If Crystal Lake wasn't in the middle of nowhere it would be very, very popular. I've played it quite a bit this year and have come to love it. Its a short course, and not that difficult, but there are some really fun and beautiful holes. Conditions wise, its consistently one of the best I've played all summer and really never showed signs of the drought. The food and facilities are excellent as well.
The past few posts have gotten me thinking about the courses I've played this year. Slow day at work so I'm going to rank them.
These are all courses you can play in RI (two in Mass). I'm factoring in everything with these rankings. Range, price, availability, conditions, etc...
I'm not including Franklin Country Club in Franklin, MA because it is strictly private. Though I will say I had the pleasure of playing with a sosher and it was the best golf day of the summer. Its a short lay out with some target golf aspects to it but the facilities and conditions were both pristine. Fastest greens I've putted on this year as well.
13. Valley Country Club, West Warwick, RI. - Irons only range - Valley has hit some hard times financially. They are a private course but recently started to allow bookings on Golf Now. Typically that isn't a good thing but other courses on the list do that and the experience has usually been fine. I paid $90 cart included to play and it was, by far, the worst conditioned course on this list. Fairways were dirt. Greens, while still rolling okay, were fury. Rough non-existent. I cannot stress how bad the course was. I predict they will be closing soon.
12. East Greenwich Golf Course, East Greenwich, RI - No range, 9 holes - EG isn't a bad course value wise. My buddy and I were in the habit during the beginning of the summer of playing 9 holes Friday after work. It was $15 to walk. I haven't played it in months though and before the drought, the course was very dry so I can't imagine what it looks like now. We used to jokingly call it the East Coast Chambers Bay because of how hard the fairways were. Its a decent little 9 hole lay out though. 2 fun par fives.
11. West Warwick Country Club, West Warwick, RI - No range, 9 holes - A better 9 hole track than East Greenwich, much better conditions wise, not as good value. I believe 9 holes walking is $25. $33 with a cart which is steep for 9. Its a tight course, par 35. They know what they are though and make no bones about it. Rough is alright, fairways are good, but the crowned greens are very good.
10. Fenner Hill, Hope Valley, RI - No range - A short course but the undulations of the course make it fun. Decent value in the summer and when I played the course it was in decent shape. Its a tough walk, particularly the back.
9. Swansea Countr Club, Swansea, MA - Full range with netting - Great layout. Decent value. Conditions aren't always the best and pace of place can be very slow. The course gets *a lot* of play. They also have a 9 hole executive par 3 course that is in better shape than the regular course. If I lived closer I would take advantage of their par 3 membership that includes the ability to play their 18 holes course after 4 pm during the summer. The only problem is you'd have to go off after the leagues.
8. Cranston Country Club, Cranston, RI - Full range - Very similar to Swansea. In fact when describing one or the other to a person who hasn't played both, I compare the two. Great lay out but conditions this year were terrible. I think they are going to lose 2 or 3 greens this year and they are typically the slowest greens in the state. They keep them long and furry. Its too bad though because from the tips this is actually a tough course. Home of the state's only island green.
7. Richmond Country Club, Richmond, RI. - Full range - The rates change a lot here but its always great value. It is a very short course (I always score well here because I don't hit driver, at all) but the conditions are always very nice and if you like the Carolina look to a golf course (holes carved out of a forest, pine straw in between the trees) it can be a lot of fun. Greens are very slow but always in good shape.
6. Meadowbrook Golf Course, Richmond, RI. - No range - Meadowbrook is a cool story. For years it was the dumpiest golf course in southern RI with no facilities. In fact, if you went to play there it was on the honor system and you'd just drop $10 in a box by the first tee. A few years ago, the family that owns Richmond Country Club bought it and restored it. The layout is *incredible*. Probably the best layout in the state. Tees ranging from 5300 from the reds to 7500 from the blacks, including a 650 yd par 5. It is a tough course. Probably the toughest on the list. Conditions weren't the best this year but from what I've been told they were hit by the drought worst than most. Honestly, this would be higher on my list if it had decent facilities and a practice range. The range is desperately needed. Trying to play this place without a proper warm up is tough.
5. Triggs Golf Course, Providence, RI. - Irons only range - Donald Ross lay out. Short par 5's, long par 3s. Triggs gets a ton of play. It is not uncommon to have a 5.5 hour round there on the weekend. It is consistently ranked as one of the best municipal golf courses in the country though. They have also ran it the same way for a number of years. Let the rough go to shit, focus on the fairways and greens. This was especially true this year. Greens were some of the best I putted on. Awesome value year round. The biggest problem though is pace of play and that if you don't have a foursome you are definitely getting paired up and there is a 50% chance the person you get paired up with has never played golf before. If I could play this course on weekdays only and be the first golfer off the tee, it would be in the top 2. Plus the decor and facilities haven't changed in decades, giving it a charming feel. Also, it was the preferred course of the Providence mafia and during my college years we'd see Baby Shacks Manocchio go for his morning jog on the course. You don't know fear until you have to yell fore at him...
4. Segregansett Golf Course. Taunton, MA. - Full range - I like Seggy more than most. Its a private course that does a handful of very cheap priced foursomes on golf now every weekend. Its not a long course but conditions wise its up there with any private course you can play. The back 9 is better than the front, which has a few gimmicky holes.
3. Green Valley Country Club, Portsmouth, RI - Full range with mats - Layout is second only to Meadowbrook. Conditions tend to be on the dry side but they typically do a fantastic job. Its a long, tough course. The fact that you're playing in Portsmouth and its always windy doesn't help either. A lot of good golfers come from this course and you can see why. There is a premium on length *and* accuracy off the tee.
2. Crystal Lake Golf Club, Burriville, RI - full range - See above. Fun layout (short) with excellent conditions and facilities. Also one of the only private courses that keeps leagues to one side only during the week, meaning you can make tee times up until about 5pm in the summer. If I lived closer I'd strongly consider a membership.
1. Metacomet Golf Course, East Providence, RI. - No range. Course has been closed. - Go back a page or two for a few of our in memoriam's of Metacomet. Honestly I'm a bit surprised at how much the closure has affected me but it was just such a nice course. Par 70 with great undulations to tough greens. As TFP said, their greens were the closest he'd putted on to Pinehurst's.