Pomperaug Golf Club
About
Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
---|---|---|---|---|
White | 35 | 2772 yards | 33.6 | 114 |
Red (W) | 36 | 2234 yards | 33.6 | 113 |
Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White/Blue M: 66.4/109 | 333 | 360 | 285 | 448 | 171 | 340 | 388 | 156 | 302 | 2783 | 5654 |
Red W: 65.0/106 | 232 | 275 | 219 | 409 | 110 | 260 | 369 | 138 | 257 | 2269 | 4538 |
Handicap | 8 | 6 | 18 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 12 | ||
Par | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 35 | 70 |
Handicap (W) | 11 | 5 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 7 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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The sixth hole (par-4, 386 yards) bends around a dogleg to a slightly raised green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/08/2023
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Seven, the number one handicap hole at Pomperaug, curves around a pond (looking back toward the tee). Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/08/2023
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A view of green seven. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/08/2023
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Hole eight, as seen from the tee. It stretches to over 200 yards from the blues. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/08/2023
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A look at the eighth hole at Pomperaug, from behind. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/08/2023
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Pomperaug Golf Course, a Ted Manning design, opened for play in 1971. This is the second hole. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 05/09/2023
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The third plays as a par-4–but from this forward tee is also an excellent three-par. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 05/09/2023
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At five, the tee shot (blue tees) needs to travel some 190 yards to reach the green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 05/09/2023
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The course features six water hazards: five ponds and the river. Some, like this pond, verge on more than one hole. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 05/09/2023
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The sixth’s dogleg is closely guarded by tall trees; the fairway concludes–as shown here–on a raised green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 05/09/2023
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Green nine, perched above a riverbank of the Pomperaug. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 05/09/2023
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A look at the first fairway, across the Pomperaug River. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/23/2022
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From behind the third green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/23/2022
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The fourth fairway is sided by a long pond that does not favor slicers. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/23/2022
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The sixth green, seen from its left flank (it’s also a double green shared with the first). Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/23/2022
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The ninth green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/23/2022
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From behind the ninth green, with a down its fairway; the river intervenes, making this green tricky to hit in regulation. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/23/2022
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At the third, a carefully placed drive off the tee is a must. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 06/25/2022
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Another view of the third hole, from the tee at which you can play it as a par-three–on the “back nine.” Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 06/25/2022
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A view down the long fourth fairway, as seen from green three. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 06/25/2022
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The sixth, a dogleg left, requires a straight drive and solid approach into this green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 06/25/2022
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As seen from the back tee, set at 200-yards, this is hole eight. The tee shot must at least carry the pond if you hope to par the hole. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 06/25/2022
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There are two kinds of misses that become costly into the ninth green: A) landing around five yards shy of the front fringe, and B) even shorter than that. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 06/25/2022
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Par-4 Second: A small berm defends the front of the green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Second, from behind green. A view back to the fairway on this dogleg right, 383-yarder. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Fifth: par-3, 188. An excellent mid-length par three. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Sixth green, seen from rough: My playing partners at the green. Marc watches on the left, Jimmy chips, right. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Photo submitted by pnowierski1 on 08/14/2021
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Photo submitted by pnowierski1 on 08/14/2021
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Photo submitted by pnowierski1 on 08/14/2021
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Photo submitted by pnowierski1 on 08/14/2021
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The view across the pond at the third—playable from this tee as a 3-par. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/12/2020
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Autumnal scene at hole four. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/12/2020
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The sixth, seen from the right rough, is a par-four that plays as well as it looks. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/12/2020
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The seventh: Sharon, one of our playing partners from Southbury, urges her yellow golf ball toward the hole (it finished within a foot). Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/12/2020
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Eighth hole at sunset. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/12/2020
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At dusk, a greenskeeper prepares green nine for tomorrow. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 10/12/2020
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Hole Three: This 360-yard par-4 doglegs to the right around a little tree, and a big pond. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/21/2020
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Four: The 448-yard par-4’s fairway is seen (to the left) here from across the same large pond. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/21/2020
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Fourth, again: from behind its green. The fifth green lies in the background. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/21/2020
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This is the fifth green complex (a par-three) as seen from fairway four. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/21/2020
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The approach to the slightly raised sixth green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/21/2020
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Ninth: The par-four finisher being played by the foursome in front of me. Each is thinking closely—no doubt—about the carry over the Pomperaug River. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/21/2020
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The first: green and its environs on a neat opening hole. The course retains a parkland feel throughout. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/11/2020
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A big bunker guards the left front of green four, which is two-tiered. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/11/2020
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The sixth is one of Pomperaug’s outstanding holes, a dogleg-left leading to the ‘back-side’ of this double green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/11/2020
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The conclusion to this seventh hole may look a bit benign, but the rest of the hole is a monster. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/11/2020
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Hole eight is one of two long and classic three-pars here. Ducks are lounging to the right. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/11/2020
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A river runs through it: On the ninth, you’ll be crossing the Pomperaug River to find this green on your final approach. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/11/2020
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One: A terrific 346-yard opener with a tight landing zone (view from behind green). Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/10/2020
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PGA Pro Dave Cook added this tee at three, allowing hole to be played also as a 153-yard par three the second time around. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/10/2020
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Three: Same hole from green's left flank. As a short par-4, it doglegs right around this pond. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/10/2020
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Flowing green contours at the fifth, a long and challenging four-par. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/10/2020
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From the right rough, a view of the sixth green, a strong par-4. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/10/2020
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You'll need a solid, straight tee shot to land on the well guarded eighth green (sand hazards hidden from this view). Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 07/10/2020
Slow Round
This is the second time playing this course in 2 weeks. First time they had a wedding party that slowed down the course. This time there was a tournament. The course was backed up 40 minutes. It took almost 3 hours to play 9 holes
Nice course
Pace of play was slow. Took over 4 to golf 18 holes. Fairly flat course for Connecticut so easy to walk it.
