Hop Brook Golf Course

Hop Brook is a 9-holer with variety, on one end being a flattish course (holes six through nine), on the other a more rugged set of holes, but also more forested. The layout also gives you two challenging and utterly different par-3’s, along with a pair of five-pars that play as near opposites: the first hole straight away but with a cross-hazard in the form of a pond, along with a plateau green; the sixth a parkland, doglegging hole not far from the rushing brook. Possibly the best par-4 on the course, the eighth’s fairway doglegs and rolls with small undulations all the way to the green, which, you’ll find, is hidden from sight when you’re on the fairway. The second, to my mind, is also a fine par-3, and features a swale down the fairway, while the third’s green boasts some impressive Golden Age contouring. Hop Brook is also amply bunkered, tight enough to scare you on some holes (with mature trees bordering the fairways), and rolling enough around and on the greens to keep you engaged on nearly every shot. Overall, the layout is not tough, but it’s fun to hit a driver on many of the holes because you have the airspace for it.

I played this course long ago, and can assure you that it has been nicely upgraded over that span of several decades, most notably by the addition of longer and better tee boxes. It’s nice to see excellent conditioning here in almost every phase. The greens were outstanding and ran quite fast. The only flaw I found were some bald patches in a couple of the roughs, though the scope was limited. I found the sheer density of the roughs in greenside areas very trying, and they made short chips and pitches a bit exasperating at times. But I’d rather see “too dense” in the roughs than “too sparse.” I’m not a fan of hole four, with its steeply elevated, hump-backed fairway that puts a premium on a very straight drive, but others may find this sort of challenge to their liking.

Service is excellent and friendly at HB, and the gentleman manning the pro shop today (I’ve met him before) represents this golf course as well as can be done. Pro shop prices are reasonable.

It was nice to see the memorial stone–on the path that leads to check-in–that memorializes the 1931 U.S. Open champion Billy Burke (originally Burkowski), who hailed from Naugatuck. Also today, I greatly enjoyed the company of my playing partner, who likes returning to Hop Brook among his other favored courses in the greater Waterbury area.

Bottom Line:
Hop Brook is a strong value and a solid bet for consistency; they pay attention to details here. I would confidently recommend it to anyone.

I thought I paid for 18 holes - I was told it was only for 9 and it would cost extra to play 18

For the money you pay at Hop Brook, it is well worth it. The course is very well maintained, everyone is very friendly, and the layout is great all around. Will definitely be coming back.

Had a good time play with a local. Would play again if I lived closer. Staff was friendly and helpful!

This short course was in pretty good conditions considering it was New Years Eve. The greens in particular were in great condition. The par 3 greens were all shut down so provisional holes were in place. A little annoying they didn’t mark the green or cut it down to shorter length (fairway). The major issue was the pace of play and confusion at the tee box (since there’s only 1). A starter and ranger(s) should have been keeping things moving.

Usually like coming to play here and like the course. This time, the Course was closed due to wet conditions but they made no effort to contact me about it. Took my money from convenience fee and not a word was said. Glad we got on a course nearby instead.

Great place to play . Great value . A few different hole layouts makes this 9 hole course interesting