Grassy Hill Country Club is an old parkland course, located in the town of Orange. About half of the holes play on relatively flat ground, while the others play uphill, downhill, or across the slope. Most holes are quite straight, while a couple of fairways bend only slightly. In general, you won't get into too much trouble off of the tee, but getting up-and-down around the greens is often difficult. This probably has more to do with the speed (a bit faster than average) and tilt of the greens. On the holes that are shortest in relation to par, you'll want to keep the ball below the pin. I had four 3-putts today in situations where I was putting downhill and didn't manage to keep the ball close enough for a tap-in.

The most troublesome hole on the course is also the shortest: at just 156 yards from the Blue tees, the sixth hole plays uphill to a narrow green that falls off gently to the left where your ball could dribble towards OB or roll back down the hill on the cart path. The green drops off much more significantly to the right and front. If your short game is not so hot, you could end up criss-crossing this little green several times. And once you're on, there's still a pretty good back-to-front slope to deal with.

On the par-4 eighth tee, you need to aim well right to counteract the right-to-left slope of the fairway. Then on the ninth, the slope is the opposite but gentler, so a draw (for righties) or a drive aimed down the left side is in order. Don't be long on your approach because the sloping cart path and clubhouse are located just five yards from the back edge of the green. There used to be a sand bunker in between, but now there is a less effective grass bunker. Although the ninth is listed as a par-5, it measures just 449 yards from the Blue tees. I guess that they are afraid to list the course with a par of less than 70.

The flatter back nine has water in play on several holes, starting on the eleventh. The short (290 yards) par-4 twelfth has a stream that crosses 150 yards out and then a pond that can be reached at 215 yards from the Blue tee, neither of which are visible from the tee, but there is a sign to let you know. The arrow-straight 509-yard sixteenth features a small marsh about 75 yards before the green. It looks more imposing from the fairway, so it is something that you should check out when you're on the adjacent eleventh tee. If you don't lay up before the marsh, you can still play it safe by playing left toward the eleventh tee. The real danger on this hole is losing your ball to the right of the putting surface.

The green on the 176-yard seventeenth hole is significantly tilted from back to front and is bunkered on three sides. Although my tee shot was on the fringe just ten yards from the hole, I still totaled five shots. The 342-yard finishing hole plays uphill and bends to the left, so there's no way that you can have a second shot from a level lie. The surroundings of this narrow green make for a difficult up-and-down (one of the few that I had on the round). All in all, the longer holes seemed to be easier because of flatter greens, while the shorter holes provided more challenging chips and putts.

The tees were fine, the rough was on the short side, and the smooth fairways had some occasional bare patches. The bunkers were nice, while the receptive greens were in excellent condition.

It was a 5.5 mile walk in four and a quarter hours on a course full of foursomes. My score of 88 included lots of double-bogeys and no birdies. My best chance of improvement would be on the greens. Although Grassy Hill is playable by all skill levels, the shorter hitters would be at a big disadvantage on several holes. If you value slightly-fast, challenging, well-conditioned greens, this is the place for you.

The 17th hole at the Old Course of St. Andrew's provided some big scores for players at the British Open last month. The combination of the Road Hole bunker in front of the green, and the no-relief road and rock wall behind the green turned some nice rounds into disaster for several players. Some guys knew when to take their medicine and just get out of the trouble, while others were determined to try to save par or bogey, which turned into gambling for the double, triple, or worse.

The latter attitude affected me on Tuesday while playing Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst, MA. Fortunately this was just a casual round and not a tournament situation. I was playing the 436-yard par-4 ninth hole, and I found out why it is listed as the number-one handicap hole. It doesn't look particularly intimidating off of the tee, but there is a combination of OB and then lateral water hazard down the left side, and another lateral (the Fall River) down the right side on a hole that bends to the left.

Off the tee, I hit two consecutive pull-draws OB left. Staying with the driver, the next tee shot was a push that blew through the fairway bunker on the right and, of course, rolled into the river. After taking the appropriate drop, the green was in reach for my 7-wood. A skulled shot didn't reach the river again, but was lost in the hazard. Because of all of the trees, the best chance to reach the green in one more shot was from where I hit my last shot. This 7-wood shot sailed beautifully to a tree in the hazard on the left, and was swallowed up by the lush tall marshy grass there. Another drop to a somewhat difficult lie was followed by a good 80-yard wedge to the green. Fortunately, just two putts were needed to finish off the hole. A thirteen--on a tough hole where none of the shots was all that intimidating, but the bad swings were punished every time.

I know that I scored an eleven on a hole sometime in the past couple of years, but I'd have to go back to my teenage years to find a hole score this big. I'm pretty sure that I never had five penalty shots on one hole before, though.

John "Wild Thing" Daly has a history of disaster holes, many of them in major tournaments. He took a 14 on the 18th at Pebble Beach in the 2000 U.S. Open, where he pumped shots OB right and into the water hazard left. He topped that with an 18 at the 1998 Bay Hill Invitational on the par-5 sixth hole, where he attempted to reach the green with a 3-wood second shot which landed in the intervening water hazard six straight times!

Finding the right balance between aggressive play and cautious play--that is one of the mental challenges of this wonderful game.

Tex Kane, the golf pro at Hunter Golf Club, died of cancer on Tuesday. CTGolfer readers voted Tex as the "Best Golf Instructor" back in 1997, and he continued with his excellent instruction right into this year. As a member of the Meriden Golf Commission, I had the fortune of working with Tex, especially with running the City of Meriden Golf Championships. But I also knew Tex as a friend who was passionate about certain causes, especially the needs of underprivileged children. He was a guy who had a big heart, and was not afraid to speak his mind.

Tex's Connecticut career began at Clinton Country Club, and continued at The Farms Country Club, then moved over to the old Pilgrim's Harbor course, and then on to the New Haven Country Club. He served as the teaching pro at Hunter starting in 1996, and took on the duties of head pro in 2004.

Tex did his best to help make Hunter Golf Club into a community of golfers, not just a location to play golf. The Hunter community will miss our dear friend Tex.

There is a nice article about Tex in the Record-Journal that you can access by clicking here.

There is no official definition of what an Executive course is, though some people have described them as courses that can be played in under 90 minutes for nine holes or 3 hours for 18 holes. I am making an executive decision (pun intended) to define Executive courses as those that are between 1500 and 2750 yards for nine holes, or between 3000 and 5500 yards for 18 holes (and excluding any Par-3 courses). A few of these are the extra-short nines of 27-hole courses. Unless noted, all average one or two bunkers per hole. I've played all of these within the last four years. The dividing lines below separate courses into groups of nearly equal rankings. That is, the 4th to 9th ranked courses could all be considered as nearly tied for the 4th ranked spot.

#1: Blue Fox Run Golf Club (Red Nine), in Avon (9 holes, 2723 yards) - A flat parkland course, this is the newest nine of the 27-hole facility. Despite the limited length, it's easy to find trouble on every hole due to the full complement of hazards, but you can generally recover your ball if you're not in a water hazard. The longest par-4 tops out at just 381 yards, while the 528-yard par-5 eighth is a gamble to reach in two over the water hazard. Two of the three par-3s are over 180 yards long. This is a nicely conditioned course in all respects.

#2: Tashua Glen Golf Course, in Trumbull (9 holes, 2184 yards) - Cut through a wooded ravine, there are plenty of places to get in trouble (or lose a ball) if you are overly aggressive. The maintained areas are nicely groomed. The greens are speedy, and getting up-and-down is difficult because of the contours around the greens. Experienced players will enjoy the challenge, but it's a bit tough for novice players.

