New England Course Conditions

[bmoney003]

10/14 - Fenner HIll (hope valley, RI)

Played 27 yesterday at FH. Course was in GREAT shape. greens were showing the final stages of recovery from plugging, ball rolled pretty true (greens are brutally tough). Fairways are nice, green and plush. Bunkers were a tad inconsistent.

Only complaint it seems they take care of the front 9 a little more than the back 9. but nothing terrible on the back.

for 49$ riding on a Sunday, you cannot find a better value right now!

[bmoney003]

Playing this Sunday at NECC. Anyone jar an update on it ?

[bmoney003]

Have* damn phone

[prorobo]

Lyman Orchards - Player Course - 10/17/12

Got out today with a buddy who had a coupon ($27.50 each for 18 w/ cart). Course was still extremely wet on all tee boxes and half the holes and should have been cart path only. Greens have still not recovered from being punched (looks like a couple weeks ago) and do not roll well. Also many patches of hard pan on the green surfaces and many fairways. All in all, for the price we paid the conditions are about par, but anyone not getting a deal is getting taken. Quite possibly the worst condition I have ever seen the course in.

[bmoney003]

10/21 - NECC Bellingham

first time playing it. was very soft in some spots, but overall very good condition. No signs of aeration!

also saw a 4 point deer 5 feet from us on the 4th tee box. very cool!

now to find a way to get rid of the damn fall leaves from falling!! murder to find your ball

[DCSerafin]

Blissful Meadows - 10/21

Everything was in fine shape and there were very few areas that were overly wet (from the Friday rains).
The greens were rolling excellent, true and consistent. I was told by the staff they will not be aerating until 11/12 (possibly later if the weather remains mild).

A few areas (couple tees and a few approaches were aerated but had no real effect on play).
Leaves were everywhere but only an issue on the Par 3 13th green. There were just too many to move out of the way. Everywhere else, it was not too bad.
Range is open but no more grass tees (now hitting from the mats).
Play was a little slow taking 5 hours to play 18. Caused by a 4-some who was playing from the tips (BLUES) and probably should have been playing from the front (RED) tees. The staff worked to improve the pace early on the back nine.

[RhodyGolf]

[quote name='bmoney003' timestamp='1350302488' post='5795289']
10/14 - Fenner HIll (hope valley, RI)

Played 27 yesterday at FH. Course was in GREAT shape. greens were showing the final stages of recovery from plugging, ball rolled pretty true (greens are brutally tough). Fairways are nice, green and plush. Bunkers were a tad inconsistent.

Only complaint it seems they take care of the front 9 a little more than the back 9. but nothing terrible on the back.

for 49$ riding on a Sunday, you cannot find a better value right now!
[/quote]

10/22 - Also played Fenner yesterday. Same nice conditions although it looks like some animals went grub-hunting in some of the rough on a few of the holes.. Greens were great, although tough as always putting with the intense grain (always breaks towards 95, especially on the back 9!) Paid $37 to walk 18, which is tough there, but worth it for a nice morning.

[prorobo]

Tradition at Oak Lane (Woodbridge, CT) - 10/22/12

Played there today and yesterday (Sunday). Course is in pretty good shape. Tradition has done a good job so far and I expect conditions only to keep getting better. Greens are pretty healed from whenever they punched. Restaurant and burgers are every bit as fantastic as Tradition Wallingford (which I call the best burger I've ever had in all my travels across the country which I've done for work). And the rates were reasonable.

A big problem though is LEAVES. It doesn't seem as though they own leaf-blowing equipment at the course or any of the greenskeeping staff knows how to use it. Very easy to lose your ball in the fairway, on the green, and if you land in the rough, good luck! It's fairly frustrating to lose what you deemed an acceptable tee shot miss (just off right edge, left edge, etc) and never find it due to seeing more leaves than grass. Biggest and only gripe right now.

[Teetogreen86]

Played Newport National a week ago. Course is in great shape! Greens were punched probably a week or two before we got out there but they were rolling pretty decent all things considered. Not that much of this matters now with hurricane Sandy doing work!

[dartboss04]

I know we are running out of time and the official handicap season is almost over, but here are a couple updates from this weekend.

