At 5 years old, Mechanicville Golf Club was my introduction to golf. I started playing evenings with my father, who was a member. I spent summer days at the course, my father dropping me off on his way to work. I caddied, looked for balls, and played 36 or even 54 holes in a day. I got free lessons from an old German pro there. The course is an interesting 9 hole routing with some hills, one making for a blind drive to a reachable par 4 (there was a mirror in a tree to show when the group ahead left the green). A very rural setting. Only 1 hole with houses on the right. Not a difficult course. No very demanding holes. The course was built in 1909 for employees of a large paper mill across the Hudson river. While it once was a very well maintained course with a beautiful clubhouse with a large porch, the club today is a bit shabby public with a cinder block clubhouse. I don't believe that the course has undergone any changes to the original design.
Oddly, at age 15, I moved to Rye NY and played at Rye Golf Course - another Emmet course. I unknowingly played my first 16 years of golf at Emmet courses. Only when I joined this site did I learn about Deveraux Emmet.