#3: Willow Brook Golf Course, in South Windsor (18 holes, 3037 yards) - A gently rolling parkland course, it has no par-5s and just three holes that are true par-4s, the longest being 376 yards. The course has a full complement of bunkers, but no water hazards come into play. The course is very nicely maintained, and can be enjoyed by beginners and experts alike.

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#4: Portland West Golf Course, in Portland (18 holes, 4012 holes) - A hilly parkland course, but not quite as refined as the three courses above. The back nine has more trees than the front, and has more rolling terrain. There are water hazards on nine holes, but on some of those the water is a factor only for less skilled players. There are no par-5s and just six par-4s, the longest of which is 376 yards.

#5: Westwoods Golf Course, in Farmington (18 holes, 4407 yards) - A flat parkland course with water in play on four holes. In addition to the opening par-5, there are five par-4s, the longest at 420 yards. The course is properly maintained and can be enjoyed by players of any skill level.

#6: Sunset Hill Golf Club, in Brookfield (9 holes, 2394 yards) - A hilly parkland course with water hazards on three holes, but only four bunkers . The two par-5s should be considered as long par-4s. The rolling terrain really adds to the interest and challenge of the course. The layout is well cared-for, and should be played conservatively by higher-handicap players.

#7: Minnechaug Golf Club, in Glastonbury (9 holes, 2688 yards) - A gently sloping parkland layout with water hazards on five holes, but just six bunkers. This layout was reduced to nine holes a dozen years ago when half of the course was converted to housing. As a result, the course is a bit too tight in some places. The island green on the eighth is a favorite, followed by the even longer carry across a pond to the ninth green. This is a difficult test for novices.

#8: Sleeping Giant Golf Course, in Hamden (9 holes, 2671 yards) - A flat parkland course, with water in play on three holes. Although listed as a par of 36, the course really consists of four par-3s and five par-4s, the longest at 459 yards. Each hole has sufficient room to make this course playable for people of all skill levels.

#9: Buena Vista Golf Course, in West Hartford (9 holes, 1999 yards) - A rolling parkland course, with water in play on three holes. There are just three true par-4s, topping out at 344 yards. There are plenty of uneven lies, but the course is playable for everyone.

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#10: Quarry View Golf Course, in East Canaan (9 holes, 1576 yards) - Half of the course is in a flat open field with tall fescue separating holes, but two holes go up and down a wooded hillside. There is just one true par-4 at 350 yards (listed as a par-5), so it might as easily be considered to be a Par-3 course. The grooming is a notch below the courses ranked above it. Several holes can be tough for beginners.

#11: Miner Hills Golf Club, in Middletown (9 holes, 1769 yards) - A parkland course that is mostly built on a hillside. The layout is tight in several places, and especially punitive to beginning players. Water doesn't really come into play, but trees and slopes create the most difficulty. There are no par-5s, and the longest of the three par-4s is 298 yards in length. You should learn enough on your first round that you can figure out how best to play it on your second try.

#12: Woodstock Golf Course, in Woodstock (9 holes, 2431 yards) - Much of the course is cut through a wooded hillside, with water in play only behind the last green. This course was built in 1896, when balls didn't fly as far. Most of the six true par-4s are quite short, the longest being 385 yards, but the next longest is just 305 yards. There are plenty of opportunities for big numbers if you are too aggressive (opportunities to lose a golf ball abound), but novices can do OK if they play conservatively. The course still seems a bit rough around the edges.

#13: Orchards Golf Course, in Milford (9 holes, 1625 yards) - A level parkland course without water hazards. The course opens with a dogleg-left 242-yard par-4, and ends with a 266-yard par-4. Three other holes of 222, 207, and 217 yards are as listed as par-4s as well. The 217-yard par-4 fifth, which doglegs to the left at an acute angle (it's only about 100 yards from tee to green), is the worst design of a golf hole that I've ever seen on a golf course. Beginners will do all right on this course if they play conservatively.

#14: Goodwin Golf Course (North Course), in Hartford (9 holes, 2544 yards) - A mostly flat parkland course, with no water in play. The course has few bunkers and is very open for the most part. The fourth through ninth holes march back and forth. Experienced players will find this to be a rather boring layout, but this is a great place for beginning players who have begun to develop some length in their games. Four of the par-4s are between 299 and 311 yards.

Feel free to comment on this rankings, or give any input on these Executive courses.

With Par-3 courses, you get the whole gamut, from poorly designed and poorly maintained layouts to imaginatively designed and excellently cared-for nines or eighteens. Here's my ranking of all twelve of the Par-3 courses in Connecticut. My feeling is that Par-3 courses should be forgiving to beginners while providing a challenge to better players, which some courses accomplish much more satisfactorily than others.

 

#1: South Pine Creek Golf Course, in Fairfield (9 holes, 1240 yards) - A flat parkland course with a links feel to it. It has water hazards and bunkers just like the "big" courses, but you always have the option of playing a ground game around the water hazards instead of flying over them because there is fairway almost all the way from tee to green. It is nicely maintained, and there is plenty of room for errant shots. Beginner and expert players alike will enjoy this course.

 

#2: Birch Plain Golf Course, in Groton (18 holes, 2666 yards) - A flat tree-lined parkland course. This has more bunkers than most Par-3 courses, plus a couple of benign water hazards. The greens, fairways, and rough are well-maintained, while a couple of tees need more sunlight for better turf.

 

#3: Cedar Ridge Golf Course, in East Lyme (18 holes, 3025 yards) - A hilly parkland course with several holes over 200 yards in length. Expert players will enjoy the challenge, though it could use a lot more bunkers. Beginners will be frustrated by a couple of very tight holes and the lack of fairways.

 

#4: Gainfield Farms Golf Course, in Southbury (9 holes, 1384 yards) - A hilly parkland course that includes one par-4 hole when played from the White tees. The course is fairly open and forgiving. The only water hazard is a pond that must be carried on the par-4 second hole. On average, there is one bunker per hole. A good course for beginners, but better players can enjoy it too.

 

#5: Short Beach Golf Course, in Stratford (9 holes, 1359 yards) - Closer to a links-style course than any other that I've seen in Connecticut. Sufficient bunkers and plentiful water hazards make this layout a better choice for expert players than for beginners. I would rank it much higher if it wasn't so tight around the 4th through 6th holes. (The scenic 5th hole seems like it was shoe-horned in there.)

 

#6: Guilford Lakes Golf Course, in Guilford (9 holes, 1319 yards) - Some holes have rock outcroppings that add to the scenic value. Uneven lies abound on this course, to go along with a few strategic water hazards. The 220-yard sixth hole is soggy in the springtime, but overall the course is nicely maintained.  The course is too tight in some places, which adds to the difficulty for beginners.

 

#7: Highland Greens Golf Course, in Prospect (9 holes, 1398 yards) - A hilly parkland course with lots of uneven lies. Some tees aren't large enough to sustain the amount of play that this course gets. The bunkers could appreciate more sand, and it can get soggy around the seventh green. It's a bit tight in a couple of spots, but for the most part there is sufficient room (and trees) to keep your ball away from other holes. The setting and routing are nice.

 

For the courses above, South Pine Creek stands out. The remaining courses in that group are nearly all tied for second place. The following courses fall off quickly in quality, in my opinion.

