PRIVATE EYES
Enjoy These Private Courses With a Subcription to Golfing Magazine
A
s if you needed extra incentive to sign up for Golfing Magazine’s Free Golf program, what with all the great daily fee and resort courses we have lined up. But we also have some superb private courses you can play if you join. We have around 130 courses this year in our program, all with no greens fees. To take advantage of this tremendous offer, call 860-563-1633, or visit www.FreeGolf.net. Let’s take a look at these private courses that are part of our overall comprehensive list for 2021. A premier addition to our lineup of private courses is The Golf Club at River Oaks, located on the Sherman/ New Milford town line in western Connecticut. River Oaks has a number of holes on its back nine that hug the Housatonic River, which is visible through the trees in late autumn or early spring. The look from the tee box on the par-four dogleg left ninth hole reminds one of playing golf in northern New England rather than Connecticut. Many consider this to be one of the top two or three courses in the state. PGA star Phil Mickelson was said to have called it a
which cut into the overall length, so don’t be fooled into thinking even the white markers, around 6,100 yards, are easy. They are not, even for the better players. The finishing holes at River Oaks are all very good, which adds to the satisfaction of playing the course. A well-designed golf course should always reach a stirring climax and River Oaks does that. After a nice parthree in the woods at 15 there’s a short par-five (503 from the Farmington Woods Country Club tips) that can be reached in two by the big hitters, and superb layout when he visited. then comes the course’s signature hole in Robert McNeil designed the course that my estimation, the 210-yard par-three 17th opened in 2003, and he built into it chalthat plays across a pond to a narrow green. lenge and fairness. The fairways are rather It’s a great look from an elevated tee. generous on the par-fives and longer parFarmington Woods Country Club in fours and tighter and strewn with fairway Farmington, Ct. was designed by renowned bunkers on several of the shorter par-fours. American designer Desmond Muirhead, The greens are fairly large and kept on the who also crafted the famed Jack Nicklaus fast side. The rough is manageable and Muirfield Village course in Ohio. the greenside bunkers challenging yet not The late Muirhead is remembered for unfair. his fully integrated course communities like While the course is no push-over, it is McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale; the Dinah eminently playable for any golfer, as long Shore Tournament Course at Mission Hills as you tee it up from the proper markers. near Palm Springs, and his six-year partnerThe tips play 6,730 yards with a slope of ship with Jack Nicklaus, which produced 138 and a course rating of 73.8. The layout the aforementioned Muirfield Village. plays to a par of 71 and has five par-threes,
Tumble Brook Country Club 16 16
Golfing GolfingMagazine Magazine• •New NewEngland EnglandEdition Edition