Friendly, reward you for loyalty
Only my 3rd time playing this course, a member of the staff remembered me, introduced himself, and let us take a cart at a discount for the 2nd 9 because we were frequent customers. Very friendly! Also numerous, clean port-a-johns on the course.
Pretty good course for the money
Fairways and greens are pretty good 95 percent of the time. Tee boxes are the best in town. We got stuck behind a foursome 2 groups up but that’s not the courses fault. Definitely a good 9 holes to play at a reasonable price
Good course, rough condition and overpriced
Good course, just not in good condition and was charged full price for the round. Other courses in the area are in better condition and cheaper, so was not happy getting charged $35 to play in the condition the course was in.
It’s a course
Conditions were pretty bad in mid august. It’s a cheap course if you want to get out and hit the ball without spending too much.
Great place to get in a round.
Great course for the price. A little drier from the heat lately but overall a fun course to play. A little busy and backed up on the weekend but to be expected on a nice day. Love playing here.
Great course for walking
This course was a great course to play on a busy July 4th holiday. The course layout is very friendly to those who want to walk a round, either 9 or 18. Very busy with a morning tournament, but the staff and starter got us out as early as possible and were super friendly! Pace was a little slower than standard due to the tournament but other than that it was awesome! I will absolutely play this course again soon!
Nice Local Track/Good Value for the Price
I enjoyed my round with family. Course is suitable for players of varying skill levels. It is very accessible to the Novice to Intermediate golfer. Skilled players can test their abilities navigating water, deep bunkers and well maintained greens. I thought the bunkers appeared a bit neglected and could have used some new sand. They may have been the result of recent weather events. Nonetheless, I will play here again for sure.
Strategic Golf at Pomperaug
Pomperaug, a flat but watery course, is about as hilly as such U.S. icons as Doral (quite flat), or Hilton Head in South Carolina, where there is no more than a 6 foot variance in elevation over the entire layout, or many of the British seaside links--e.g., St. Andrews. Flatness, in and of itself, is no sin for a golf course. And other factors may well compensate for ‘bland’ topography in golf design: quality of routing, good green complexes, bunkering, balance, variety, strategic focus and shot values, capable use of hazards and other, mostly natural, elements. In each of these aspects, as I’ve cited in previous reviews, Pomperaug is just fine.
The focus of interest here is not necessarily on some of the large water hazards here, which are indeed prominent, but instead the options the player has in avoiding them. For instance, at the difficult and excellent 7th, a par-4, you may fade the tee shot, which is the ideal play, or simply give a wide berth to the pond by hitting away from it, down the left side, where a bail-out area should help if you miss to the left. Several of the driving zones are set up this way, and playing the angles is beneficial. Another thoughtful design feature concerns how mature trees intrude at the margins of the fairways. Witness the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th., where large trees are used deliberately to either discourage an over-aggressive line of play or simply as key hazards to be respected.
The complexity of hole design at Pomperaug tends toward the subtle rather than obvious. At the 3rd--as one example--the tee shot for most players should be hit to the crook of the dogleg, thus opening up the green for a simple wedge. Bolder players may want to risk hitting farther: down to the small neck, which sets up a short pitch. This option, however, brings the pond fully into play from the tee. The aggressive and long-hitting player might even take a crack at hitting the green from the tee, but the shot must be shaped almost perfectly. These risk-reward options are reminiscent of the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. style; no surprise architect Ted Manning was a Jones protege.
Both of the par-3’s at Pomperaug play on the long side from the blues, as do the sixth and seventh holes as par-4’s. This is still a short course overall, especially given the par-5’s. And so what? The plus side is that you might card a personal-best score if you play carefully enough and hit it straight here. It’s still notable that every par-4 presents a different and real challenge, almost all encouraging a specific shot shape for either safe or optimal play, or both.
The ninth hole, a suspenseful closer, puts emphasis on the approach. All that’s required off the tee is a hybrid or midiron, hit straight and as far down the fairway as you dare. Then comes a wedge over the river (here the one genuine forced carry on the course). The margin for error is small and missing the green significantly spells trouble.
Service and Playing Experience:
Pro Dave Cook was, as always, friendly and polite. He paired me with a couple of capable and sociable young players, Marc and Jimmy (see photo, hole 6), who currently attend northeastern colleges. Playing the nine was all the more enjoyable in their company.
Conditions:
In good condition. But Pomperaug’s greens and green complexes, including the bunkers, are excellent. Tees were very good, fairways good except a couple, which are still recovering from last year’s drought. Overall, not at the level I recall when, long ago, Pomperaug was private. Still, I noticed a vast improvement at holes four and seven.
Some Conclusions:
Strong, strategic design sets this course apart from most of the herd of nine-holers. Conceived as a resort-style course, it wasn’t designed to play like Oakmont or Pine Valley, but that hardly matters. I never tire of playing it.
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Par-4 Second: A small berm defends the front of the green. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Second, from behind green. A view back to the fairway on this dogleg right, 383-yarder. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Fifth: par-3, 188. An excellent mid-length par three. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021
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Sixth green, seen from rough: My playing partners at the green. Marc watches on the left, Jimmy chips, right. Photo submitted by AptlyLinked on 08/19/2021