[b]Lyman Orchards Jones (Middlefield, CT, 11/3/2012)[/b] – Greens were punched recently and are in rough shape. They are bumpy and furry and I’m not sure it has a shot at filling in this season. I don't think I'd play there at this point unless it's a really good deal. The rest of the course was in fair condition. On a plus side, I always find the workers at Lymans really personable and kind. That goes a long way with me. If the course is not in the best shape and you treat me poorly cou-fairchild wheeler-gh, I'll never go back.

[b]Portland Golf Course West (Portland, CT, 11/4/2012)[/b] – This is a little executive course in Portland. Greens are always some of the best I putt on in the state. They may be a touch slow for my liking, but always pure. Course is in very nice shape. I was honing my par 3 skills for the Turkey Shoot this month at Blue Rock on the Cape.

[DCSerafin]

Played Shining Rock in Northbridge, MA on Sunday morning. Course is in fine shape. The "super"and his staff did a great job removing all the leaves. The greens are in super condition and for the most part everything was dry. They are doing shotgun starts due to the frost and we were even pushed out an extra hour. I noticed the frost was unusually bad on both Saturday and Sunday and a 9:00 Shotgun is pretty aggressive. Ened up starting at 10:00 AM on #10 and walked off of #9 at 2:00 PM on the dot. Back nine was pretty empty and I am guessing with a full tee sheet the round would run ~ 5 hours.

[prorobo]

Is it time to get this thread going again? Had planned on playing Shennecossett today with a buddy but it's just too cold and they had a shotgun taking up the course until 1. Rates however were $30 to ride, 20 to walk. Hoping to get out there within the next couple of weeks. Anyone played it and can attest to the conditions?

[geoangus]

Played Winnapaug today. Pretty darn chilly at 8:00. Some snow here and there, as well as a couple of bunkers filled with water. Greens were understandably shaggy. Conditions were definitely soft, but had a good time. $30 with cart.

I understand that Newport National is also open

[dartboss04]

Excited to see this thread relevant again. After blizzardgeddon, I was thinking mid april...haha. I got an email from Newport National as well as the captains course on the cape. I haven't had a chance to get out yet.

[bmoney003]

PLayed Monatup Saturday...little chilly but very dry conditions...greens were bumpy but not bad.

very expensive though for winter rates. 60$ to ride

Triggs opened today as well

[Imp]

Swansea is open, 2 sets of tees (red and blue) with some of them moved wayyyy up, all pins located in the back of the greens.

Lots of standing water in the bunkers. Some tee boxes still closed. Snow in the middle of the 12th green, but no where else where it mattered on course. If you were short, you had to get it over the snow. Soggy in many areas. Soft all around so no bounce on wedge/chip shots.

However, for $27... not gonna complain.

--kC

[cubiclegolfer]

and just when this thread becomes relevant again...dumped on. bummer

[Imp]

West Bay of RI and Southern RI (Weekapaug/Winnipaug/Shenny) Not much at all. If they're not pen today will probably be tomorrow.

I was just over there and there is NOTHING but a few spots.

Here on the East Bay of RI/Swansea got about 8" to 1'.

--kC

[geoangus]

I have a tee time at Winnipaug tomorrow morning - I'll let you know how it plays

[Imp]

How was Winnipaug? It ended up being a nice afternoon for golf.

Played North Kingstown yesterday. There was no grass that didn't have any less than 10-15 goose doppings every damn square foot. Won't go back there any time soon. Even on many of the greens. Almost like they said "Let's open" without any kind of course maintenance from the winter.

--kC

[geoangus]

We had planned on hitting a simulator on Sunday, but after reading your post on Saturday regarding SW RI, we were lucky enough to get a reasonable tee time.

Winnipaug was fun; no snow on the course but there were a few water filled bunkers from the melt. As expected, conditions were soft in some areas, casual water came in to play a couple of times. The greens, for the second weekend in March, weren't bad. Tee boxes were either temporaries or moved up, so the course played shorter than the card. Some of the temp tees on the par 3's were barren. Worst part of the day was pace of play as the round was just under 5 hours.

Still a better choice than the simulator.

[RhodyGolf]

I'm from Westerly - home of Winnapaug. No course is in more need of a makeover than that course. Under prior ownership, it was as good as any top public course in SE New England. Now under current ownership, hardly any money at all is put back into it and it operates bare bones. In fact, the best time to play it is now before all of the crab grass comes in. It's a great layout - a Donald Ross course - with ocean views. I wish someone with some cash would come in and swoop it up and make it great again. It's a shame. Someone get a message to Trump!!

