Thousand Islands Country Club (Old)

Overview: The Old Course at Thousand Islands Country Club is the historic 18-hole routing on Wellesley Island, with current course data listing par 71 and 6,603 yards from the blue tees. Its fairways move from more open ground into wooded sections, with ponds, wetlands, wind and broad views adding variety around the island property. The layout has an older, less uniform rhythm than a modern resort course, which is part of its appeal for golfers who enjoy changing angles and imperfectly predictable holes.

History: The club’s official tour dates the Old Course to 1894, when George Boldt established golf on the island. Historical accounts credit Seth Raynor with reshaping the original nine-hole course into an 18-hole routing in the 1920s, while current course data also lists Willie Watson. The result is a long-lived course with layers rather than a single construction date. It remains the senior half of a 36-hole facility that also includes the shorter Lake Course.

Did You Know? The 16th green is a Seth Raynor-style punchbowl, one of the clearest architectural signatures on the property. The surrounding ponds and the possibility of muskrats near the wetland areas add an unexpectedly wild note to the historic routing.