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The Intersection of Golf, Winter Sports, and the Olympics in New York State

There are very few places where golf and the Olympic Games are connected by more than coincidence. The Lake Placid Club is one of those sacred grounds.

Here, golf courses don’t just sit near Olympic venues. They provided the foundation that made them possible.

As the 2026 Olympic Winter Games unfold on the global stage in Italy this month, we are reminded how one NYSGA Member Club offers a truly unique story steeped in the early beginnings of these international games. Here, golf and winter sport evolved together, on the same grounds, leaving a legacy that New York State golfers are still reminded of each season.

A Founder’s Vision

The story begins with Melvil Dewey. Best known as the creator of the Dewey Decimal System, Dewey was also a reformer, educator, and believer in the power of environment, structure, and physical activity. After serving as chief librarian at Columbia University and later as director of the New York State Library, he turned his focus to the Adirondack Mountains.

In 1895, he founded the Lake Placid Club on a parcel of land across Mirror Lake from what is now Main Street. What started as a wilderness retreat quickly became something far more ambitious. By the early 20th century, the Club had grown into a lavish mountain community that eventually encompassed roughly 9,600 acres including the Adirondack Loj and main entry point to the famed High Peaks region.

At its height, the Club included hundreds of buildings, its own theater, library, boathouses, tennis courts, golf courses, farms, workshops, a fire department, and a school (now known as the Northwood School). It employed more than 1,100 people and could host more than 1,500 guests at a time. It operated like a village unto itself, renowned well beyond the Adirondack park. (While Dewey's contributions are widely acknowledged, his legacy is complicated by his recognized character flaws and controversial viewpoints).

Two Golden Age Golf Courses

The Lake Placid Club’s golf courses were designed during the Golden Age of golf architecture, and both layouts reflect the belief that sport should challenge, engage, and reward thoughtful play.

The Links Course was designed in 1909 by Seymour Dunn, a master Scottish golf instructor and club maker who resided in town. Though Dunn settled in the U.S. at a young age, his work spanned Europe and America, including private courses for European royalty.

True to Dunn’s roots, the Links Course is laid out in the classic style. Wide, open fairways, large, undulating greens and native areas throughout. Dunn was especially known for his par threes, and the Links Course features six of them, including the striking 9th and 11th. The finishing hole, guarded only by natural contours and the smallest green on the course, demands precision to the very end.

The Mountain Course followed in 1910, originally laid out by Alexander H. Findlay, one of the earliest champions of golf in America. In 1931, it was remodeled by Alister MacKenzie, whose work also includes Augusta National and Cypress Point.

Shorter but more exacting than the Links, the Mountain Course demands straight driving and smart placement. Tree-lined fairways, blind shots, elevation changes, and smaller, sloping greens reward commitment. From the 4th tee, players look out toward Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New York State. The course is also home to one of golf’s rarest features: back-to-back par fives over 600 yards, Nos. 10 and 11.

Where Winter Sports Took Root

What truly sets the Lake Placid Club apart is the role that the golf courses played in shaping the path towards eventually hosting not one, but two Winter Olympics.

As early as the 1910s, winter visitors were arriving in growing numbers. Members skated on Mirror Lake and skied and tobogganed directly on the hilly golf courses. Fairways doubled as winter trails long before that idea was common elsewhere.

The founder’s son, Dr. Godfrey Dewey, would say the Club had become “the leading winter sports center in the United States.”

That momentum wasn’t isolated to the Club either. Nearby Saranac Lake was building its own winter identity through the Winter Carnival (established in 1897), which brought residents outdoors for speedskating and athletic contests. Still, the scale and organization of winter activity at the Lake Placid Club was unmatched.

They built a ski jump on a knoll between what are now the 17th and 18th holes of the Mountain Course. A long toboggan chute began near the course and ran downhill toward the former Algonquin clubhouse site, a fast and thrilling ride that became part of local lore.

As winter participation grew, ski jumping became permanent. In 1916, the Club constructed a jumping tower on the golf course itself. In 1921, a larger, permanent structure rose at Intervale, the site of today’s Olympic ski jumps.

Lake Placid-born Olympian Art Devlin later captured the Club’s impact: “The Lake Placid Club pioneered winter sports in America. Before the Club, there was no such thing.”

From Club Grounds to Olympic Stage

The Club’s influence reached its peak through (Godfrey) Dewey, who played a central role in securing the third Olympic Winter Games for Lake Placid in 1932. It was the first time the Winter Olympics were held in the United States.

Without the Lake Placid Club’s land, facilities, and national reputation, Lake Placid would not have qualified to host the Games.

Nearly fifty years later, the town hosted the Winter Olympics of 1980 where Team USA notably defeated the formidable Soviet Union Hockey Team during the “Miracle On Ice” game, and went on to capture the Gold medal. Once more, the Club was at the center of events, serving as headquarters for the International Olympic Committee and being located half a mile away from “Herb Brooks Arena” named after the coach who led the Americans to victory.

Olympians Find the Fairways

That connection these days isn’t quite as strong, but it hasn’t faded.

Some athletes who have trained and competed in Lake Placid over the decades continue to play the Lake Placid Club courses. Past Olympians annually tee it up here, including in organized tournaments that bring winter sport legends back onto the land that shaped their competitive lives. Skiers, skaters, and hockey players who once chased medals now test themselves against Dunn’s par threes and MacKenzie’s demanding finishes.

What Endured

Like many grand resorts, the Lake Placid Club began to struggle as travel patterns changed in the mid-20th century. Membership declined, and long seasonal stays gave way to shorter visits. After serving the 1980 Olympic Games, the Club closed. Fires and demolition followed, and the last buildings from the old resort were removed in 2002. But the land and golf courses endured.

Today, 45 golf holes remain active (two full courses and a short nine-hole course), as part of the resort owned and operated by Art Lussi of the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The Lussi family purchased the historic property in 1996. Each spring, summer and fall, they treat thousands of visitors to the historic golf courses, incredible high peak views and fresh Adirondack air.

In winter, they return to their earliest role, welcoming cross-country skiers, snowshoers, and sledders.

The Club also plays host to competitive golf, most recently the New York State Boys’ & Girls’ Junior Golf Championships in 2023. Previously, the club hosted Women's Seniors in 1967, 1977, and 1978; Men's Seniors in 1943, 1944, and 1970; Women's Amateurs from 1942-1944; and Men's Amateurs in 1943-1944. Due to World War II, three championships were held simultaneously at Lake Placid Club in 1943-44.

From around the golf course, you can see the Olympic ski jumps still rise in the distance. The Olympic Village and historic Mirror lake are both just a short walk away. Few golf courses anywhere share their borders with sites so deeply embedded in global sports history.

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Story by Dan Thompson, NYSGA

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