Our Rating: 66

Friendliness of Staff: 7

Strangely, I did not encounter much staff here. They were mowing the roughs all day, and would stop a few moments after we would start hitting our approach shots or putts. I stopped in to the pro shop after the front 9 and the kid in there didn’t even acknowledge I was in there. It looked like he was busy text messaging. The lady behind the bar was nice and efficient. Updated 8/20/2011 This rating is updated from a ’3′, thanks entirely in part to the service of the beer cart and bar girls. They all were friendly and made sure our group was well hydrated.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 7

The pro shop itself is pretty small, but seems to have enough merchandise to suit all needs. The bar is fairly large and there is plenty of seating. There seems to be an old locker room near the mens room that had a ton of old pictures in it. Shame that they don’t hang them, as they looked neat and had a nice rustic golf feel to them. The course does have a large practice green and a driving range.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 6

I got my hamburger for free with the tournament that I was in, and it was pretty good. A nice large sized burger at that. The prices are very reasonable, and if you have a cell phone, you can phone your order in from the ninth tee.

Fairway Conditions: 4

The course is close to improving this score. They must have been preparing the course for the weekend, as they were mowing all day and leave tons of clippings in the rough. The fairways seemed disease free and fairly full with grass. Updated 8/20/2011 This rating is updated from a ’7′. There are multiple fairways that they’ve lost this year, with one fairway looking as though it’s marked for total replacement. They is many ground under repair markers, some of which made judging your distance on the par-5′s difficult, as you couldn’t hone in on the 150 or 200 yard markers.

Greens Conditions: 4

The greens here always seem the hardest part for the course to control. They had obviously aerated them recently, so we were getting plenty of bouncing putts. Most of the greens appear to be browning a shade and were very dry. Unfortunately, a lot of golfers are not repairing their ball marks, so the greens are starting to get beat up a bit. I fear what they will look like should we get a stretch of hot days this summer. (side note: for once it looked like no one had driven a car over any of the greens over the winter!) Updated 8/20/2011. The greens continue to frustrate me here, only in the fact that people are so poor at replacing their ball marks. I really would like to see the course do something to encourage golfers to repair their marks. Put a small note in the golf carts, or put small signs around the greens. No change in score.

Scenery: 6

I’ve always like playing this course based on it’s proximity to Westover AFB. I always enjoy watching as they just take off and fly overhead. They can be loud, but it’s a great site and always refreshing to know that the men and women that protect our nation are so close. For the most part, there are no houses near the course, and water is adapted in to a couple of the holes nicely. They are starting to grow out the rough in some distant places to add a ‘links’ course feel to it. It will be nice in the fall if they keep it growing.

Difficulty of Course: 8

Westover is long course. You definitely need to be hitting well off of the tee to be on the greens in regulation. Slight dog legs and placement of bunkers in the landing zone of most drives adds to the difficulty here.

Value Received: 7

I played in a tournament today, but from what I know about the costs from previous years, it’s very reasonable. You will definitely get your money’s worth in distance here.

Speed of Play/Design of Course: 6

The layout is good, with the sole exception being starting on a par-3 after the turn on #10. You can almost always expect to be backed up there. They definitely did a fine job laying out the course with the proximity to the air base.

19th Hole: 6

They do have a nice large bar here with plenty of seating at tables as well. They had a small TV in the corner with the US Open playing. They also had a newspaper left on the counter, so I got to catch up on some scores while waiting for my burger.

Bonus: +5

There is a beer cart on the course. Updated 8/20/2011 The beer cart was on the course today and you could even check in to it on Foursquare!

Comments:

I always enjoy playing Westover. It’s a long course that requires you to be long and in the fairway off the tee. This is definitely a place for all skill levels and is a great place for any golfer to practice to improve their game. If my encounter with the kid in the pro shop had been more meaningful, the rating could be a bit higher. Update 8/20/2011 Today, I played as part of a golf tournament and I was a little frustrated with how the course set it up. They had all our groups start on the back 9, with most holes doubled up, while having the public tee off the front, not in shotgun format. Needless to say, our groups went through very slow (it took 5 hours to play a scramble). When we hit the turn from 18 to 1, we wanted to get a quick hot dog and beer, but the starter came in to push us along because more public groups were coming out after us. Why not fill the course as one shotgun start?? Aside from that, Westover remains a steady course to play. The distance of the course makes it a great place to play for people of all skill levels.

