Great River / Milford CT / in-depth questions

[Shinny2017]

Gents,

 

been playing Great River on / off since it opened…..haven’t played in 2022….it’s back to original routing…#1 is par 4.  Sacred Heart U purchased maybe 7-8 years ago and has been doing steady improvements….here are my questions….

 

1.  Greens….great, very good, decent, ok, poor?  Love to get some real feedback on conditions (obviously 2022 drought has been tough everywhere after challenging winter)

 

2.  Pace of play / ability to get on……they have gone to semi-private….curious how is pace of play, ability to get out and overall experience in regards to those two topics.

 

3.  Condition of course (non-greens). Tee boxes, fairways, rough.  How is the course?

 

4.  Traps….have renovated green side traps, now major project is fairway traps.  So imagine those will be tip top shape come spring. 
 

5.  Other thoughts / comments, overall experience?

Edited September 5, 2022 by Shinny2017

[Shinny2017]

Played Great River today….course is in overall decent shape, greens are running out…fast

 

condition of greens —- 4/5….typical pitch marks for pubco which kills me, yet speed and conditions are excellent considering the harsh winter and dry & hot summer

 

condition of course —- fairways 4/5, rough 3.5/5, tee boxes 4/5.  Overall, very good shape.

 

work on course —- course is getting major irrigation upgrade, going to be huge for 2023 and if they add sprinkler heads for the rough areas, will be amazing course conditions in 2023.  One issue that has always been present is great River has always used sod instead of overseeding with local strands of grasses for rough areas and this leaves many places spotty.  
 

Best if they considered over seeding in the fall with a seed blend which would fill in many of these areas….

 

also, cart paths on the grass areas need to be moved every 2 weeks so ruts and tracks don’t develop .   (Put this in the camp of nitpicking yet deserves to be mentioned.). 
 

in regards to fairways, I never understood the idea of mowing so low that the grass burns out, just let it grow another 1/4 - 1/2 and mow down in the fall when weather cools and rains come back.  I’d prefer thicker fairways to burnt out, maybe I’m alone on this?  This is prevalent around the area, not just GR.

 

overall, place is def moving in right direction, just not sure I’m up for playing it 20-30 times a year.  5-10 for sure..

 

4/5….

 

for the record I put Pound Ridge at 4.5 / 5, Ct golf 5/5, Anglebrook 4.5/5.   Smith Richardson 3.5/5.  Brooklawn 4.5/5.

 

Great River is a treat, service is excellent, course layout is very great, greens are fast, fairways are very good.  Great experience.