 

#8: Ellington Golf Center, in Ellington (9 holes, 1075 yards) - Its been over ten years since I played this course, so I can't be sure that my assessment is still accurate. The course is laid out on an open field on the side of a hill. Hopefully, some of the young trees have matured so that the layout doesn't still look like a big field. A great course for beginners, but a bit boring for experienced players. Nicely maintained.

 

#9: Twin Lakes Golf Course, in North Branford (9 holes, 1044 yards) - Another course that I haven't seen in over a decade, I recall this course as being decently maintained, especially the greens, but this flat course is a bit too tight in several places. I don't recall whether there are bunkers, but I do remember a pond to play over. And there are plenty of trees, bushes, and rock walls to give a beginning player a difficult time.

 

#10: Connecticut Golf Land, in Vernon (9 holes, 495 yards) - A short flat parkland course with eight of the holes measuring between 40 and 60 yards each, and the long one topping out at 90 yards. Nicely maintained, but with very slow greens. A few holes have bunkers, while bushes and trees provide other obstacles. In fact, overhanging tree branches are an obstacle on a few holes. All of the tees are artificial turf mats. A decent place for really young kids to learn the game.

 

#11: Hillside Links Golf Course, in Deep River (9 holes, 932 yards) - A flat open course, except where two elevated tees play out of a wooded hillside. When playing from these elevated tees, overhanging tree branches get in the way of an lofted shot. So, on the 4th hole you have to try bounce a low shot through rough to reach the green while being wary of the pond immediately behind the green. The course has a couple of other water hazard to carry. The tees are mats (in poor condition), but you can find some turf to tee up on at several holes. The greens are quite small and are on the slow side. On the 5th green, be wary of anyone playing from the 7th tee.

 

#12: Villa Hills Golf Course, in Storrs: (9 holes, 1158 yards) - A hilly course, carved out of the woods. The setting and routing are fine, but this course is badly in need of being maintained properly. The grass on the greens is fairway turf, not poa or bent varieties. It is like mowing your lawn very short and trying to putt on it: very slow and bumpy. Almost as bad is all of the overhanging branches that make this a very difficult place for a beginner to play.  The tees are strictly mats, with almost nowhere to stick a tee in the ground. With some tree removal and renewed greens, this place wouldn't be half bad.

 

On certain weekdays, you can play Connecticut Golf Land for $4, but the best deal is "all you can play" after 3pm weekends for $15 at Cedar Ridge.

 

Feel free to add your own opinions or rankings, and especially to confirm or correct my comments about Ellington Golf Center and Twin Lakes Golf Course.

 

My next blog entry will probably cover Connecticut's public Executive courses.

Beautiful weather, a nice course, and a good friend to play golf with: what could be a better way to spend a summer morning? Rob Josephson and I took on the course at the Country Club of Woodbridge yesterday morning, to complete my goal of playing all of the public courses in Connecticut.

The CC of Woodbridge was converted from a private course to a public one when it was purchased by the town of Woodbridge in the spring of last year. It is now one of a half-dozen golf facilities being managed by Matt Manchetti and MDM Golf Enterprises.

The clubhouse is located at the top of a hill, and the course plays up, down, and around one side of this hill, so that is a significant factor in the challenge of this layout. The contour of the greens is also substantial, and I found them a challenge to read. Greens speeds were on the quick side, but appropriate for these contours. However, some greens have large areas where a pin could not be placed and still remain fair at these green speeds. (We didn't encounter any such unfair placements on our round.) Some greens have great locations for sucker pins, where just missing that green location can send your ball down a hill or into a deep bunker.

Most of the course is a parkland style, with rows of pines or oaks lined up neatly to separate the fairways. In general, there is sufficient width for most holes. The most likely places that a ball will cross over into an adjacent fairway is when drives from the tenth end up near the ninth tee, or drives from the seventh roll into the eleventh fairway.

Water is an important hazard on three of the par-5s. On the 490-yard first hole, a pond at the right front of the green will dissuade most prudent players from attempting to reach the green in two. On the 535-yard seventh, only long hitters need to be concerned with the creek that crosses the fairway beginning at 280 yards from the back tee, but that creek then continues all the way down the left side of the fairway right past the green. That same creek catches any tee balls hit to the left of the 567-yard eleventh hole.

It seems that the architect, Orrin Smith, set up each hole to play as close as possible to par. For example, the shortest par-3 (the 17th) plays to a small green almost completely surrounded by deep bunkers, whereas the longest par-3 (the downhill 3rd) has a huge green. Long par-4s have no fairway bunkers, while short ones have fairway bunkers right where you would expect to give you the most challenge. These are old-style bunkers that may not be obvious from a distance, but they are all correctly shown on the scorecard map.

The course is being nicely maintained, so obviously the transition from a private facility to a public one has gone smoothly. The rough is on the shorter side, so it is easy find your ball there. Around the greens, however, the rough is generally a little gnarlier which makes for a difficult chip or pitch if you short-side yourself.

Although each individual hole is nicely designed, the routing as a whole is rather quirky. As you leave each of the first three greens, you have to go past the nearest tee to get to the correct teeing ground. In fact, you'll need to pay attention to temporary signage on seven different holes to guide you to the next tee. In each case, check the tee sign to confirm that you are in the proper place.

I thought that the 440-yard fifth, which plays to a narrow elevated green, was the most difficult hole. The uphill dogleg-left 390-yard ninth gave me fits, resulting in a score of nine after an OB shot. The aforementioned eleventh was also a tough one, playing to an elevated green. The easiest were the uphill 315-yard second and the 365-yard eighteenth. On that finishing hole though, the entire left side of the green is blocked out by overhanging branches, but there are only a few possible pin placements on that side.

Overall, I really enjoyed the challenge, and I left thinking about how differently I would approach some of the holes the next time. I three-putted a few birdie opportunities, so my 89 'included no birds at all. Rob had one or two birds to finish with a 79. Play proceeded at a decent pace, completing the 5.6 mile walk in four hours.

Since the routing can't be altered, I have only a few suggestions for how this course can be made a little more tame for the average player. If possible, some of the OB area to the right of the first and ninth fairways should be cleaned up and put into play. I'm sure that the temporary signage to the tees will be converted to permanent signs by next season. And the website has hardly been developed at all. But when those are the major criticisms, obviously I was quite pleased with this course.

The Country Club of Woodbridge was a very good place to complete my quest to play all of Connecticut's public courses. I am off to Seattle for a few weeks, but I'll be doing some blog entries summarizing Connecticut courses during that time, so stay tuned.

I am about to complete my quest of playing every public golf course in Connecticut. Tomorrow morning I have a tee time at the newest public course in the state, which was designed in 1938. (I know that some of you can figure out what course I'm referring to.)

I always enjoy the adventure of playing a course that is new to me, whether it is a high profile course or what someone might refer to as a "cow pasture." What started me on this journey was when CTGolfer.com had reader polls a few years ago of the favorite courses in Connecticut. I agreed with many of the choices that voters made, and disagreed with others. And there were several favored courses that I had never played.

I wanted a more informed opinion, which required actually playing all of the courses. I had only planned on playing the full-size 18-hole courses at the time, but at some later point I decided to go ahead and play them all.

A couple of courses closed before I ever got to them: Meadowbrook and Canton. But I did play Pistol Creek prior to its demise. But when you include every Connecticut public course, right down to the shortest par-3 course (Connecticut Golf Land, which lost nine of its holes before I got there), I will have played at 105 golf facilities. Some of those have multiple courses, which totals 115 courses altogether. That's 1701 distinct holes of public golf in the state (excluding the extinct ones at Pistol Creek), or make that 1702 holes if you count all ten greens at Farmingbury Hills.