Our Rating: 80

Friendliness of Staff: 8

When you arrive you’re generally met by a couple of younger guys working the pro shop. They’re pretty friendly and usually help get your clubs to your cart. The pro is a very nice guy. I couldn’t say the same about the dining staff. I had the opportunity to eat in the restaurant one evening and they seemed a bit annoyed by us, almost as if they were better than we were, but the dining manager was a very nice guy.

Update: The pro is an extremely nice guy. He was very easy to chat with and loaned us a their new binocular which tells you how far to the flag…and it helped us out a lot!

Facilities/Pro Shop: 9

Pro Shop is laid out nice with a good selection of merchandise you can buy. I did not see the prices but have to imagine it’s pretty steep. They have a very nice bag room for members and the guys working are diligent, from washing clubs to cleaning carts. Great restaurant with a nice deck overlooking the course. Nice banquet facility for weddings or meetings. Spacious locker rooms for changing and showering.

Update 8/10/11: The course also has a very large practice range to get loose on before heading out for your round. You will also find many members stopping by to work on their hitting after work, instead of just jumping on the course.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 8

The food in the restaurant is amazing with two separate menus, one for fine dining and one for pub/grill style. Prices are expensive but worth the money for a nice meal. I did not see anywhere you could purchase snacks for the course but that doesn’t mean you can’t. They do have a huge ice machine with water and lemonade available to take on the course.

Fairway Conditions: 7

In general the fairways are pretty nice and green. They tend to hold more water than usual but several members said it has improved ten-fold over the last couple years due to work being done. No disease recognizable and there isn’t much damage. They supply 2 divot mix cans on your cart for divot repair on the course.

Update 8/10/11: It had rained the day before and it was easy to tell that the fairways are still holding the water. A few holes were soggy, so drainage must still be a battle on the course.

Greens Conditions: 8

Most greens have either tiers or bumps in them, making for difficult putting conditions but the greens themselves are in fairly good shape. They could use some better color as there were some patchy spots noticeable but nothing severe. Most of the greens are larger so be prepared to have some lengthy putts and difficult ones. On one of the holes I think I even saw the Grand Canyon and I needed a mortar to get to the hole. Overall in pretty good shape but need a little work.

Scenery: 8

There are some gorgeous holes on the course. The 6th hole particularly offers some great views with three levels to the fairway and a stream flowing alongside, against a nice backdrop with some nice houses up on the hill from the next tee box. I’m not crazy about the 1st and 10th hole, with the entrance road driving directly in front of the tee boxes, but that’s more of a design thing. When I played recently, we were on the 17th hole and the Blue Angels flew overhead which made for a nice addition. The 2nd hole is a partial island par three that’s deceiving in length. Nice backdrop and great hole.

Update 8/10/11: They have a new superintendent here and he’s done quite a bit of tree removal to help improve air flow to many of the greens, but it is quite a noticable difference from the last time I had played here.

Difficulty of Course: 8

Some holes are very easy and some holes are very hard. Good mix of challenging and easier holes to play. Not a long course to play and for longer, accurate players you can post a low round. Putting is the greatest challenge on this course. Lots of hills, undulations and multi-tiered greens all over the course. You can be on the green in regulation but if you’re putter isn’t on, you’re not going to score very well. There also isn’t a heck of a lot of trouble to get into, even with an errant tee shot.

Value Received: 8

As a guest of a member it costs $75 to play 18 holes with a cart, which for a nice private course isn’t too expensive. If you were playing this course either on the Cape or in another state it would definitely cost $100 or more. The carts are equipped with divot cans. The food is delicious but expensive. If you want a nice meal and can get in with a member, take advantage of it.

Speed of Play/Design of Course: 7

Speed of play isn’t too much of a problem because most people are decent golfers. If you’re a member at a nice course, chances are you’re okay at golf. The layout overall is nice with beautiful houses perfectly placed and located all over the course. This particular category rating takes a hit from me because the road you drive in on runs directly in front of the clubhouse and the tee boxes for #1 and #10. Very poor decision and probably should be addressed at some point. Imagine getting ready to tee off and here comes a car in front of you…no thanks.

19th Hole: 9

I did not get the opportunity to either eat or have a few beers in their tavern but it’s beautiful. It’s not your typical 19th hole. Full pub menu for eating. The bar is very nice and opens at 11:00 for consumption purposes! I cannot comment on their beer selection, but for overall setting and how it looks I was impressed.

Bonus: 0

No beer cart on the course.

