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4.3
306 Reviews (306)
5 Stars
183
4 Stars
91
3 Stars
18
2 Stars
7
1 Stars
7
Conditions
4.1
Value
3.9
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.5
Pace
4.3
Amenities
4.0
90.8%
Recommend this course
276 out of 306 reviews
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Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.3
8 Reviews (8)
5 Stars
4
4 Stars
2
3 Stars
2
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.1
Value
4.1
Layout
4.9
Pace
4.8
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.4
100.0%
Recommend this course
8 out of 8 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.2
36 Reviews (36)
5 Stars
15
4 Stars
14
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.8
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.4
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.5
91.7%
Recommend this course
33 out of 36 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Style Links
Par 70
Length 6711 yards
Slope 141
Rating 78.4
Book a Tee Time at
Wintonbury Hills Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 2005
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Pete Dye (2005) Tim Liddy (2005) MacCurrach Golf

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
GPS Yes
Pull-carts Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Golf Simulator Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Indoor Practice Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, American Express
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Dress code Appropriate golf attire.

Food & Beverage

Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities

Accolades

Reviews

4.3
306 Reviews (306)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 12
Course Challenges Include:
Elevation Changes 21
Undulating Greens 18
Thick Rough 14
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 20
Locals 19
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 14
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 16
In the 'Burbs 14
Near the Airport 11

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Previously Played

Not Prepared

We purchased 18 holes online and were told to purchase carts separately on the day we played. When we arrived we were told there was a 40min frost delay and offered a rain check. I declined thinking that we had time since it was 2pm. They neglected to tell us they also had a tournament going on. We only got to play 12 holes over 5 hours before having to leave because it was dark. When I asked for a rain check for the remaining holes they offered me 6.00 per person and nothing for the unused cart. Plus we had to redeem it within a month. I will not be returning or recommending them. They shouldn’t accept tee times with an active tournament in play.

Conditions Good
Value Poor
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Previously Played

Slow play

Had a 11:20 tee time, a group was just teeing off at 11:15 and no one else was on the hole in front of them including the green, stater told me I had a 11:20 to 11:30 window to tee off which makes no sense. I understand it’s a Sunday but when the group is the 11:10 tee time and just teeing off at 11:15 and a wide open hole and no sense of urgency from the starter? Of course we wait on every shot for the entire 18 including their 10 minute stop after 9 and did not allow us to play through. Where is the monitoring of pace of play from a Ranger or the clubhouse since they supposedly monitor the pace of play via the carts?

Frustrating day and I paid $85, will go somewhere else next time.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Next to last day special

Played this course for the first time in recent years. Will be again more often than not! Great layout!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Played On
Reviews 19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 54
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

10-12

Very nice course, great condition. Slightly pricey for week day

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 313
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 25 Contributor
Connecticut Advisor
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Walked

Over the Bloomfield Hills

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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great experience

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

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 77
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Walked

Wintonbury 1st timer

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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Review

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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

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

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Walked

Pete Dye's Public CT Masterpiece

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.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
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