So, after tomorrow's excursion to the Country Club of Woodbridge (which went from private to public last year), I'll begin summaries of my favorite courses, starting with the par-3 layouts.

Is there anyone out there that has already played them all? Or, at least, played all of the public 18-hole full-length courses?

I completed my tour of Connecticut's par-3 courses with a trip to Cedar Ridge Golf Course, an 18-hole layout in East Lyme. The holes on the front nine average 157 yards and include a couple of tight holes (the second and third). The longer, but more forgiving, back nine averages 182 yards per hole, including four holes measuring over 200 yards in length. I thought this course provided a pretty good challenge. The greens were all appropriately sized: smaller for short holes and larger for long ones.

At 3025 yards, Cedar Ridge is actually long enough to earn a USGA rating for 18 holes, but there is currently no rating for the course. If you play from the back of every tee, you can add another 60 yards to each nine. So, for example, you can actually stretch the the 250-yard twelfth hole to play 270 yards.

The distance to the center of the green is clearly marked on each hole. The second green is not visible from the tee (though the top of the flagstick is), so there is a sign on the tee to indicate the pin position. Don't be fooled by the colors of the flags, as they don't indicate the position on the green: the front nine flags are all red, while the back nine flags are all white.

Greens and tees are in very good condition. There is a narrow fringe around each green, but the remaining turf on the course is cut like a first cut of rough. I would prefer that the longer holes have some sort of fairway lead up to the green to make the course more friendly to players who can't fly the ball 200 yards. (Maybe the long twelfth hole had that, but not as far as I can recall.)

The biggest thing that Cedar Ridge lacks is bunkers, as there are only three on the course. There are three ponds to traverse, but they only come into play if you hit an ugly tee shot.

I had more trouble on the tighter front nine, with scores ranging from two to six. The longer back nine allowed me just two pars, and a bogey on everything else.

Playing 18 holes at Cedar Ridge takes about the same amount of time and covers the same walking distance as a full-length 9-hole course. You get to use every club in the bag, but with more opportunity to work on your short game. If I lived nearer to Cedar Ridge, I'm sure that I would take advantage of their terrific mid-afternoon weekend rate on a regular basis.

No, I don't quite have the game to even attempt to qualify for the Connecticut Amateur. But I did go to hang out with Rob Josephson as we watched his son Kevin play a first round match at the Country Club of Waterbury.

Donald Ross completed the current CC of Waterbury layout in 1928. Playing to a par of 69, there is just one par-5 (the two-shot tenth that starts with a 50-foot drop in elevation from the tee). Eight of the par-4's are over 400 yards from the back tees, and two of the par-3's are over 225 yards long. The course is in beautiful shape in all aspects. In general, there is a 20-yard wide strip of rough to each side of the fairway, and then tall fescue among the trees. The trees are thinned out enough on much of the course so that you can see several holes from most vantage points.

It was impressive to watch these guys tee off with a long iron on most holes, driving the ball the same distance as I would hit my driver, only they are always in the fairway. Kevin and his opponent, Dave Renski, played a close match until Kevin won the 16th to go 2-up. Dave birdied the 17th to extend the match, but they halved the 18th with pars for a 1-up win for Kevin.

I couldn't stay for the afternoon match, where Blake Morris, on his home course, won by playing par golf. For the victors, there are two more rounds tomorrow and a 36-hole final on Friday.

I figure that its about time that I gave you the lowdown on my home course, Hunter Golf Club. In addition to being a member of the Hunter Men's Club, I am also a member of the Meriden Golf Commission, which oversees the operation of the facility. I've been waiting for progress on the bunker improvements and completion of the sprinkler system so that I can give you an honest appraisal of Hunter, but in the best possible light.

The layout of Hunter is one of the more interesting ones in central Connecticut. The course is challenging enough from the White tees, but significantly more so from the Blues. This is not a "grip it and rip it" course. If you can drive the ball over 250 yards, you would be wise to tee off with a fairway wood or long iron on several holes to avoid driving into trouble. Since the course is built on hilly terrain, shots from the fairway are likely to be from a somewhat uphill, downhill, or sidehill lie. The greens are gently contoured, except for the sloped front of the 12th green which requires a deft touch to keep a missed downhill or sidehill putt from rolling off the green. Missing a green usually means you have an uphill or downhill pitch or chip.

The first tee presents an immediate challenge, with a stream crossing the fairway diagonally at about 200 yards out. Carrying the stream leaves a short iron or wedge uphill to the green, while a lay-up tee shot could leave you with a 200 yard second shot. The dogleg-left 3rd and 16th holes (a couple of the more difficult holes) demand accuracy off the tee and have deep, narrow greens. The par-4 eighth hole formerly  doglegged to the right, but the hole has since been straightened (by switching the 4th and 8th teeing areas), but it remains the most difficult hole on the course.  Scratch players are always happy to escape with a par there. The driver is a good tee club on the 12th, 14th, and 18th holes; but longer (and less accurate) hitters should be more cautious on the other holes to avoid trouble. The ninth hole may be the weakest part of the design, because there is OB on both sides of the fairway, but it is still a good challenge even when played cautiously.

The second hole is the most difficult of the par-3s, playing at over 180 yards from the White tee to a well-bunkered narrow green that slopes to the left. The new pot bunker on the sixth beefs up the testiness of the shortest hole.

The par-5 holes are all quite memorable. The fifth is not a particularly difficult par, but because the narrowing fairway leads to a smaller green, those trying to reach the green in two are more likely to finish with a double-bogey. The tenth (when playing at full length) has water all the way down the left side. Very few can reach the tenth in two (even from the White tees), but the repositioning of the greenside bunkers makes it somewhat more likely now. The 18th is the best place to be aggressive because there is little trouble off of the tee, and because many can reach it in two. Unless you lack distance with your driver, this is where you'll have your best birdie opportunity.

Every one of Hunter's greens are in excellent condition, and putt at a medium speed. Fairways are quite good, other than poorly-drained spots in the landing areas of the 10th and 18th. A tree removal program has significantly improved the turf on the most problematic tees. A continuing bunker replacement program has vastly improved the visibility, condition, and drainage of a majority of the bunkers. The rough is usually short enough that you can locate your ball quickly. Trees are a significantly factor when you hit an errant tee shot.

Hunter still has drainage problems in the rough between the 10th and 18th holes, and frequently in the 10th fairway, as well. In the springtime or after a heavy rain, your ball can embed deeply (and disappear) in that area of the rough. For that reason, a new tee has been added to the 10th to make the hole a par-4 during adverse conditions. That turns a challenging par-5 into a much easier par-4. This year, the tenth hole has only been playing as a par-5 for the last couple of weeks.

A new double-row sprinkler system was installed over the winter and spring, and is now in use. The course is nearly recovered from that construction project, so there are only minor blemishes remaining in some of the fairways. The huge amount of rock that was removed during pipe-laying is now in the low area between the third and eighth fairways, waiting to be covered with fill and turf.

Hunter can generally be played in 4.5 hours on a weekend morning, and you should log around 5 miles if you walk.

I wouldn't put Hunter among the top ten courses in the state, particularly because of the drainage issue. But I have really enjoy playing there for the last dozen years. If you like a golf course that makes you think, give Hunter a try (when it's dry). The challenge should bring you back again.