Comments:

Great course to play if you can hook up with a member or have a friend you can ask to take you out. Affordable at only $75 to play as a guest and the food is amazing. Highly recommend eating lunch or dinner there and grabbing a few brewskies! Bring your putter if you intend on scoring well. I did notice that while most people I encountered were nice, the crowd in the restaurant was a bit stuffy.

Update: Not much I can add to the rating. I enjoyed my day on the course and am appreciative to Dan Grenier and Dr. Malladi for allowing me tag along. Great day!

Update 8/10/11: I had a fun time on the course today. There was only two of us and we flew through 18 holes in just over 3 hours. I had a blast and played one of my better rounds in a long time. With the exception of 5 putts pushed to the right lip, it was a great day!

This year, we’re teaming up with an amazing charity, Sibling Connections (www.siblingconnections.org). Sibling Connections brings together children separated through foster care by offering year-round weekend programs and a week-long summer camp, called Camp To Belong. Our webmaster has been volunteering at Camp To Belong and Sibling Connections for a number of years and we’re honored that they have allowed us to support their amazing cause with our golf tournament.

For those of you that have played in our tournament before, you can expect much of the same amazing-ness that has made you love our tournament in the past. If you’re new to our tourney, here is some of what you can expect

• Closest to the pin
• Longest drive
• Hole-in-One
• Beat the pro
• Putting contest
• 50/50 raffle
• Silent auction
• Raffle
• Cash prizes!
• Catered lunch AND dinner

Our past tournaments have been a blast, but we’re kicking it up a notch this year. We don’t expect everyone to be able to support this cause, but not everyone donates in a year. It’s kind of like donating blood. Not everyone donates blood mainly because they’ve never really been asked to before. We aren’t approaching this tournament as a hard sell. Many of you are going to golf because you love the tournament that we are able to put on. Many of you won’t play, but it doesn’t mean that you or your company can’t purchase sponsorship. If you are able, please consider a sponsorship or donation to our raffle.

Our last tournament, we were joined by former boxing champion Marlon “Magic Man” Starling. We’re working our contacts this year to see just who we can have join us this year. Stay tuned as we’ll keep you updated on our progress. If you have a connection to someone, let us know!

In the meantime, download our tournament flyer here and reserve your spot today!

http://www.countryclubcritics.com/documents/ccc_flyer_2011_email.pdf

Our Rating: 75

Friendliness of Staff: 6

The course has a lot of room for improvement here. The guy in the pro shop was not engaging without even a “hello” or “can I help you” when I came in. The guy announcing our event seemed a little un-enthusiastic. The ranger was pleasant, but we only saw him on one hole (more on that later). The girls int he bar and running the beer cart really carried the friendliness here, at least they were willing to ask us how our day was going.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 6

They are close to having some of the best facilities for a public course that I’ve ever seen. They have a large practice range with mats and did not mind us hitting off of the grass. There are two practice greens, one near the clubhouse and another hidden near the first tee box. The bar/restaurant has a smaller bar, but has plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. The bathrooms were nice, with a small locker room area for members. What’s keeping this from being a 10 is the inventory in the pro shop. The pro shop itself is quite nice, large and inviting, but they were really low on merchandise. It seemed like all clothing was logo’d for Gillette Ridge and I didn’t even notice any clothing for women. Nor did I notice clubs or other equipment like shoes or rain gear for sale. This was scored an 8, but see notes for why it’s a 6.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 5

They seem to have a descent menu, but I went for the basics for lunch…2 hot dogs. My dogs must have been made to order, as it seemed like it took too long to receive. They must have been ready but sitting there because when I got them, they tasted a bit cold (I really can’t tell if they were sitting there or just not cooked all the way as they were cold on the outside). The banquet dinner we had was hamburgs, hot dogs, and chicken. I went with the burger and chicken, all of which were overcooked. I’m not sure who was in the kitchen this day, but they may want to spot check some quality. That being said, the pricing was very reasonable.

Fairway Conditions: 9

These are among the best fairways I’ve come across for a public course. The grass was perfect, cut perfect, and I can’t recall seeing one weed. A couple spots were very wet, so drainage may be a struggle in certain areas.

Greens Conditions: 8

I really enjoyed the greens here, with one exception; people were not fixing their ball marks! I was generally fixing mine plus 3 others. That’s a bit excessive and the course may want to take a preventative step in either offering free divot tools or a small sign in the cart asking golfers to repair their marks. Otherwise, the greens were in great shape. I didn’t notice much for damage or lost grass from weather. These are fast greens, but I liked that they rolled true. They were not difficult to read either, which is great for a public course.

