Wintonbury Hills Golf Course

Not too many Pete Dye-created courses are found in these parts. As far as the Northeast goes, there is one in New York State. In western Pennsylvania, three. Over the rest of New England, north of Connecticut, there are none. That leaves exactly one Pete Dye course in New England: Wintonbury Hills, here in Bloomfield.

Luckily for the Nutmeg State, the late Hall of Fame architect created, in the truest sense of that word, something of high merit. Dye himself seemed impressed with the outcome, especially because this property turned out to be a strong one on which to build a rolling, quasi-links design.

Wintonbury Hills isn’t a highly ambitious Dye course when compared to the iconic designs seen on the PGA tour: e.g., Whistling Straits, Harbour Town, Kiawah. It’s more in line with Mr. Dye’s later philosophy, reflecting his mid-career prediction when he said,“there will be more plain golf courses without steep bunkers and exaggerated undulations.” For the most part, that seemed to be the overall gameplan here, even if the course is anything but plain. No fairway or green is beset with a surfeit of massive bunkers; no hole seems like a quick double-bogey (when a shot is slightly misplayed); the forced carries here aren’t overwhelming; only a few greenside falloffs punish misses severely. Still, I like this ‘less ambitious’ Dye because, despite their ostensible simplicity, these holes work so well. And they’re far from minimalistic.

The course is not quite a monster, then, but it is tough. You’ve still got to think your way around the course, play the slopes, calculate undulations, figure out the speed of these lightning-fast greens with their subtle borrows, and apply your short game well to save pars.The links-like nature of many of the holes--with scattered fairway bunkers impeding your progress--means a great deal of openness, but it also means lots of hills, hills of a scale seldom seen on a links: this is not the flattish, crumpled, seaside terrain of St. Andrews or Royal Dornoch. The short par-4 fifth exemplifies the hybrid quality of Dye’s style here: Hit from tee perched on a high hill (its great height is characteristic of many Connecticut golf courses) down to a bending but gently rolling fairway, then to a tightly guarded green with linksy bunkers.

The first foundation stone of this design, it seems, is an emphasis on top-notch par-4’s. The fourteenth is one that exemplifies Dye’s attention to detail in terms of hole shape, strategy and playability. Beautifully set down by the reservoir, fourteen is a strong driving test that nonetheless allows the player to favor a bounce from the tall, left-side bank back onto the fairway. The idea, of course, is to give a wide berth to the water on the right. The hole is long: 455 yards. But the tough second shot may be abetted, again (and only if you wish), by the cleverly canted, leftward slope: this may bounce incoming shots onto the fairly narrow but long green. Two more gems are the intimidating but still playable 2nd and 11th, both of which use the same imposing hill, but with fairways that pose different problems--and options--on the tee shots. The uphill approach shots on both of these four-pars can be equally daunting, with scant margin for error. I also like the demanding 420-yard closing hole here, where a precise approach is a must. But, truth be told, every par-4 at Wintonbury Hills, whether straightforward or complex, long or short, delivers the goods.

Dye’s second bedrock principle here--as it seemed to be always--was to create generally tougher and longer par-3’s than is the norm. The five of them here average 201 from the black tees; from the greens 172. The front side, which I find to be less difficult than the inward half, boasts the best two of these: seven, a downhill corker set beside a pond; and nine, a Reverse-Redan special that tests iron-game finesse.

The three par-5’s, having decent ground movement on their fairways but greater strengths around the greens, are less stirring as a group; they’re fairly conventional tee-to-green.

Playing Experience/Conditions/Staff:
Excellent day at Wintonbury, playing along with Henry and Xinhua (husband and wife). They were simply terrific companions and we greatly enjoyed each other’s company. Henry mentioned today that he’s played a couple of high-end courses in Florida (such as the Ritz-Carlton) in the $200-250 range whose conditions were comparable to Wintonbury’s. I’ll add that this is the best conditioned course I’ve played in 2021. The fairways and greens were outstanding, roughs and tees essentially perfect.

Greens were so fast that we were all having trouble gauging both speed and break. And the biggest joker in the deck concerns how much rollout you’ll get when your ball lands on these putting surfaces: again, lightning quick and perhaps too fast.