I'm always looking for an edge that will give me an advantage in this game of golf. However, I'm not willing to spend a lot of money on the latest technology to get that edge. I've invested in lessons on occasions, and that usually helped for awhile, at least until I fall back into my old bad swing habits. I'm happy with my clubs, even though all of them are at least five years old. And the used Pro V!x golf balls (which I find in the woods while searching for someone's lost ball) seem to fit my game well.

But my irons don't seem to have the "bite" that they had when I bought them years ago. Even when they were new, my irons never produced the backspin that the PGA Tour players get when I see them play each weekend, but my irons used to come much closer to stopping the ball right near the pitch mark. For the first couple of years of use, my irons could literally tear bits of the cover off the ball. I would find very thin ribbons of golf ball cover in the grooves because of the "bite" I was getting. So is it time for new irons to get that bite back? Maybe, but maybe not. After all, I am a fairly frugal golfer who would rather focus my golf budget on greens fees to play another course.

So I've invested $25 in a regrooving tool. This is supposed to restore the grooves to their original conditions so that you get that "bite" back again. I tried it on a couple of wedges, using light pressure on the tool, which seemed to scrape out a bit of metal from the grooves. Running my finger across the grooves afterwards, it was hard to tell whether it really made any difference: it still felt pretty smooth to me. And where it really counts, out on the golf course, I didn't detect any difference at all.

Yesterday, I went at it again with the regrooving tool on an old sand wedge, adding more pressure, which definitely removed more metal. And the finger test indicated a noticeable difference in roughness across the grooves.

But is this legal? Yes, as long as you don't make the grooves too wide. Essentially the Rules of Golf say that the distance between grooves can't be less than three times the width of each groove. So you would need to check that with a very fine measuring scale and a magnifying glass to be sure. It looks like my wedge is still legal because it had some room to spare in terms of groove width. But an inspection of my irons show that if a regrooving effort should widen the grooves at all, then they would become illegal for tournament play. So any regrooving that might widen those grooves is off limits.

So in my case, it looks like it may be time for some new irons. That may be one way to help me get my edge back.

The continuous development of improved golf balls and clubs has been going on since the very beginnings of the game. And a few years ago, distance measuring devices were approved as options under the Rules of Golf, albeit only under the auspices of a Local Rule. But I'd like to see one more piece of technology approved by the USGA: golf ball locating devices.

A lost golf ball is frustrating for three reasons: it hurts your score, it slows down play, and it might make you hurry the following shots just to "catch up".

Last weekend, I had an early morning round at Stanley Golf Course. One of the benefits of going out early is that there are only a few groups ahead that could slow you down. Early groups have the potential to finish under 4 hours, which is a nice pace. My foursome finished in 4 hours 20 minutes, which is generally considered to be a reasonable amount of time for a round. But if it wasn't for the group that seemed to be constantly looking for a lost ball, the 4-hour round would have been easily obtainable.

No, it wasn't the group ahead of us that was the problem: we were the ones holding up the show. We seemed to be always looking for a ball that settled down into the rough or one that crept into the trees. At Stanley, the rough is kept at a normal height and the grass is mowed amidst the trees in most places, so you expect to find your ball easily even when you miss the fairway. If you were bash your ball into the wild stuff, you would expect a lost ball; but not in the tamed areas. We seemed to be constantly searching for a ball that "should be right here."
 
My group was fairly long off of the tee. (Mike could blast it over 300 yards, and usually in the fairway.) That distance can get you where you can't see your ball from the tee. The gents behind us (one of which was probably in his 80's, and carrying his bag) didn't have much length, and needed three shots to reach the longer par-4's. But they were always in the fairway, and every time we had even a short search for a wayward ball, they would be right up with us again. We may have scored better than they did, but they were clearly faster players that day.

Wouldn't it be nice if someone invented a golf ball locating device so that you wouldn't be wasting time (and strokes) during your round. Or if that group ahead of you had that kind of technology, so that you weren't constantly waiting for them. Actually, there is at least one such tool that is already available. The one that I know of is called RadarGolf. The special golf balls are embedded with a microchip, and there's a hand-held locator that can find the ball as long as you get within the locating range (advertised as somewhere between 30 and 100 feet, depending upon terrain). The locator cannot detect a ball that is in water, however. The golf balls are two-piece models that reportedly conform to USGA specifications, and apparently are very similar in playability to typical two-piece balls.

This system is currently not legal for use in tournament play, but you can post scores for your handicap when using this technology. If the USGA were to allow such a locator system, I'm confident that 3-piece balls would become available for use, as well. Personally, I'm all for eliminating one of the most frustrating situations in the game of golf: the lost ball. Maybe the USGA will see it that way too, some day.

Question: What do call it when you have four balls in the fairway?

Answer: Ladies golf.

Okay, not the funniest golf joke in the world. And it's certainly not a cut at lady golfers. It's just a truism about how most guys play golf: distance off the tee is more important than landing in the fairway. In fact, seeing the entire foursome of guys hit their drives to the fairway on the same hole is unusual enough that it usually doesn't occur even once during a round. This past weekend, I saw it occur on two consecutive holes. I don't think that I've ever seen that before! (I usually play with guys whose handicaps range from about 5 to 15.) On the other hand, I've seen a foursome of ladies (with handicaps in the teens and twenties), spend the vast majority of their round in the short grass. Women value accuracy; men love the power game.

On Sunday I was attempting to qualify for a spot on Hunter Men's Club's team to play in the New England Public Links (NEPL) Senior Championship. With four spots available, I was hoping that a round in the 70's would qualify. I didn't need to finish first, just in the top four. I didn't need birdies, just a lot of pars. So I tried a new strategy: shooting for the center of the green. Now this may seem like common sense to you because it's what any pro will advise you to do, but my problem is that I've always had a pinseeking attitude. "Why shoot for the center of the green when you're really trying to get as close to the hole as possible?" But sometimes it is important to "get real" about what your skill level is. Taking two putts is much easier that trying to get up-and-down from the rough or a greenside bunker.

So on Sunday I had my best scoring round in over three years, shooting a 4-over-par 74. Yes, I was striking the ball better than usual, and we were allowed "preferred lies" even in the rough. But I believe that shooting for the center of the green (from any spot that was beyond 70 yards from the green) did help several times. My two birdies occurred on holes with center pin positions, but having pars on the holes with front or back pins was just fine. Although I did 3-putt twice, I don't think that can convince me to return to my pinseeking ways. And I did reach my goal of making Hunter's NEPL team.

I have been playing conservatively from the tee for several years, but now I'm hoping that playing more conservatively with my approach shots will enhance my scoring ability for the future. Its mostly a matter of realistic thinking winning out over an unrealistic ego.

The sun sets after 8pm now, which means you can tee off in the late afternoon and complete 18 holes before dark, or tee off at 6pm and still get nine holes in. Depending on the particular course, twilight golf has the potential to be a very pleasant experience.

Many courses, including some very good ones, have a significant drop-off in play on weekend afternoons. At that time of day the temperatures are warmest (or hottest), and when less skilled (read slower) players may be out on the course. But by late afternoon or early evening, many courses have just singles and twosomes on the course, often moving along at a good pace to beat the setting sun, making an under-four-hour round a likely prospect. (However, Fairfield County courses tend to be booked fairly solidly all through the afternoon and early evening.) Afternoon breezes tend to slow down after 5pm as the afternoon heat dissipates. But you'll find the mosquitoes may be out for a sunset nibble by the time June rolls around.