Scenery: 5

What came first, the course or Cigna? Of course Cigna was there first, but the course is part of the campus to Cigna, which has an enormous building that probably employees a few thousand people. You don’t see the Cigna building from every hole, but it is right next to the clubhouse and Cigna’s cafeteria is overlooking the practice green and the range. It might be a bit more weird if you’re playing during the week when people are working. Otherwise, the scenery is actually pretty descent. The course winds through some nice looking condos and also abuts a lot of wood and swamp land that will never be expanded upon.

Difficulty of Course: 8

From the whites, this is not a long course, measuring in at 6,133 yards. Many of the par-4′s are less than 400 yards, and there is a par-5 coming in at 418 yards. The 283 yard par-4 was fun for all of us to try to drive on to. From the black tees, the distance is over 1,000 yards more. But, the name of the game is accuracy. If you stay in the fairway, you’re fine. For a novice golfer, bring plenty of balls. The course is lined with rolling mounds covered in tall grass that make finding your ball like finding a needle in a haystack. There is a lot of water and wasteland on approach shots, some even causing you to need to keep the driver in the bag off the tee. The need for accuracy trumps here.

Value Received: 9

This course is a bargain! Weekends and holidays are $65 with cart. During the week it’s $50 with a cart. Given the difficulty of the course and shape the greens and fairways are in, I’d pay that all day. Add on the range and practice greens, you could spend a day here warming up and playing around at a great price.

Speed of Play / Design of Course: 6

I think that they really did the best they possible could have done with the design. The course winds through wooded land and seems have been built up around wasteland and water as well. My issue here is the speed of play. It took us 5.5 hours to finish our scramble tournament. We had 17 groups and they doubled us up on the first 9 holes so that their members could be fitted in throughout the afternoon. We saw the ranger on 1 hole only, the longest drive hole, where he was watching how far people were hitting. We didn’t see him again the rest of the day, where he was needed when we were backed up two teams on the tee box.

19th Hole: 8

The bar itself is a little small, and there is a divider to the dinning area that makes it a tight squeeze if there are too many people in there. They have a great selection of beer, including Guinness, Smithwicks, Dogfish Head and more! Drinking on the outdoor patio after your round is great, it’s just too bad you’ve got the Cigna building right there, and they stopped service at 7pm. Really? 7pm? On a Saturday night? It makes you wonder why the members aren’t there for drinks or dinner on the weekend.

Bonus: +5

There is a beer cart on the course.

Additional Comments:

You know how the saying goes, attention is in the details, and I feel like details are what makes or breaks a great course. And here, they seem to be missing some noticeable details. Hole #6 had no cups for the water cooler. Hole #11 had cups, but they were still in the cardboard sleeve. Why are there no cup holders on the side of the water coolers? It’s tacky to have them in a cardboard box on top of the water cooler. A sand trap on the 7th had no rake in it (at least one that we could find). The 8th tee box had no shovel in the bin of sand for fixing your divot. Another par-3′s bin was empty of dirt, but this one was full…since there was no shovel! This being my first time playing there, we nearly got creamed by a car as the cart path crosses a road to the condos and there was no stop sign for us, which was tough since we couldn’t see the road after coming around a bend on the cart path. The course needs to sell yardage books. As accuracy is paramount, it’s easy for a first-timer here to not know they need to lay up on certain holes as the shot may be blind (#5). A yardage book with distances to wasteland and the green would be more than helpful. Also include the dimensions and size of the greens, as we struggled with depth perception on many holes here. All that being said, I think this is a fun course to play. There are risk/rewards depending on your length. The fairway and green conditions make this a great place to play. Kudos to the course superintendent and their team. I hope to be back here next year, and with noticeable improvements in the details, this course could easily be 10 points higher, making it one of the top public courses in the area, in my mind.

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.

With this latest update, we’re going to call the site released and start connecting with more and more people in the golf community, just in time for a gorgeous, golf filled, Fourth of July weekend!

Whether you are checking out our site for the first time or are a repeat visitor, take the opportunity and register for the community on the site, “like” us on Facebook, or “follow” us on twitter. Whichever you’re preferred method to stay connected, consider us to be a part of your network.

We hope you all have a great Fourth of July weekend, stay safe, play a round or two, and take a moment to reflect on the meaning of “independence”.

