Sagamore Resort in New York keeps getting better with age

Since 1883, the Sagamore Resort has drawn families from all over the New York area and beyond for its beautiful views of the Adirondack Mountains and Lake George, an abundance of outdoor activities and a Donald Ross golf course.

Now there are even more reasons to come back. The historic hotel has undergone several renovations that bring it up to date, while keeping that old-time charm.

Thirty six new rooms are open in the executive wing of the hotel, with several modern touches like flat-screen televisions and glass-enclosed showers.

The dining room has been renamed La Bella Vita Ristorante and is not to be missed, especially around sunset, since the elegant atmosphere and unobstructed views of the lake make for a memorable dinner.

Maidstone: The Garden of Eden

A few days ago, I played Maidstone, which for decades had been on my “must play before I die” list. The experience was mind-jarringly surreal, kind of like seeing Monet’s Water Lillies or Michaelangelo’s David, and infinitely exceeded all of my expectations.

Maidstone is a 118-year-old club on the east end of Long Island in East Hampton, N.Y. Wedged between the Atlantic Ocean and Gardiner’s Bay, Maidstone is an ultra exclusive oasis of leisure with it’s renowned 18-hole course (84^th on Golf Magazine’s Top 100 courses in the U.S.), a nine-hole executive course, 19-grass tennis courts, a beach club and a gigantic tudor clubhouse perched atop a hill between the main course and the ocean.

Happy Birthday, Saint Andrew's Golf Club

Hop onto an expressway anywhere in New York's Tri-state area and you will run into a legendary golf club somewhere. From the eastern tip of Long Island to the New Jersey Turnpike farther west, the landscape is dotted with courses that tell the story of American golf.

But only one American golf club can be the first American golf club. On Friday, the Saint Andrew's Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., will turn 120 years old, and I can vouch that the old man looks good for his age.

In April, the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association held its opening tournament of the season at Saint Andrew's. As usual, my golf was less than stellar and I finished way back in the pack. But the golf course, tucked into the rolling hills of Westchester County, blessed with views of the Hudson River and New York City, had me at hello.

The routing was superb, holes bending this way and that, testing every part of a golfer's game. But there was also the knowledge of walking onto a golf course steeped in history. Saint Andrew's was born when a Scottish sportsman named John Reid, his arms full of clubs and balls, laid out a three-hole course in February of 1888. I wasn't there to mark the occassion, but a historic moment had come.

Saint Andrew's hosted the first unofficial U.S. Amateur and first "open" championship. In 1894, the club became a founding member of the United States Golf Association. In 1983, Jack Nicklaus re-designed the course, adding flourishes to what is now a tough par-71 layout with everything you want.

In short, the club is handsome. It's a throwback to older times, even with a new pro shop and a restored clubhouse. But I'll leave the last word to Bobby Jones.

"The finest thing the Saint Andrew's Golf Club did in starting the game of golf was that they started it right, with the right traditions," Jones said.