There are a few courses that start twilight rates as early as early as 2pm, while others start at 4pm. In general, these discounts are more likely on the weekends than during the week, especially at courses where they have weekday afternoon leagues. You can check the CTGolfer Course Directory for the courses you're interested in to see if they have such discounts. They're listed in the Restrictions and Discounts notes in the Greens Fees table for each course.

If you've never played an early-evening round at an under-utilized course, you may really enjoy the experience, and possibly at a bargain price. Give it a try sometime.

Last Wednesday I played Tashua Glen Golf Course for the first time. This 9-hole executive course (2184 yards) opened five years ago, and is part of the Tashua Knolls golf complex. But don't expect something similar to Tashua Knolls Golf Course. In terms of terrain and style, Tashua Glen reminds me more of a short version of Oxford Greens. The course is cut through a wooded ravine (glen), so there are plenty of uphill, downhill, and sidehill­ lies to play from if you miss the fairway or green.

Tashua Glen plays to a par of 33. The four par-3 holes max out at 140 yards, while the longest of the par-4s is just 325 yards. The lone par-5, which doglegs to the left, is only 460 yards. Although the holes are on the short side, the course still feels like a full-length course in terms of its challenges: mis-hit shots will generally be punished by a bunker, rough, or a difficult lie. Although there are five holes where I could have used a driver, I did so only on the 300-yard seventh hole. I teed with a 3-wood on the first and ninth holes because of doglegs, and hit irons from the tee on the third and sixth holes to try to keep the ball in the fairway.

The course is nicely manicured from tee to green. The greens do not have collars, which makes it more difficult if you short-side yourself. Greens speeds are slicker than average. Holes are safely separated, with a short hike from the green to the next tee in a few instances. That's why, along with searching for the results of misplayed shots, I covered 2.5 miles on a 90-minute round. I shot a 7-over-par 40, which included sevens on the opening and closing holes.

While the adjacent Tashua Knolls course was quite busy, Tashua Glen had lots of room for play. Apparently there is a very active junior instruction program here. I observed a golf instructor shuttling students out to the Glen course to play a couple of holes, then returning them to the practice area and picking up another student or two for some on-course instruction. In addition to the four sets of tees, the scorecard indicates some even shorter yardages in conjunction with the U.S. Kids Golf program. It is great to see a facility with a real focus on bringing more youngsters to this grand game. Tashua Glen may be too difficult for those who are just starting to learn the game, but it is a great place for the developing player.

Today's trip was to South Pine Creek Golf Course, located in Fairfield. This is an excellent nine-hole par-3 course in all aspects. This is not one of those courses that is crammed into a small space: there is ample room for mis-hit shots that won't endanger other players on the course. The ninth hole is the shortest, at 90 yards, while the 187-yard eighth is the longest.

The greens are full size, with greenside bunkers just like you'd find at any championship course. The shoreline courses tend to be a little slower coming out of winter dormancy, so the greens aren't really growing yet. Thus, they seem just a bit thin right now. The green speed is also just a tad on the slow side, but I don't know if that would be still be the case as the season progresses.

The tees are plenty large as well--big enough to handle a season's worth of heavy play. There are just two sets of tees, and the back tee distances that are listed on the scorecard are mostly measured from just a little behind the center of the teeing area. So the eighth hole can really play 200 yards from the very back of the tee, while other holes can pick up as much as 30 extra yards when played from the very back.

Novice golfers will have ample opportunity to donate golf balls to the two large ponds that come into play on six holes, while better players will find the ponds to be an issue only on the third and seventh holes. Trees don't come into play for the most part.

My group teed off behind a foursome of elderly gents who didn't have the length to reach most greens, so it took an hour and fifty minutes to play the nine holes. But I'd have to say that I really hope that I would have such a nice little course to compete on when I'm 85 or 90 years old. It was also a good challenge for the two youngsters playing in my group. I also saw several serious players out for a practice round to work on their short games. This truly is a course that anyone can play and enjoy.

I had a 6-over-par score of 33 on a round hindered by a steady 20 mph breeze (look at me making excuses), with one 3-putt. It was a nice 1.5-mile walk on a nicely maintained flat course. Connecticut needs more par-3 courses like South Pine Creek.

On Friday I traveled down Route 9 to Hillside Links Golf Course, located in Deep River. This 932-yard par-3 course has holes that range from 71 to 164 yards.

This is one of those par-3 courses that plays from artificial turf mats with rubber tees. However, some of the mats are torn, and your club can end up catching in the ripped material. These mat tees are reasonably level, though. I suppose that, if you wanted to, you could tee up in the rough that surrounds some of the tees. The tee distances were very accurate to the center of the greens.

The greens are small at about 800 square feet each. Almost all of them are round and somewhat tilted. The green speed is on the slow side, and some of the greens are a bit patchy. Although there are a few small bunkers on the course, most of them are not very close to the greens.

The first three holes are all simple, measuring under 100 yards each. The 4th hole adds a little more length at 115 yards, but the overhanging branches only allow a low shot
at the green. Because there's rough all the way to the green, you can't just run the ball up there. And you can't risk overshooting the green because there is a pond right behind it. I took a partial swing with a 4-iron to keep the ball under the branches, but I ended up in the rough well short of the green. There's a similar problem on the 5th hole, but only half of the green is blocked out by the overhanging branches.

The 6th and 7th holes are long enough for full shots. However, if you are just 15 yards to the right of the 7th flag, you're ball winds up on the 5th green. So, on busy day, you would need to keep a wary eye on the 7th tee when putting on the 5th green.

The round concludes with a 100-yard shot over low trees to reach the final green. It took me about 45 minutes for a solo round, scoring a 2-over-par 29. The total walk is less than 0.9 miles.

If there was some tree or branch removal on the 4th and 5th holes, then Hillside Links might be a reasonable starter course for youngsters. But until that happens, I can't really make such a recommendation.

I am in the Seattle area visiting my dad, who is in the hospital right now. He's in an intensive care unit and is making slow but hopeful progress. Knowing that I wouldn't have much opportunity to play golf, I left my clubs at home, saving the $60 airline fee for shipping them both ways. Besides, my brother Dave (who lives in Saudi Arabia) keeps an extra set of clubs at Dad's house to avoid that same shipping issue. Anyway, during the week I had the chance to get out for a nine-hole adventure on a nearby course.

Besides the reputation of Tapps Island Golf Course, I was attracted by the rate: $12 for seniors, which is defined as people age 55 and over. Having reached that magic number in March, this was my first opportunity to get a senior rate anywhere. Though not every Connecticut course advertises a senior rate, those that do start their discount at age 60, 62, or 65. If you know of any Connecticut courses that do start their senior rate at age 55, please let me know.

I've always had my own set of clubs available, so I don't remember ever using someone else's set. Dave's clubs have oversized grips, and he is about four inches taller than I am. So how would using his clubs affect my play? Apparently, not much. I drove the ball fairly well off of the tee like I usually do. I pulled several approach shots to the left, which is common for me. My short game was hit or miss, which is what normally happens. I ended up shooting 40 for the nine holes, which is a little better than average for me.

I had assumed that using a foreign set of clubs would affect my game, but my conclusion now is that it didn't. So when I travel by plane in the future, I'll leave my clubs behind if I know that I'll only play a couple of rounds. I'll save the cost and hassle of shipping my clubs and just borrow or rent a set. I think that you can rent a decent set at some courses for as little as $10 per day, but that might be more like $60 per day at a high end course. You can also rent for a reasonable rate from many golf shops, especially the ones that sell used equipment. Even if they don't offer a discount for multiple days of rental, ask for a discount anyway: they may give it to you.

