New England Golf Course Reviews
Cunning required at Fox Hopyard Golf Club in Connecticut
The fox is associated with cleverness, wit, and cunning. Fox Hopyard Golf Club in East Haddam, Conn., lives up to its namesake: It's a challenging layout that can mess with your mind, where a steely nerve and a few rounds' experience are required for low scoring. As wonderful as the course is, though, the best part is the staff in the golf shop, say the locals - owner William Sandri and staff treat you like family.
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Stratton Resort: Forget the skis, bring the sticks
Nearly every course in Vermont brings golfers in touch with nature, but the Stratton layout seems to do this particularly well. There are long-distance views, but sometimes the more interesting scenery is close-by. Trees are everywhere, and the hills will be tough on your game but easy on your eyes. And while the 621-yard, par-5 fifth hole gets its share of visitors, so does Stratton Golf School, one of the oldest in the nation.
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Split personality golf courses abound in New England
While North Conway Country Club and Lake Kezar Country Club are separated by only 20 miles, but the courses are light years apart in terms of style and vintage. Featuring the incredible New England scenery is just part of the charm of these two courses, as modern golfers will be thrown back in time to experience designs from top names like Donald Ross and Ralph Barton and some holes too quirky too be attempted today.
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Stratton Resort: Forget the skis, bring the sticks
Nearly every course in Vermont brings golfers in touch with nature, but the Stratton layout seems to do this particularly well. There are long-distance views, but sometimes the more interesting scenery is close-by. Trees are everywhere, and the hills will be tough on your game but easy on your eyes. And while the 621-yard, par-5 fifth hole gets its share of visitors, so does Stratton Golf School, one of the oldest in the nation.
... full article »Split personality golf courses abound in New England
While North Conway Country Club and Lake Kezar Country Club are separated by only 20 miles, but the courses are light years apart in terms of style and vintage. Featuring the incredible New England scenery is just part of the charm of these two courses, as modern golfers will be thrown back in time to experience designs from top names like Donald Ross and Ralph Barton and some holes too quirky too be attempted today.
... full article »Short on yardage, long on trouble, Woodstock CC is fun - but a ball-eater
Woodstock Country Club, a favorite Vermont resort for more than a century, may be a cramped course but it's distinctly vexing too, throwing up surprises at even top-flight players. What makes this tiny terror so tough? Partly, modern golf equipment, writes Kiel Christianson.
... full article »Hickory Ridge Country Club saves the best for last
Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst, Mass., is one of those courses that lets you feel pretty good about yourself and your game. Despite the potential pitfalls along the fairways and the deep bunkers guarding most of the multi-tiered greens, this Geoffrey Cornish-designed track that lets you string together some pars - maybe even birdies. Ask any member, though, and they'll warn you not to go counting up the score too early, writes Kiel Christianson.
... full article »Sugarloaf Golf Club is second to none
The Carrabassett Valley, the heart of Maine ski country, has produced its share of Olympic-caliber skiers. But come summer time, a different breed shows up to test their mettle against the natural surroundings - golfers. It's only fitting that great golf found a home in one of the prettiest places in the northeast. But golfers should be wary of the Sugarloaf Golf Club, Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s mountain layout. With beauty comes a beast.
... full article »You won't soon forget Vermont's Green Mountain National
Green Mountain National is one of those courses that can be either inspiring or infuriating - or both - but either way, you'll remember it for quite some time. Designed by Gene Bates and opened in 1997, Green Mountain National was Vermont's first municipal course. Set in the mountains a short slalom away from the Killington Ski Area, it is a muni the likes of which most people have never even imagined.
... full article »Golf escape to the Cape: Ocean Edge Resort
For the uninitiated, a great place to start exploring The Cape is the town of sea captains, Brewster. From here - on the "elbow" of The Cape - both ends of the peninsula are readily reachable for day-trips. Best of all for duffers, three of The Cape's best courses and one of only two golf resorts, Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club. If you've never thought of The Cape as a golf destination, you might want to give it a second look.
... full article »New Butter Brook gives Beantown an affordable golf option
In a slew of cheap unmemorable courses outside Boston, one notable exception is Butter Brook in Westford. With Beantown so close, the course is an easy drive for residents or visitors to Boston, and those coming into town will find Westford a classic suburban community that's grown tremendously over the past quarter-century, but still retains it's small-town character.
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