The Wintonbury staff was first-rate; I met the pro on duty and the starter, both of whom were personable.

Some Conclusions:
Wintonbury offers immaculate conditions, a well-appointed clubhouse to match its fine routing, and, most importantly, Pete Dye’s design magic. That all adds up to an unbeatable value. It ranks 3rd this year among Golfweek’s top ten public-access courses of Connecticut.

One of THE best courses you will find on Golf now, terrific course condition, and solid layout. Extremely reasonably priced.

Beautiful course that was quite walkable for a 60+ couple. Had a very nice outing with a friendly 2 some that had roughly the same skillset. Fairways were nice and the greens were quite fast. Would love to come back.

First time playing from Danbury richter park usual. Fantastic experience. Friendly staff. Beautiful course. Pretty Wide open holes to let go with the driver which I came for. Great greens. Great layout. Will be back to beat 82.

Pa e of play was very slow. Waited on every shot
5+ hours

Had an absolute blast playing Wintonbury Hills! From this first hole you can tell this is another classic Pete Dye design (and fun fact is the only public Pete Dye course in CT).

Had an 11AM tee time and unfortunately did not arrive in time to use the range (which is available, but a bit of a hike from the pro shop). Staff was very friendly and has a nice golf shop, but was a little bummed the restaurant doesn't open till 11 so didn't have a chance for a snack before hand. Additionally, at this time the course has no on course water stations or places in the shop to fill up bottles so come prepared or be forced to pay for a bottle (did have a cart girl for on course purchases).

The course overall is in amazing shape. Tee to green one of the best kept courses I have played in CT. As a mid-handicapper I felt like the layout is challenging, but fair and allows you to play a variety of shots throughout the day. I chose to walk the course with a push cart and felt like it was very manageable. Most holes are relatively close to each other and while there are some hills, nothing felt daunting.

For a course of this caliber $65 to walk for a "weekend" rate felt extremely reasonable. This has to be one of the best priced courses in CT for the price. 100% would recommend this to any CT local or visitor of the state.

It’s a struggle to lose a ball on this exceptionally well maintained inland links course. Pretty much any ball off the Par 4 and Par 5 holes will find a fairway, although maybe not the one you were aiming for. The course design is not particularly interesting, but the greens are lightening fast, the vistas are great, and the staff is first rate.

Very nice course. Forgiving tee's. great GPS carts. Be advised the carts shut down if you go into the rough, they are fairway and path only. Good food. Can be slow if you get behind one of the leagues but that is the same for every golf course.

Weather was a bit overcast with some showers but the course was in great condition. It wasn't overly crowded due to the weather but we played in under 4 hours walking. Would recommend if you are in the area.

My son used my account and booked a tee time for himself this past weekend. He had played during the week and payed $25 for the Junior rate since he's a junior. He then called during the week when he saw he could play to make sure he'd get the Junior rate on the weekend. The lady said he would pay $25 to walk 18 on Saturday since he's a junior. He then booked the tee time. He shows up and they said there's no junior rate. He explained how he called ahead and spoke with someone who told him there was. They said they would give him the Junior Rate but then decided otherwise and charged him $65 to Walk 18. I am disappointed in the service he received. He likes the course but not the price. Much better deals somewhere else. He will be taking his business there. $65 to Walk for a Junior seems a way too pricy when he called ahead to make sure thats what theyd charge him. He would have never booked it if it was $65.

Great from the moment I walked into the pro shop, greeted immediately by two friendly pro shop workers. For a Saturday it was busy but pace of play was great, just over 4 hours. Tough greens - which we were told about at check in. But great conditions throughout. Will play again

Great course. People were all nice and helpful .

Would definitely like to play there more often.

I don't usually play this course but when I get the time to get out here I always enjoy it. The course was in great condition. The greens were in good condition and the fairways were great too. One thing about this course is that the tough is very thick. Other than that the course was amazing while a little slow due to the group in front of us we still finished in about 4 hours. Good course and if I was a bit closer I'd come here all the time. Well worth it.