection with renovations, but firm portfolio pages consulted do not explicitly enumerate Sagamore—this requires confirmation from project files.
Unique Design Characteristics
A hillside routing that works with grade. Ross’s plan exploited Federal Hill’s shoulder rather than forcing holes directly up and down the steepest slopes. The opening stretch establishes the pattern: narrow, hardwood-lined landing zones into elevated or benched greens where a half-club of elevation can matter as much as wind. The club markets this narrow-fairway/undulating-green identity as central to the present experience, a description that aligns with on-site visuals and modern photo essays.
Green sites with protective sand and interior tilt. Contemporary descriptions stress deep bunkers around undulating greens; these hazards most often sit defensively at flanks and fronts to guard ideal lines while leaving an open, ground-accessible path when approached from the proper side. The effect is most vivid at mid-length two-shot holes where lay-up placement determines whether the player confronts sand directly or uses fairway cant to feed a running approach.
Signature moments. The par-4 13th is repeatedly singled out in modern writing for its elevated tee and stern second, with ponds and birches providing both aesthetic framing and tactical consequence; its combination of exposure and uphill finish makes it a bellwether for conditions. The downhill/sidehill drives that pepper the middle of each nine are similarly characteristic of Ross’s approach to the shoulder: speed slots reward bold lines, but trees and fairway pitch can convert a slight miss into a third-shot scramble to tight targets.
Holes most evocative of the Ross era today. Based on routing continuity and the way modern sources describe the course, the 13th, the short, exacting par-4s that hinge on angle into perched greens, and select downhill par-3s (where trajectory control matters more than length) read as the clearest survivals of Ross’s strategic intent. A definitive inventory would require overlaying 1920s plans or early aerials against current features to distinguish original pads from later reconstructions.
Historical Significance
A Lake George resort course from the late Roaring Twenties. Within Ross’s portfolio, Sagamore represents a resort commission on a mountainous site where he could lean on natural slope for variety, contrasting with his larger metropolitan or coastal works of the period. The design’s timing—1928/1929—made it both a capstone to the hotel’s interwar reinvention and a project whose economics were immediately tested by the Great Depression, which, according to the resort’s history, helped the hotel acquire the course at a discount in 1929. The course has been used as a brand anchor ever since.
Recognition and role. While Sagamore is not a frequent professional-tournament venue, it recurs in resort-course roundups and rankings, and the resort has leveraged the Ross authorship in marketing and heritage programs (Historic Hotels of America). For historians, the course’s value lies in the persistence of a Ross hillside routing in the Adirondacks and in the documentary thread that traces its creation to a discrete late-1920s build window.
Current Condition / Integrity
Routing and corridors. Public materials and contemporary photo features suggest the routing footprint continues to track the Ross plan, constrained by Federal Hill’s landform and property boundaries. The corridor tree growth that inevitably tightened lines over time has been managed periodically; nonetheless, fairway width today reads narrower than 1920s norms, as the resort itself highlights “narrow, hardwood-lined fairways” as part of the identity. Without early aerials published, a hole-by-hole corridor comparison remains an open research task.
Greens and bunkers. Multiple eras of renovation/reconditioning—notably the mid-1980s restoration and later programs—have updated greens (surfaces and subsurfaces) and bunker treatments. Modern images and course narratives show deep, grass-faced bunkers scaled to defend green entrances and firm, canted putting surfaces; however, specific claims that a given green contour or bunker lip is original should be avoided until plan-level evidence is consulted.
Practice and clubhouse. The 1928-style clubhouse and modest practice range remain fit for a resort day of golf rather than a tournament-practice facility, consistent with the course’s role inside a wider destination that includes waterfront amenities on the island hotel campus.
Citations and Uncertainty
Items that remain uncertain or require primary documentation
Exact architect attribution for post-1920s work. Public summaries reference a mid-1980s, multi-million-dollar restoration, and modern articles mention “extensive renovations,” but named architects are inconsistently reported in open sources; some directories attribute Ron Forse in recent decades without correlative firm documentation visible online. Confirmation requires resort project files, architect portfolios, and local approvals/permits.
Sources & Notes
The Sagamore Resort – Golf page. States the 18-hole course was “designed and built under Donald Ross’s personal supervision in 1928,” and describes present-day character (par-70; narrow, hardwood-lined fairways; undulating greens).
The Sagamore – Hotel history pages (Historic Hotels / brand history). Note a 1929 completion of a Ross-designed course at a cost of $500,000, with the resort purchasing the course a year later amid Depression pressures. Useful for dating the 1928/1929 opening/acquisition sequence.
VisitorFun – “History of The Sagamore” (PDF). Records the 1914 purchase of 188 acres on Federal Hill for a future golf course, contextualizing the pre-Ross planning horizon.
Top100GolfCourses – “Sagamore Resort.” Summarizes that Ross was hired in 1927, opening followed in 1928/29, and cites a mid-1980s multi-million-dollar restoration (architect not specified). Use cautiously as a secondary synthesis.
GolfPass – “The Sagamore Golf Course…restored Ross masterpiece” (2010) & gallery. Describes the 2000s renovations giving the course a “new lease on life,” with imagery of current greens/bunkers and notes on present conditioning. (Journalistic secondary source; confirms renovation era but not architect.)
Opal Collection blog – “5 Ways Donald Ross Lives On…” (2020). Cites Golfweek Top 200 Resort Courses (2020) and reiterates Ross authorship and the persistence of Ross-style features. (Resort-authored, but useful for documenting how the club presents its heritage today.)
Links Magazine – brief course vignette. Highlights par-4 13th (elevated tee, ponds, birches) and the course’s hillside engineering as characteristic features valued today.