I did bring my own golf shoes and range finder. You may want to bring your favorite brand of golf ball if you're particular about that.

Dad has a lot of rehab to go before he's ready to go home, but I'll be back to Seattle to visit again this summer. Then I'll also have a few rounds of golf with Dave, who is my favorite playing partner. It's always nice to have good quality time with the family.

Despite the three inches of rain last Monday and Tuesday, when I played Cedar Knob Golf Course on Good Friday, the course conditions were very nice. There were four sand bunkers on the back nine that were partially filled with water, but in the turf playing areas, there was absolutely no evidence of casual water or mud. (There was casual water around the 11th tee, but that wouldn't come into play.) The course was built on a site that was previously a gravel pit, which explains the excellent drainage.

It had been at least five years since I had last played Cedar Knob. I had remembered it as one of my favorite courses, especially because of the challenging dogleg holes. The large greens on the first two holes contribute to an easy start. The third hole typifies what is needed on a many of Cedar Knob's holes: an accurate drive and then a good putting stroke on a tilted green. Although most of Cedar Knob's green complexes are rather forgiving, with large greens that may be accompanied by just a single bunker, some are rather narrow. The fourth green is one of the narrower ones, with OB hugging the left side, which earns this long par-4 the #1 handicap ranking. The par-3 fifth plays 248 yard from the back tee.

The 512-yard par-5 seventh gives a definite advantage to an extra-long straight drive (290 yards from the back tee?) to reach the corner of this dogleg-left. For most people, the second shot is just a punch shot to advance another 100 yards through a gap at the corner, leaving a mid-iron to the green. I gambled by attempting to hook a 3-iron through that gap to get as close to the green as possible. I was concerned that the hook was too strong, but my ball ended in the fairway just 35 yards from the pin. That set up my only birdie of the round.

The back nine begins with a par-5 that requires a drive over a large pond. Although the landing area is wide, you'll need to play to the right side (going over more of the water) to avoid being blocked out by trees for the second shot. The 11th and 12th are par-4s that require accuracy off the tee, whereas the 13th needs a measured drive to avoid a pond that starts 120 yards from the center of the green. The 15th also needs a measured drive (about 210-230 yards from the back tee) to end up centered at the dogleg. The 16th is an uphill par-3 that stretches out to 235 yards.

The 17th is a three-shot dogleg-left par-5 that starts with a downhill shot to the corner. Again, a measured shot of about 230 yards is in order, but you could go with a long iron and let the ball roll down to the corner. Two more iron shots would be the safest way to the green. The finishing par-4 doglegs slightly to the left, leaving an iron over a pond to an elevated green. The tee shot should be aimed just to the left of the shed in the distance. There is another pond to the right of that shed, 240 yards from the back tee. My tee shots on those last two holes were the only bad ones of my round, and they led to a disastrous nine-seven scoring finish (to go with a snowman on the 12th hole).
 
I'm no turf expert, but I think the greens were made up of mostly poa annua with large patches of bent. These two very different grasses made judging green speed difficult. Putts that I was afraid would be short often slid six feet past the hole because I didn't pay attention to which variety of grass was near the hole. I took 35 putts on the round (not including ones from the fringe) on greens that are large but not tricky.

I shot 40-49 with a lot of good drives. I kept one ball in play for most of the round, until a hook off of the 18th tee left it lost among the trees. The course was busy on Friday morning, and the round took four and a half hours with brief waits on most holes. It was a 5.3 mile walk for me.

The 18th hole is nice finisher for the spectator as well as the player, and I think that this course is worthy of hosting an important tournament. I'm sure to return to Cedar Knob to try to take on this course again.

Today was a perfect test of the ability of our Connecticut golf courses to drain off all of the excess water from a few days of rainfall. Many courses were closed today, while others were playable with some casual water in the fairway or rough. My home course, Hunter Golf Club, has drainage problems on the tenth hole that can be problematic throughout much of the spring season. Shennecossett Golf Course is an example of a layout that is well-drained through much of the course, but apparently has an underground spring that seeps into the seventh fairway.

I can think of four examples of courses that I had played shortly after a heavy rain and which I found to be free of casual water throughout the course when other places were not faring as well. Topstone Golf Course in South Windsor does very well in the spring season. You might still find a bit of squishy sod on the 18th fairway, but other than that, the drainage was very good in my experience. Timberlin Golf Course had a drainage issue on the left side of the 13th fairway until new French drains were added a few years back. That made a big difference on that hole to bring it in line with the rest of the course.

Portland Golf Club was designed with drains in crucial locations, making it a course that is claimed to be "ready to go" the instant that rainfall ends. Manchester Country Club must have a natural gravel base, because I've found it to be free of soggy turf the day after a 2-inch rainfall.

These are my limited personal experiences of courses that drain well. Has your experience been the same on these courses? What other courses can you verify as being good drainers? Don't be shy about giving all of us the benefit of your experience of courses that keep your shoes dry. Please click on the Comment link to give your input. Thanks.

Golf courses are greening up nicely already, and course conditions are improving quickly throughout Connecticut. The weather is the big damper on play right now, with low temperatures yesterday and today, while rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days. I waited for this afternoon's temperatures to reach the 40's before heading to Guilford Lakes Golf Course for nine holes of par-3 golf.

This is a nicely groomed course with a lot of character. The layout has three ponds and five sand bunkers, but the elevation changes around the greens are what offer the most challenge on this course. From  the back tees, holes range in length from 88 yards to 220 yards. Each hole has three sets of tees, and they appear to be large enough to withstand a lot of play. The course is a bit tight in places, so there are protective nets in place for the safety of other players. (The cars on the adjacent road have to fend for themselves.) The putting surfaces average about 3000 square feet each, with none of them being tricky. So if you are accurate with your irons, par should be pretty routine because you aren't likely to 3-putt these greens.

The sixth tee is in a poor-drainage area, so a shorter alternate tee (which plays over the fifth green) was in use today. Ordinarily this is a difficult 220-yard tee shot (from the back tee) to a green that is fronted by a pond. Expert players will find this hole to be a real test, but the middle and front tees provide relief for less skilled players. Because of the challenge involved when the normal tees are open, this is my favorite hole on the course.

My favorite scenic hole is the third, which has rock outcroppings all down the left side which help to frame the hole nicely. It is a very tough up-and-down if you miss this green to the right. In fact, getting up-and-down is pretty difficult anywhere on this layout, unless you are on the fringe. My only pars came on the three greens that I hit with my tee shots. Youngsters who grow up playing this course will develop very good "trouble shot" skills as they experience chipping and pitching uphill or downhill to these greens.

My 7-over-par score of 34 included one double and no birds. Guilford Lakes might be a bit too difficult as a starter course for someone new to the game, but it offers a good challenge to players of all abilities.

After my warm-up at Villa Hills on Saturday, I continued on to the town of Woodstock to play the 9-hole Harrisville Golf Course. While most Connecticut courses are lined with oaks and other deciduous trees, this course has mostly pine trees (which means lots of pine cones on the ground in some areas).

Harrisville begins with an easy par-4 (my only par on the round) with a generous landing area. At 305 yards from the back tees, you might consider this hole short, but the 4th, 7th, and 8th holes are even shorter par-4s. The par-5 third and sixth holes are potentially reachable in two, but are decent challenges. The par-3 second and ninth holes are both fair tests, but at a listed 250 yards, the 8th hole should really be thought of as a long par-3 instead of a par-4.