JR

Hopefully you have noticed the new reviews and updates that have been going up on the site. In March, I visited family in Florida and managed to get two rounds in at Eagles Marsh Golf Club and Savanna Golf Club.

The last two weeks have had me playing two previously rated courses. Bayberry Hills in West Yarmouth, MA was first rated in 2007, and they did make a bunch of improvements which pushed there rating up a bit. Chicopee Country Club in Chicopee, MA received no change to their rating, which was first added to our site in 2006.

If you’ve played any of the courses we’ve rated, please add your own comments to the courses rating.

Looking on the horizon, we hope to be releasing a fun new feature to the site in the coming weeks, where you will be able to submit your rating to us! Keep an eye out for that release!

JR

Our Rating: 59

Friendliness of Staff: 5

Pro shop counter guy was a bit cocky and didn’t know what was going on with the frost delay. Tom DiRico does not go out of his way to talk to you and make you feel welcome. The starter was OK and did he best to arrange all groups to start when the frost delay was lifted. Updated 6/25/2011: Again, the pro did not go out of his way to even acknowledge a golfer. He was standing at the counter, head down, and I had to wait a minute plus for another gentleman to welcome me and check us in. No change from previous rating.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 5

No inventory in the pro shop at the end of the year and it is overall very tiny. Good sized bar. The men’s room is in terrible condition and dirty. There is a driving range and a putting green, but they are hard to find and difficult to get to. Updated 6/25/11: There was more inventory in the shop, but it’s still a small pro shop. They did have a Ricky Fowler birght orange hat, but I wasn’t shopping. No change from previous rating.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 7

Good grill food that comes with a pickle. Not a huge menu. $18 bucks for 3 hot dogs, 1 cheeseburger and fries for everyone. There was a good supply of beverages and snacks in the beer cart. You can call ahead your order on the 9th tee, but there is no phone! Updated 6/25/11: Funny story here. I ordered two hot dogs and am hanging around about 10 minutes or so for them to come up. There is a counter/window to the kitchen and wait do we see? The cook is munching down a hot dog! The bartender went back to check on my order, but he never looked for a new ticket in the printer. I was figuring they ran out of hot dogs and he got the last one!

Fairway Conditions: 6

Surprisingly green for so late in the year and in pretty good shape. A bit thin in places, no doubt from a long a year of use. Poor leaf removal made finding your ball tough at times.

Greens Conditions: 5

Did not roll true. When reading a break, it did not break at all. Between us, we lipped at least five putts. A lot of ball marks were not repaired. Definitely lots of wear and tear from being a public course.

Scenery: 4

Nothing impressive. Fences, houses and roads bordering the outlying holes. Potential to see airplanes from Westover flying over. More houses being put up alongside 10th tee/fairway. Updated 6/25/11: There’s a couple more houses going up, this time closer to the club house. I don’t know why anyone would want there house there. They better not complain when people are showing up at the course at 6:30am. Sadly, there must be beavers in the wooded area along the left side of the 18th hole. Looking that way is a very large area of dying trees. Clearly, beavers have blocked up water somewhere and are creating a large pond. I did see the shadow of a monster turtle in the pond along the 17th fairway. I would love to see that thing out of the water.

Difficulty of Course: 5

Mixture of hard and easy hole. This is a short course with only one par-4 over 400 yards. The par-3’s are challenging and are all over 150 yards.

Value Received: 6

$37.50 total for 18 and cart. The cart costs a lot compared to the greens fees and the cart really didn’t run well. A bit pricey for so late in the year. Updated 6/25/11: Prices have gone up a little bit, but that was to be expected.

Speed of Play/Design of Course: 4

Very slow round which took 5+ hours. We were lucky enough to see a 7-some playing up holes 1 & 2. Hole 12 is a par-5 converted to a par-3 which is too bad because it looks like it used to be an amazing hole. Not a good use of the property.

19th Hole: 7

Big bar with four beers on tap, two TV’s and KENO available. Delicious crinkle cut fries. You can buy a bag of 6 Buds for the course, but it costs $13! Nice big deck overlooking 9th hole looks like a good place to relax in the summer.

Bonus: +5

There is a beer cart on the course, but we only saw it twice over 18 holes.

