South

Rochester's municipal golf system has long been a point of civic pride, and the South course at Genesee Valley Park is one of the city's most-played layouts — a short, par-67 design that draws a steady mix of beginners, seniors, and anyone looking for a quick round on the west side of the city. Genesee Valley Park itself is a Frederick Law Olmsted-designed green space along the Genesee River, which lends the whole area a graceful, older-American-parkland feel that you simply don't find at most municipal facilities.

Because par is 67, expect a course weighted heavily toward par 3s and shorter par 4s — the kind of layout where course management and iron play matter more than raw power, and where a sharp short game will save you more strokes than an extra 20 yards off the tee.

Rochester sits in the Great Lakes snow belt, so the season runs roughly April through November. Summers tend to be warm and genuinely green, and the mature trees throughout Genesee Valley Park give the course a canopied, unhurried character that rewards walking.