The most memorable hole is the 430-yard fifth, which begins with a daunting carry of at least 200 yards over a pond, or 250 yards if you take the shortest route to the green. Alternatively, a middle iron lay-up before the pond is the safe choice. Once you are past the pond, the rest of the way is easy unless you ended up under or behind a tree.

The seventh hole is a 300-yard par-4 that dives down quickly in the landing area, meaning that a normal 250-yard drive could kick forward and roll onto the green. Because this is a blind tee shot, you need to wait until the group ahead is visible on the 8th tee before you blast your drive directly toward the red house in the distance.

Some of the greens were tilted enough to make them a bit tricky. I had 20 putts in just 9 holes, so obviously I didn't do too well on these greens, even though they were fair.

There have been some recent modifications in bunkering and mounding on a few holes. My impression was that the management is actively working toward improving the course. It looks like drainage improvements on the 5th and 6th holes would be in order, as standing water was obvious in the low-lying areas of those holes. (There was evidence of a couple of carts having been stuck in the soggy turf there.)

I shot a 10-over 46 on my round, which took a little over 2 hours to play since there were brief waits on nearly every hole on this busy course.

Even though Harrisville GC is a notch below the 18-hole courses in northeast Connecticut, it is clearly my favorite among the 9-holers in that corner of the state.

On a personal note, I have just 6 courses left to play in my quest to play every public course in Connecticut: four par-3 courses, one executive course, and one full-length 18. I'm in no rush, but I expect to complete this odyssey by early summer.

Today I traveled to Storrs to play Villa Hills Golf Course. This nine-hole par-3 course has a beautiful setting among the trees on rolling hills. The greens are very small (so small that I didn't hit a single green on my round), averaging about 800 square feet. Unfortunately, these greens don't have the correct type of grass for the putting surfaces, which is why they can't be cut short enough. These greens are like the kind of very slow temporary greens that are simply closely-mowed fairways, where the ball hops more than rolls. It reminded me of when, as youngsters, my brother and I would sink tin cans in the backyard and cut the lawn as low as our rotary mower would go: not exactly a smooth speedy putting surface.

The tees are composed of driving range mats, which may or may not be level. Although you might be able to tee up near the mats, it would be more likely on dirt than on grass. The hole lengths, ranging from 65 yards to 185 yards, are accurately marked. The 150-yard third hole, which plays over a pond, was my favorite.

So, is this a good course for beginners? Unfortunately, no, because the line of flight from tee to green is too tight on most holes due to the encroaching tree branches. And experienced players will dislike the tee mats and the extremely slow greens. So in spite of a decent routing and friendly staff, I can't think of any type of player who would enjoy Villa Hills in its present condition.

It was a fast round because I was the only one on the course. I managed to get up-and-down just twice on these tiny bumpy greens, shooting a 10-over 37.

I was rained out of golf this past weekend, but on the previous weekend I played Laurel View CC in wonderful late winter weather. This is the time of year that I normally play Laurel View, because it is usually one of the earliest inland courses to open. Each year I've been able to observe the continual enhancements that have been made over the past ten years. The drainage throughout the course has been significantly improved, although the eighth hole could still use some help in that regard. Bunkering has also been revamped on several holes. The ponds that front the 12th and 14th greens are big improvements over the marshes that were there years ago. The latest changes include tree removal throughout the back nine to open up the course more. Most of these changes make this course more friendly to the high-handicap player and improve the visuals on the course.

Laurel View begins with the easiest hole on the course, a short par-4 that can give an aggressive long-hitter an eagle putt right out of the gate. An accurate, well-placed drive is required on the par-4 third in order to avoid the unseen diagonal pond that lies between the landing area and green. The par-5 fourth demands an accurate drive, but then lets up until you reach the testy double-tier green. The extra-long par-4 fifth (479 yards from the tips) is complemented by the extra-short par-4 sixth. You'll probably need a wood to reach the well-bunkered par-3 seventh that shares a huge green with the ninth hole. There's a new willow tree that replaces the dead sentinel tree before the green on the par-5 eighth, making the hole more fair but maybe a little less interesting than it had been. The uphill par-4 ninth caps off this challenging nine.

The new back tee on the par-4 tenth will add a few yards to this short hole, which provides a breather before the par-5 eleventh, where accuracy is required on every shot. The landing area for the tee shot on the eleventh is cut into a left-to-right slope. If you miss the fairway to the right, your ball could roll down into a rotten lie among the trees. One strategy is to aim left and hope that your ball bounces out of the left rough into the fairway. Or you could choose to tee off with less than a driver, but you'll still need an accurate second shot to stay safe.

The twelfth is a beautiful par-3 over water, while the thirteenth is another short par-4 with a blind tee shot. (Be sure to check that the group ahead has reached the green before teeing off.) The par-5 fourteenth is my favorite hole. At 470 yards (from the Blue tee) a long drive can catch the downslope, leaving you with a downhill iron second shot into the green. As you start entertaining the idea of an eagle opportunity, the concern over the pond at the right front of the green can mess with your head as well. It seems that whenever I have caught the fairway with my drive, my second shot can be anything from a 3-wood to a 9-iron, but I've still only birdied this hole once.

The fifteenth is another tough uphill par-4, while the sixteenth plays back down the hill and requires more accuracy than length off of the tee. The finishing par-4 is a dogleg-left that plays uphill. There's a single tree in the natural direction of play which you have to avoid by going left, right, or over with something less than a driver.

Playing from the Blue tees, I only gave away one ball on my round of 44 and 43 strokes. I had a lot of pars with some 7's thrown in, but no birds. Playing the Black tees would add another 470 yards to the round, but I've never tried them because the Blues are a tough enough test for me.

With the exception a few partially washed-out bunkers, the course was cleaned up and ready to go when I played it eleven days ago. Even though the greens could be described as "tans" then, putts still ran ran true and at a normal speed. There were too many unreplaced divots on the eighth hole, but overall I was satisfied with the conditions of the course.

Carts are required on weekends until 3pm during the regular season. I enjoy the strenuous walk, including the cardiac hill on the fifteenth. Laurel View is a great test of golf skill and decision-making, making it a great battle ground for match play. The constant improvements are making  the course better each year. 

Yesterday seemed like a decent day for some late-winter golf, in spite of an early morning dusting of snow. Temperatures were warm enough to erase that dusting, but I don't know whether any courses were open. Shennecossett's website said that their course was closed, and the Winter Golf page on the CTGolfer site had no new entries regarding open courses. If Shenny wasn't open, then probably no course was. (Shennecossett did open today, however.)

Today was a windy, but rather sunny day. Though the grass isn't a true green, it sure feels like golfing weather. The calendar says March, and we all want to believe the 50-degree forecasts for next weekend. Plus, the sun doesn't set until after 5:30pm. And in two weeks, sunset will be nearly 7pm.

Meanwhile, I'm biding my time by taking divots out of my backyard turf to groove my swing. This is an excellent time to take a lesson or two at a practice range. It's better to try to make changes to your full swing at this time of year than waiting until mid-season.

By the way, my bathroom scale says I need to play golf for my health. In December, I didn't play at all and put on 3 pounds that month. With just one round of golf in January, I dropped 3 pounds. A golfless February (and a lot of munchies) brought me back up 5 pounds. I need some golf this month.

So in spite of unfavorable weather and unfavorable course conditions, true golf enthusiasts (nuts, that is) will be playing sometime in March. For many of us, it's just an itch that has to be scratched.