[Imp]

Maybe the group that owns exeter/meadow brook/richmond will buy it?

--kC

[geoangus]

[quote name='RhodyGolf' timestamp='1363045607' post='6592753']
I'm from Westerly - home of Winnapaug. No course is in more need of a makeover than that course. Under prior ownership, it was as good as any top public course in SE New England. Now under current ownership, hardly any money at all is put back into it and it operates bare bones. In fact, the best time to play it is now before all of the crab grass comes in. It's a great layout - a Donald Ross course - with ocean views. I wish someone with some cash would come in and swoop it up and make it great again. It's a shame. Someone get a message to Trump!!
[/quote]

I've only played Winnapuag twice: yesterday and last Sunday. It does seem a little rough, but I equated that with it being winter. It does have great potential.

[bmoney003]

Triggs in good condition. Temp tees scattered snow. Very wet on 7 but that's about it. Other than winter greens (some fast some slow and very bumpy)

Not bad!!

[JJK947]

[quote name='RhodyGolf' timestamp='1363045607' post='6592753']
I'm from Westerly - home of Winnapaug. No course is in more need of a makeover than that course. Under prior ownership, it was as good as any top public course in SE New England. Now under current ownership, hardly any money at all is put back into it and it operates bare bones. In fact, the best time to play it is now before all of the crab grass comes in. It's a great layout - a Donald Ross course - with ocean views. I wish someone with some cash would come in and swoop it up and make it great again. It's a shame. Someone get a message to Trump!!
[/quote]

I'm from Pawcatuck CT so I've had my share or Winnapaug experience. I love how it plays in the early season usually right before it really warms up. The ground is still pretty hard from the cold but it's fairly dry, makes for some fun shot making. Nice elevation changes on the front nine which I definitely prefer. I wish someone would renovate it as well. There are some really interesting holes that just need a little touch up (2,4,7,8,9,13,14,15,16) and then some pretty decent holes mixed in. I think if someone did something with the 11,12,13 corner it could have some real attraction.

On another note, I just played Shenny this afternoon and it was in pretty good shape. Fairways were great for this time of year and not to wet at all. Greens were a little shaggy even for early march but I had no complaints overall. Can't beat it for $20 walking and played in a little under 3.5 hours in fairly windy conditions and a few groups ahead of us.

[Shemp]

[quote name='DCSerafin' timestamp='1353527674' post='5963213']
Played Shining Rock in Northbridge, MA on Sunday morning. Course is in fine shape. The "super"and his staff did a great job removing all the leaves. The greens are in super condition and for the most part everything was dry. They are doing shotgun starts due to the frost and we were even pushed out an extra hour. I noticed the frost was unusually bad on both Saturday and Sunday and a 9:00 Shotgun is pretty aggressive. Ened up starting at 10:00 AM on #10 and walked off of #9 at 2:00 PM on the dot. Back nine was pretty empty and I am guessing with a full tee sheet the round would run ~ 5 hours.
[/quote]

I live only 10 minutes from Shining Rock, but play at Blissful Meadows, 20 minutes away. Why? Slow play at the Rock. I've played there a handful of times, including our annual home and home Ryder Cup with them. I've never gotten off the course in less than 5 hours, most rounds were in the 5.5 hour range with one Good Friday round lasting over 6. Short par 4s and long par 3s on the front, coupled with some funky hole design kill pace of play. I would never recommend teh Rock for a weekend round unless you can get out early when the members are going.

[HackerD]

I'll second the assessment of Shennecossett as being in decent shape as of March 1, playing from temporary tees on most holes..

Fox Hopyard opens this Fri 3/22 and looks to be in good shape. Aerating Apr 1-2.

[Sawgrass]

A suggestion: New England is a pretty big place. Why not list the city/state of the courses we discuss, especially if your posts don't automatically include your location.

I'm interested in reading all of this, but particularly interested in reading about places close to Stamford, CT, and it's not always easy to figure it out.

[Sean2]

I received some emails that Olde Scotland Links and Southers Marsh are now open and Waverly Oaks opens on March 22nd.