The Course

Our golf course is located in the Town of Fallsburg, Loch Sheldrake, NY and is open seven days a week, weather permitting.

18-Hole Golf Course

The most successful municipal courses in Sullivan County are only getting better. That's because the Town of Fallsburg has recently invested more than $1 million in upgrading Tarry Brae Golf Course and Lochmor Golf Course with state-of-the-art irrigation systems. The new automated, two-line watering system will allow the courses to essentially be custom-watered - that is different parts of the course can receive different amounts of water for different lengths of time.

Also, the two-line system means there are lines on both sides of the fairways which will stretch to the roughs. So the browned-out areas off the fairways that afflicted many courses this summer will not happen at Tarry Brae and Lochmor in the future. "This will make a huge difference in the conditioning of both courses as well as our staffing efficiency," said Glenn Sonnenschein, director of golf of both Tarry Brae and Lochmor. "The old system at Tarry Brae was 30 years old and in bad shape. Around the greens we could only water a lot on certain nights [instead of a little every night] and we had guys here until midnight watering. "At Lochmor, we didn't have any fairway watering and were still dragging hoses on the greens. In bad drought years, the course was burnt to a crisp and we were losing money because people didn't want to play."

The automated system will allow hard greens to be watered more and soft greens a little less. It will also monitor water usage on sloped fairways and control runoff so there are no collection areas. Four years in planning and implementation, the new irrigation system is currently operational at Lochmor and near completion at Tarry Brae. The two courses complement each other perfectly - Tarry Brae is longer, tighter and tougher than Lochmor, catering to the better players. Lochmor is well-suited for the recreational, higher handicapper, though it can sneak up and bite. Both are well-run courses with scenic views of the surrounding countryside and lakes.

Perhaps Golf Digest's Places to Play described Lochmor best: "a good municipal course - up one side of the mountain, down the other." Yes, Lochmor plays over hilly terrain which provides great views of neighboring Morningside Lake. In fact, holes, Number 14 and Number 15 play along the lake, with the 15th green surrounded on three sides by water. Standing on the 17th tee and looking down at the 16th green and the lake beyond is one of the area's most scenic spots. Though some holes on the back nine go back and forth and the course doesn't occupy a lot of acreage, Lochmor doesn't seem to get boring - especially for the mid-to-high handicap player. It's not overly long or confining, but the fairways do pinch in some spots. The greens are not as sloped as Tarry Brae, but much smaller. Perhaps the best player ever to come out of Sullivan County grew up playing Lochmor and Tarry Brae. Bobby Heins, the former New York State Open and Met Open champion, worked at both courses in the late 1960s before going on to play the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Tour for a couple of years. Heins is now the head professional at Old Oaks Country Club in Westchester.

Quotes

I'd rather be two strokes ahead going into the last day than two strokes behind. Having said that, it's probably easier to win coming from behind. There is no fear in chasing. There is fear in being chased.

- Jack Nicklaus