Comments:

Eight years ago, this was a fairly nice course, but now it’s not too great. Be prepared to have a long round, as there are golfers from all levels playing. Golfer etiquette was extremely lacking on the course. Updated 6/25/11: Our round was quick as we played following a shot gun tournament. We had a fun time, but I’m not making any changes to the score. There wasn’t anything that stood out to me as being changed from when we rated the course previously in 2006. JR

Our Rating: 81

Update July 29, 2007, Update August 23, 2008, Update June 23, 2011

Friendliness of Staff: 9

Chip is a know-it-all. He tries to make you think that he owns the course. The bar manager got me the wrong type of bag-o-beer, but he replaced it with no qualms.

Update 7/29/07. The staff has definitely improved, starting with one of their head landscapers. Bill Tragakis, who is their head pro, is a tremendous guy, willing to work with you in whatever you need. While they don’t have a major problem with speed of play, I’d like to see them get a ranger out on the course when needed.

Update 6/23/11.  Over the last few years Hampden has added some real professional staff members, including both Downes’ brothers, Billy and Bobby.  Al Streeter joined their staff part time and carries a reputation as a wonderful man.  Can’t say enough about the improvements here. Plus 2 points to the rating.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 8

Pro shop is small. Terrible condition and location for driving range – very hidden. Nice bar, re-done kitchen, and outdoor grill. Banquet facility caters any event. Call ahead service on the 9th tee. Two putting greens and tennis courts opening soon.

Update 7/29/07. Starting with their driving range, they have done quite a bit to improve it. They’ve designed granite steps with a nice look to it. Ross recently had a reception for his daughter’s baptism there and the food was outstanding. They have upgraded and done a lot of landscaping work to the entire course.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 8

Not a lot of snacks offered. Hot dog at the turn was just average. Banquet food has reputation to be good based on ownership. Need to go back for a banquet. Recommend Mt. View restaurant for world famous hot dogs before round.

Update 7/29/07. Their banquet food is outstanding and is definitely worth a look in hosting your next reception. Their chicken fingers are so good that we finished one order and had two more.

Update 6/23/11:  Ross has been to numerous functions and banquets ove3r the last couple years and their overall F&B operation has improved significantly.  Kitchen and bar facilities and quality of food have come up to where their reputation should be. Plus 2 points to the rating.

Fairway Conditions: 7

#2 was/is always soggy – has come along. Little patchy but relatively green. #7 & #9 tee boxes need help.

Update 7/29/07. Some fairways are starting to brown out from the summer heat. They should repair nicely, once the cool fall air begins to move in.

Update 6/23/11:  Most fairways have bounced back nicely.  Ross was most impressed with their repair and improvement of #3.  The par 3’s short fairway and area short of the green has plagued them for several years.  It has improved ten-fold.  They still have some water issues on a couple fairways causing tire ruts. Plus 1 point to the rating.

Greens Conditions: 9

#18, Ross’s approach played on the green. Overall, solid greens. Several two-tiered greens or major slopes.

Update 7/29/07. The greens are starting to soften, as they’ve punched them three times thus far this year.

Update 6/23/11:  Ross has been playing this course for almost 20 years, and he said this last time out was the best he’s seen the greens in almost as long.  They are in great shape!  Hard work pays off.  Keep up the good work guys! Plus 1 point to the rating.

Scenery: 8

Great views on #1, 9, 10, 15, 17, 18. A lot of hardwood trees. Great fall foliage potential. #8 designed rock & flower garden around river. Great use of ponds.

Difficulty of Course: 8

Blind tee shots on holes 1 & 10, with quite a few dog legs. There is a couple of tough, longer par-3′s. This is definitely not a course that you want to be walking. There is quite a few holes that force you to hit either a 3-wood or long iron off the tee if you are a longer hitter. This course overall is a longer course, and is definitely challenging. The slope rating on this course is one of highest we’ve seen.

Value Received: 8

Expensive on weekends. Affordable during week. Challenging and good scenery for the cost.

Update 7/29/07. Still relatively expensive, but this course has come a long way and is definitely worth playing.

Update 6/23/11:  Hampden has always been a bit more expensive for the local western mass courses, yet has always had the potential to be one of the elite and it’s now showing.  You now get much better value for your dollar and will enjoy your overall experience. Plus 2 points to the rating.

Speed of Play/Design of Course: 8

How far apart do they space tee times? Design is great – tough holes with tough views. Play is spread out. Par-3’s are located after Par-5’s. Not a lot of golfers while there. Bad historical reputation allows for quick play now.

Update 6/23/11:  With Nick’s background, his love and passion for the outdoors continues to shine through and transform some of the older/dated holes. No change to the rating.

