Indian Mound Golf Club

Date Played: July 09, 2011
• Rated by: Jason Randall
• Location: Ossipee, New Hampshire

Course Website

Our Rating: 78

Friendliness of Staff: 8

The starter was great. He bs’d with us a little bit as we waited to get off the tee. The bar staff was great too. The guy in the pro shop was welcoming, as was the lady later in the afternoon. The pro was around, but I only saw him coming and going and didn’t see him interacting with any of the golfers. I certainly felt like the service was well above average.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 7

The pro shop was a bit small in size, but it was packed with great merchandise. The supply of dry fit shirts was immense, there was a great selection of both men’s and women’s clothing, but the topper for me was an awesome Red Sox hat with the magnetic brim for a ball marker. I couldn’t pass it up, especially at a great price! Speaking of price, I thought all the merchandise in the pro shop was below the prices of most other courses. I made sure to spend a little time in the pro shop after my round to do more shopping. The course also has a net with two mats to hit off of so you can loosen up before your round. There is also a practice green which was only slightly smaller than average, but rolled true to the greens on the course.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 8

We showed up an hour early to have breakfast before our round and we were happy we did! I had a breakfast sandwich with home fries that was off the charts. I was so impressed with my breakfast. My only complaint was that my bloody mary was a bit too spicy, but it wasn’t undrinkable either. A new feature to the course is a hot dog stand located at a great location, near holes 5, 6, 11, and 16. They were cooking hot dogs and sausage right on a grill, so you knew it was freshly cooked. $5 for a dog and a bag of chips is a bargain in my book. The stand is only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so don’t expect it on the other days.

Fairway Conditions: 7

Nothing blew me away about the fairways. They were what you would expect from a public course. My understanding is that they have improved immensely under the new ownership, with improved drainage being put in to make the course playable after a rainstorm.

Greens Conditions: 7

Being a public course, I was leery on how the condition of the greens would be. The first green had me a bit worried, as it was a little beat up. The rest of the greens were perfect. They rolled true, had no bumps, and drained really well from the previous nights rain storm. The only problem is that a few greens had kill on them, probably from a long winter and a wet spring that has prevented them from recovering properly.

Scenery: 8

This course is located in the foothills of the White Mountains, so the scenery is gorgeous. The mountains and trees are everything that you would expect in this area. Fortunately, the course also has a small river running through it that looks extremely inviting to jump in to, especially on a hot day. More impressive to me, is the Indian Mound, located at the 8th hole tee box. The Indian Mound is a burial grounds for Paquawket Indians. Not only is the course named after this mound, but they put a sign at the mound to inform all golfers of its history. Should I get the opportunity to play here in September/October, the scenery score could go up to a 9 or 10.

Difficulty of Course: 6

This is a par-70 course, so right off the bat you know that it is not long. We played the blues, which measure in at 5,675 yards. A lot of the fairways are tight and there are forgiveness points should you miss the fairways, but there is also a lot of OB which will come in to play for the right-handers that slice off the tee. The 14th is a long par-5 that spends the last 250 yards going up-hill. It’s the 9th handicap hole, but it was the hardest hole in my mind. I only tried using driver on two holes here. The potential does exist to use it on other holes, but there are a few par-4′s where you don’t need the length off the tee and may want to use an iron or wood to keep it in the fairway. To me, this was a fun course to play. It wasn’t impossible and frustrating.

Value Received: 8

We had a coupon which had us playing on the weekend for $53 for 18 with a cart. If that is not a deal, I don’t know what is! Without the coupon, the rate would have been $59, which is a smart price, keeping the cost just below the $60 level.

Speed of Play / Design of Course: 6

The layout of the course is actually pretty good. They held us on the first tee to wait until the group in front was on the green in order to spread out the golfers, which is a smart move. We completed the front 9 in right around 2 hours. The back 9 hit a slow down, as groups were stopping to grab a hot dog at the stand (us included). By cooking the hot dogs almost on demand, groups were waiting for the food to be cooked and slowing things down a bit. We were also behind a slow group, which became even slower on the back. The lack of a ranger didn’t help matters and it became a struggle for us to stay engaged with our round while we were waiting for the group in front to play.

19th Hole: 8

I loved the 19th hole! The bar itself only had about 6 chairs, but it was fully stocked, with 4 beers on tap. The appearance of the bar is what got me. It was a rustic, wooden look that fits for the area of New Hampshire they are located. Outside of sitting at the bar, there are plenty of tables to enjoy yourself after the round. My one complaint would be is that the floors were not tended to in the morning. It’s a small thing, but was noticeable to me first thing walking in. They also have a nice outdoor patio overlooking the first hole.

Bonus: +5

There is a beer cart on the course.

Additional Comments:

I really enjoyed my round here and highly recommend playing here for a fun round. It’s not an overly long course, but you will have fun playing position golf and utilizing your irons. From my understanding, the owner (also the pro) has owned the course for only a couple years, but has made immense improvements to the course. By the sounds of things they are working on (improving a few tee boxes, etc), this course is well on its way to a bright future. It also seems to me that the pro knows his clientele and how to market to them.