The Golf Course
The Golf Club at Basin Harbor features an 18-hole championship golf course. With six sets of tees, the course caters to all skills and abilities of golfers. World-known architect Geoffrey Cornish designed the player-friendly and historic course – it’s Lake Champlain golf at its finest! Gently contoured fairways, strategic bunker placements, and firm & fast greens makes The Golf Club at Basin Harbor a must play golf course in the Northeast.
For the full history of the golf course, please click here

1st Hole: The Golf Club at Basin Harbor opens up with a short par 4 and a good opportunity to begin your round with a birdie. A wood or hybrid will put you in the widest part of the fairway with a slight uphill approach to a large, crowned green.
2nd Hole: The second hole favors a left-to-right shot shape to avoid the bunker complex just off the fairway. Choose the right club on the approach as being on the wrong side of the large, contoured green can make a two-putt difficult.
3rd Hole: The third hole at Basin Harbor is one of the most difficult. Usually playing back into the wind, the hole requires a drive that splits the wooded area on the left and the bunkers on the right. The green is one of the smallest on the course and doesn’t offer many areas to bail out except short.
4th Hole: The last of the opening quartet of par four’s, the fourth hole is a short, drivable hole. A long iron off the tee is a fortuitous decision as two bunkers bottleneck the entrance to the green. This is one of the best birdie opportunities on the golf course.
5th Hole: The first par three of the golf course is nothing but a wedge. Another good birdie opportunity, be wary of hitting your shot on the right level as putting can get tricky across levels.
6th Hole: The sixth hole dates all the way back to 1927 and it hasn’t changed much, except the growth of the grove of pines that sits right off the fairway. Make sure you stay left off the tee or you’ll be blocked out on your approach. Four bunkers guard the green left, right, and long.
7th Hole: The second par three of the front nine is the newest hole of the golf course. Get your distance right off the tee as this is the largest green on the golf course and hitting the green doesn’t guarantee a par.
8th Hole: Number eight is the longest par four at Basin Harbor and arguably the most difficult. The width of the hole allows you to grip it and rip it, but be cautious to avoid the sand bunker & fescue bunker to the right. A front right bunker guards the green making par here will feel like a birdie.
9th Hole: The first par five and the closing hole of the front nine is the first hole on the golf course without a bunker, and it doesn’t really need as a pond protects errant tee shots. Your layup shot will be somewhat blind but try to leave yourself at least 80 yards to avoid having a downhill lie on your approach. The green is large and steeply sloped from back to front. Do not leave yourself above the hole or watch out!
10th Hole: The back nine is much longer and much harder. The tee shot requires a straight shot through a chute of trees. The approach is downhill to the newest green complex on the golf course. If you’re feeling creative, you can bounce your approach onto the putting surface.
11th Hole: The eleventh tee box sits parallel to the airstrip. The hole moves from left to right and encourages a shot shape of the same direction. A single bunker safeguards the front of the green. Missing to the right of the green will leave the golfer with an easy up-and-down for par
12th Hole: The first par five on the back nine is a good birdie opportunity. A well place drive, avoiding the sole fairway bunker, will set the golfer up with an easy lay-up or a great chance to go at the green.
13th Hole: The thirteenth hole is the first par three on the back nine. It’s not difficult, as it features no bunkers, but it’s long, requiring a long iron or hybrid off the tee. The green is small and flat. Hitting the green will guarantee a makeable birdie putt.
14th Hole: Another bunkerless hole, the fourteenth is a short par 4 that doesn’t demand much more than a hybrid off the tee, unless you’re feeling aggressive. The green is bulkheaded with a slight false front. This green complex is perplexing and putts are difficult to read.
15th Hole: A long par 4, the fifteenth calls for a well-struck drive on the left side. A pond sits right about 80 yards out all the way up to the green. Evading the water will lead to a great opportunity to gain a stroke back, or at the very least, a good par.
16th Hole: Sixteen is the last par 3 on the golf course. Depending on the wind, a long iron or hybrid will be used to find the three tiered green. Make sure you find the correct tier or you’ll be working hard for a two-putt par.
17th Hole: The seventeenth hole is the longest of the three par 5’s. Three fescue bunkers line the right side of the fairway and beg the golfer to cut off as much as he wants. The more you cut off, the shorter approach you’ll have into a green protected by a pond that wraps around the front of the green.
18th Hole: The closing hole at Basin Harbor is another long par 4. A good drive that carries the fairway bunker on the right will leave a mid- to long-iron to a relatively flat green. Ending the round with a par or a birdie will feel pretty good. Stop by the Red Mill for a beer on your way out or make your way down to the waterfront for a quick post-round dip.