19th Hole: 8

Nice bar. Brand new. Nice TV. Small. Nice overlooking view of the course – all windows. Good beer. Steel Rail & Sam Summer on tap. Round tables ideal for card playing.

Update 6/23/11. Great, large outdoor patio and grill area overlooking some breathtaking views. No change to rating.

Bonus: +0

There was no beer cart on the course (but we did see one parked near the garage…not sure if they use it).
Update 8/23/08 – Beer cart out on the course!! +5

Update 6/23/11:  Unable to continue to award bonus points because they do not consistently have a beverage cart out on the course.

Comments:

Has come a long way with new ownership and management. Recommend playing in the fall for the foliage and sights. This course continues to improve over time and should get back to what it was when it was semi-private.
Update 8/23/08 – We’ve been out to Hampden CC a couple times this year, including our big tournament in May and I must say the course continues to improve. They are doing ton of work to it, including a nicely expanded patio overlooking the 18th green and a monster outdoor grill. The course has been in great shape all year long and we never think twice about playing at Hampden. This is definitely turning in to our “home” course. Update 6/23/11:  We look forward to hosting our tourney here in October, finally for a fall CCC tourney.  This course continues to impress and their greens are in the best shape in years.  Absolutely worth the trip.

Our Rating: 67

Friendliness of Staff: 8

There are two women that are normally working the front counter in the pro shop that are relatively user friendly. The starter, John, is a great guy. Outgoing, funny and pleasant to talk to. The scorecard says there will be rangers on the course expediting play but we did not encounter anyone on the course. The wait staff in their so-called “restaurant” are also pleasant and found us a deck of cards for some games of pitch after our round.

Facilities/Pro Shop: 6

The first thing you notice driving up to the course is their driving range, which is sizeable, but located a distance away from the clubhouse. They have 2 putting greens that are enormous. One of them has to be the biggest I’ve ever seen locally. Their facilities are something that need help, other than maybe their pro shop. The pro shop has a decent selection of merchandise to purchase for what seems to be the norm of around $50 for a nice shirt, but without a nice logo. Their bathroom in the pro shop wasn’t great but wasn’t horrible either. What they call their 19th hole/restaurant is basically a cafeteria….more on that later. This course has a ton of potential to be a valued banquet spot but it needs help, expansion and renovations. Updated 6/10/2011: The 19th hole has expanded, with an outdoor patio. I’m adding an extra point to this score.

Quality/Value of Food/Snacks: 7

Well considering they have a grille in their 19th hole and the only thing listed on their menu board inside is a hot dog or a hamburg, leaves something to be desired. They offer basic snack food, drinks, chips and cookies. There really isn’t much to order here. I will make a strong note, however, that their steamed Kayem hot dogs are amazing…some of the best I’ve ever had. So good we all had to order another one. The bad news was that when we were finished our round at about 5:00, the steaming machine was shut down and the dogs had to be grilled…oh well. Updated 6/10/2011: The menu has expanded a bit, but I’m keeping the score where it is.

Fairway Conditions: 8

For the most part, their fairways and tee boxes were in decent shape but needed some work here and there. Don’t let the first fairway throw you, they get much better from there. They were pretty green and plush and seemed to drain reasonably well and it’s obvious they get enough water.

Greens Conditions: 5

By consensus in our group, this has to be the worst aspect of the entire course, even though most people who either play here or like the course I’m sure would argue with me. They have to be the slowest greens I’ve ever played on. If you’re familiar with Blue Rock and have played there before, these greens make them look like lightning fast! The problem here is they look GREAT. They’re gorgeous colored and don’t have alot of blemishes on them but they’re extremely furry and are cut longer, making for extremely uneven rolls and bumps along the way. Each of us must have had at least 10 putts apiece take hard left or right turns a couple inches before the cup. One second it looks like your ball is going in the center of the cup and the next thing you know it misses by 4 inches. The strong message we send to Bayberry Hills is CUT YOUR GREENS SHORTER, and you’ll get a better roll. Very frustrating putting on their greens, your ball does not act the way it should or is supposed to….keep that in mind playing here until they decide to cut their greens shorter. Updated 6/10/2011: I thought the greens were rolling pretty good. They still had some winter damage on a few greens, like the 9th hole on the red course. Overall, the greens were in descent shape.

