Public golf courses in RI

[RhodyGolf]

Here is the list of public courses I've played in RI:

 

Winnapaug

Beaver River

Richmond

Fenner Hill

Meadow Brook

Exeter

North Kingstown

Laurel Lane

Triggs

Crystal Lake

Newport National (almost forgot - don't know how??)

 

I have yet to play Montaup, which I've heard multiple times is really nice. Are there any other public courses in RI worth playing? How's Cranston Country Club?

[thegifted1]

Cranston is ok but nothing special. I'd rather play Meadowbrook or even Fenner Hill for the money. I've also heard Montaup is pretty nice, but if you haven't played Newport National, do yourself a favor. Outstanding layout, outstanding course maintenance, and very challenging. Def my favorite public in RI.

[RhodyGolf]

[quote name='thegifted1' timestamp='1341367401' post='5213818']
Cranston is ok but nothing special. I'd rather play Meadowbrook or even Fenner Hill for the money. I've also heard Montaup is pretty nice, but if you haven't played Newport National, do yourself a favor. Outstanding layout, outstanding course maintenance, and very challenging. Def my favorite public in RI.
[/quote]

OH JEEZ! I've played Newport National. How did I miss that one!!

[Imp]

Montaup is a fun track. I play Jamestown every Friday. A short, but fun 9 hole.

Also Green Valley in Portmouth. It's no fenner hill or Montaup, but still decent. Good greens.

--kC

[mgb86]

Green Valley CC. Some of the quickest greens ever played.

[Shemp]

Montaup...Newport National.

[vandyfan]

I am reviving this thread as I will be at a conference in Newport, RI in mid-sept and will have time for two rounds. I am thinking Jamestown and Newport National unless anyone has a strong case for alternate courses. I would prefer to walk so bonus points for courses that are a nice walk and have fairly generous fairways. 

[ChipStrokes]

4 minutes ago, vandyfan said:

I am reviving this thread as I will be at a conference in Newport, RI in mid-sept and will have time for two rounds. I am thinking Jamestown and Newport National unless anyone has a strong case for alternate courses. I would prefer to walk so bonus points for courses that are a nice walk and have fairly generous fairways. 

i really enjoyed newport national. when i played it the conditions were great and i lucked out with perfect weather. 

 

the only drawback was that they don’t have a range. 

[jdl]

1 hour ago, vandyfan said:

I am reviving this thread as I will be at a conference in Newport, RI in mid-sept and will have time for two rounds. I am thinking Jamestown and Newport National unless anyone has a strong case for alternate courses. I would prefer to walk so bonus points for courses that are a nice walk and have fairly generous fairways. 

Meadowbrook is very nice and walk-able. Not great on amenities and parking though.

[PeterCL]

If money isn't an issue and you want to stay in the island, I'd do NN and either GV or Montaup.

 

[Imp]

NN is spendy and you're going to come to the same realization that it's nice, but may not be worth $125-$150 outlay, but some don't care about money and just want to play the course, and it's usually in some of the better condition in the area. Many locals don't play it, because it used to be half the cost. New owners took over and have been making promises that have failed to materialize about clubhouse, driving range, add'l 9 holes. They blame the town, the town blames the course. Nothing gets done. The only real challenge on NN is length and trying to get on the smallish greens. Everything else is open, so meets the 'generous fairways' criteria. 🙂

 

Jamestown is a fun, easy, wide open, 9 hole and I play it every Friday (league). They have lived through some major issues that happened about 4-5 years ago (lost all the greens due to the town massing things up with the salination of the reclaimed water the course uses) and they are all back, and better (and they were just re-rated). The greens and areas around the greens are fantastic now. If you want to play, just make sure they don't have a tourney or league when you want to go. They don't take tee times. It's still old school, show up, find the starter, put your name on the list and wait your turn. Then to play the back 9, they alternate back and front players. Burgers there are the best, but my favorite is chicken sammich with roasted red pepper.

 

Green Valley has many false front greens, and the greens play games with your putting (you'd swear it goes one way and then goes the other). Some good challenging holes and green complexes. And it's also in the best condition in a very long time that I've seen. Most accessible course in the area (other than Jamestown) to get on. Some challenging shots to get on the fairway from the tee, but also rewarding if you get it. (I play here every Thursday). Also, lots of leagues and tourneys, so call ahead for tee times.

 

Montaup is also a good track. Fun layout, some challenge especially if windy, and is always in good condition. 

