AT THE NEVELE, THERE'S NOT MUCH TO DO; THANK GOD FOR THE GILDED OTTER

At the Nevele
There's so much to do
You can play some golf
We've got golf for you
Did we mention golf?
You can play golf too
With the EL-DER-LEEEEEEEE!



(Yeah, that's a winter commercial from 1980, but what a catchy jingle!)

As it turns out, there's nothing much to do besides play golf at the Nevele Grande, a Catskill resort which is long past its heyday (aren't they all?). The golf course itself is in okay shape, but it's nothing to write home about. There's also a good chance you'll get matched up with some older players; personally, we were joined on the front nine by an affable older gentleman, Jerry Atrick. (Get it?)

Since it's not a long course anyway you slice (or hook) it, we decided to play the back tees (6532 yards, par 70). Oddly enough, what made it long is the fact that all of the par 3s are over 200 yards. We must be the only ones who play from these tees, because by the time we got to the 17th hole the markers that indicate where to tee off from had completely disappeared! It's as if the grounds crew (if there is one, we didn't see anyone out on the course) had just given up, and we don't blame them. The only good thing was that we pretty much had the place to ourselves after the 3rd hole and were finished in 3½ hours, something that just doesn't happen on a Saturday morning in the greater NYC area. (Thanks to the starter for getting us out there "before the Orientals". His words, not mine.)

However, the highlight of the day (and a testament to my genius) was our visit to the Gilded Otter Brewery in New Paltz, NY. It was really easy to find after a short drive over the Shawanagunk Mountains right at the western edge of the town. As you enter the two-story building, you are greeted by the actual steel tanks prominently placed inside the middle of the restaurant and behind the large bar. They served up tasty bar food and even tastier brews, especially the Hefeweisen. The hoppy Three Pines IPA, and the smooth Dusseldorf Altbier (brown ale) were also very good. It almost made me forget the nine balls I lost on the back 9.