Scenery: 7

As I mentioned briefly earlier, this course has a lot of potential. It’s set back in the woods with a great location. There’s nothing spectacular for views or anything like that, but it’s a fairly attractive area to play golf in. With some new design ideas and slight changes it could be excellent. Specifically, the par-5 on the white course that has a split fairway at about the 75-100 yard area. The left side of the split is all brown and isn’t appealing at all to look at, but if they turned it into fairway it would add just a bit more presence to the hole.

Difficulty of Course: 6

If you don’t play this course often enough you’ll be frustrated. There are several holes on the red course where you can hit a perfect, dead-center, 300 yard drive off the tee and be in the woods or the rough, but you wouldn’t know it from the tee and the course doesn’t tell you. This course can prove to be challenging if you don’t, OBVIOUSLY, putt well or don’t strategically hit your irons to targets on the green. There are quite a few greens that are very well-protected by large bunkers directly in front of the pin. There are holes, however, that are easier with good drives and approach shots. There was a stretch of holes on the white course where I was 2-under after 8 holes of play and I by NO means am a scratch golfer. It isn’t a long course either, only measuring 6,100 yards from the regular white tees, it jumps to about 6,500 when you play the blues and nearly 7,000 from the tips.

Value Received: 5

This, too, has to be one of the worst aspects of the course. For them to charge $81 to play here, which is a decent amount more than others in the area, and not have nice facilities and a great 19th hole is absurd. This course is definitely over-priced for what you get in return. What you get is a nice wooded area with a decent course and good staff but not much else beyond that. If they want to continue to be one of the preferred courses in the area they should pay attention to what they offer beyond the course itself and the entire experience surrounding it. Updated 6/10/2011: The cost is now $85 for 18 with cart for a Friday (weekend rate). I’d be happy paying $60 or $65 for this course, but the extra $20 is a bit excessive.

Speed of Play/Design of Course: 8

It’s interesting, one of the first things you read is they try their best to get you finished within 4 to 4 1/2 hours; well that did not happen. It was more like 5 to 5 1/2 hours for our foursome. This course gets quite a bit of play and expect delays. The design of the course is solid with some nice holes and set back in the woods. The category has tremendous potential but they absolutely need course rangers out on the course expediting play, as they clearly advertise they do on the scorecard. Again, we did not encounter any ranger on the course the whole day. Updated 6/10/2011: We got our round completed in just over 4 hours. The starter staged all the groups away from the first tee, so there was no distractions as groups were going off. We saw the starter at least twice per nine, and we saw him pushing along the group ahead of us. We seldom had to wait to hit. I think they have made a lot of improvements to speed of play and managing the players on the course, so I’m adding 2 points.

19th Hole: 7

I guess to sum it up, Non-Existent. What they call their restaurant is more of a cafeteria, with their old-school board menu and snack food. They don’t even have any beer on tap! They a limited selection of bottled and canned beer and that’s about it, with a small selection of liquor. They have one tiny TV in the corner that isn’t too easy to see. It needs help bigtime! The staff is great but that alone doesn’t cut it. Updated 6/24/2011: The course has certainly made some great improvements to the 19th hole. They’ve added an outdoor patio, expanded the menu, added more liquor options, and yes, now have beer on tap! I’m not sure if they caught wind of our previous score here, but they’ve done their part and upgraded. Plus 4 points to this rating.

Bonus: 0

There is not a beer cart on the course.

Comments:

I have played this course quite a bit and decided to go back and rate it recently and was pretty disappointed with what we encountered. With all the changes to golf in general and the increased competition, especially on the Cape, Bayberry definitely needs some work. They could use a marketing pro to help them improve in some areas. I’d much rather go play one of the Dennis courses for alot less expensive and get much more in return. Heck the 19th hole at the Highlands is great! If you do play here, bring your patience with you for the greens and make sure you utilize the drive-up bag drop area because it’s a hike carrying your clubs from the parking lot up to the clubhouse on a hot day! They ought to consult an architect/design pro that could recommend some minor changes that would help the look and feel of the course. While certainly Marketing and Design has costs associated with them, are those risks you can afford to take in this market today? Updated 6/24/2011:I still agree that there are some great courses on the Cape at a bit less of a cost, but I could see a lot of improvements from the previous rating Ross did. A couple years ago, I played the “links” 9 holes as well. I’ll admit that I was not a big fan of those 9, as there were far too many blind shots, which, coupled with majorly sloping fairways, led to a bunch of lost balls. I’m not going to discount the course for that 9 though, as it is pretty cool that that they have 27 holes. All-in-all, our three groups didn’t have many complaints about their rounds or the course today. JR