 

Meadow Brook is the local preferred course for a good challenge. Great layout, almost always in good condition. Fair price to play also. Love it. Tree lined, but also allows for some creativity.

 

I'll throw Richmond into the mix too, is owned by the same family that owns Meadowbrook (and Exeter), and also in good condition, and the layout is mostly tree lined. Challenging.

 

One cool thing is most of the courses in the area are walkable. 

 

If you want someone to join up with, PM me when you get here. 

 

 

 

[vandyfan]

thanks @Imp I definitely will be playing Jamestown, I love small 9 hole munis AND I appreciate that it is fairly open. I will say that I like interesting courses but I don't always seek out "challenging". Green Valley sounds interesting as well. I will do some Google Earth sleuthing and get back to you and I will definitely shoot you a PM to see if you are available Wednesday morning or Tuesday afternoon in mid-Sept which is when I will be there. Thanks again!

[vandyfan]

Just as an update to this, it is next to impossible to find tee times in and around Providence and Newport due, largely, to league play. Tuesday afternoon is basically a wash everywhere. I have never seen so many leagues playing on a tuesday afternoon around 2:30 pm. Also, there seem to be more 9 hole courses (public anyway) than 18 hole courses and just a TON of private courses. Very different landscape than Middle TN, haha. I managed to get a time at Laurel Lane on Tuesday afternoon and Cranston on Friday morning. I will probably try to do a few loops on Jamestown on Wednesday morning since I couldn't really find anything (tee time wise) for Wednesday morning. 

[vandyfan]

I played Laurel Lane on Tuesday and it was in rather poor shape. The greens had been aerated and top dressed with what looked more like small rocks rather than sand. There were some decent holes and one or two really odd holes. Overall I would not say it was a great experience.

 

Played Jamestown and really enjoyed it. A few greens needed some TLC but overall a very cool 9 holer that I would definitely play regularly if I lived around Newport or Jamestown. Walked 18 out there in about 3 hours which was nice. 

[Imp]

10 hours ago, vandyfan said:

I played Laurel Lane on Tuesday and it was in rather poor shape. The greens had been aerated and top dressed with what looked more like small rocks rather than sand. There were some decent holes and one or two really odd holes. Overall I would not say it was a great experience.

 

Played Jamestown and really enjoyed it. A few greens needed some TLC but overall a very cool 9 holer that I would definitely play regularly if I lived around Newport or Jamestown. Walked 18 out there in about 3 hours which was nice. 

Playing it this afternoon in the league that I run. There's a story why the greens are that way, which goes back to 2017ish. The course used to use reclaimed water from the town. Around that time, the town switched salination methods and too much salt killed the greens. Replaced most of them over the next couple years, they were back to great shape end of last year and this spring, but got some kind of disease they're trying to fix. The greens before all that, you'd be able to put them up against the best courses in the state. Sad. Been playing catch-up for years now. Almost had 'em too.

 

That long ditch/pond next to 2 is new (about 1.5 years) (smaller ponds been there forever)  and was supposed to catch all runoff from the course. Did its job for most of the winter/spring but with the dry summer we had (which has hurt many courses this year unless you had access to a fresh water source like laurel ln and others) it's been tough to keep everything green. 

Edited September 23, 2022 by Imp

[vandyfan]

Played midville this morning on my way out of RI and it was a delight. The jewel of the trip for certain. A crisp, mid 50s morning with dew was very refreshing. Greens are in excellent shape and overall conditions were excellent. Loved the course would play it every day.

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by vandyfan

[Imp]

Is the tree still in the middle of the 1st fairway?

[vandyfan]

1 hour ago, Imp said:

Is the tree still in the middle of the 1st fairway?

yes very much so. Big tree and blind tee shot off the first. Also #3 has a crazy green that I thought was very fun. Definitely are going to miss a green or two out there so having a good short game is a big advantage.

[RIRider]

Midville has always been a course that's been well taken care of. It's too bad that they've lost so many trees over the years. It has definitely changed the look of the course.

[vandyfan]

42 minutes ago, RIRider said:

It's too bad that they've lost so many trees over the years. It has definitely changed the look of the course

 

That was what the regulars I was playing with were saying. Apparently there used to be more trees on #4, #6, and #8 in particular that shaped the holes a bit differently. It is nice that they do some deal with gift cards where you can basically prepay for golf in the winter and get it half price during the season. I would love to have an option like that.