The North at Goodwin Golf Course

I mentioned scorecard clearly showing positioning of hole and green. I am spoiled w GPS in cart. There were some markings in fairway for distance. This course one must add significant yards because of slope.
I got a ridiculous price to play, but I wanted to play here because I knew there were changes. Will continue to improve. Extreme bumpiness on carts. I had to navigate looking for smoother ares. Its a public course. Pleased in general.

Just finished playing the re-opened course. Conditions are great. Wonderful job on re-conditioning. Tees and greens are in super condition. So nice to see the resurrection of this wonderful Hartford Course. Lots of maintenance folks out on the course caretaking and blowing the leaves off the fairways. As a former greenskeeper it was great to see the care this is receiving. Thanks to the City of Hartford for committing to area golfers.

Wide fairways and soft slow greens. Makes for good scores!

Goodwin golf course has improved a bit and is a fun course to play when you can get a discounted rate. The regular $48.00 rate is expensive for this course as you can play many other and much better courses for much less. Also, the Golf Now fee has gotten quite expensive at $4.98 per golfer - it was half that last year.

Such a major turnaround, this place is nice, fun, and a great time. It was in atrocious condition several years ago, but now it looks amazing. Very confusing finding the 2nd hole but other than that is a ton of fun!

Good course. Has nice variety. Does not drain very well and has a few trouble spots with mud and standing water. Overall good value for the money.

Having lived in the Hartford area for many years I always played at a private club or a few local courses such as Stanley in New Britain or Tunxis in Farmington. I have heard that Goodwin and Keney Park were good courses that slipped due to lack of oversight. However, I'm quite impressed with the improvements at Goodwin and hope the same will be true for Keney.
The weather in CT has been drought-like so you can't fault the staff for those conditions. Overall., a great experience. The snack bar and the drink cart need to be better supplied. But, the course itself is wonderfully laid out and a nice track.

After being in the golf cellar for the past four years it sometimes takes a few years to climb out and Goodwin Golf Course in Hartford is making an attempt, one step at a time.

Although the fairways were burnt in spots the day I played, mostly due to lack of rain in the area, Goodie (as the course is known locally) is rebounding under new management after years of mismanagement. Although the cart paths are not as smooth as you’d like, the greens are equal to more expensive courses. And, although the fairways are very wide, you still have to hit the shots that put you on the green.

Located in the south end of Hartford, Goodwin has been a staple, go to, inexpensive and fun course to play for over a hundred years. Thousands of wannabe golfers started playing golf at Goodie, yours truly included. Most played the North Nine, locally known as the “flat nine” as it was (and still is) flat. Nobody cared if you whiffed your shot or sliced it into the woods or next fairway. Everyone was in the same boat, the “USS Beginner.”

Today new management of Goodwin is trying hard to bring the course back to its glory days where there was a daily waiting list to play the South Course and leagues dominated their schedules. Now tee times are more obtainable as many leagues moved to other courses, but I hear they are coming back in droves. And, some local tournaments are choosing Goodwin. It is easy to get to, has ample parking and probably a good deal for charities and clubs.

Goodie had a reputation as a good course for beginners and seniors. I was/am both. It was cheap and easy. It still has its share of high school kids trying out for the golf team in the afternoon and seniors getting in nine while the wife is out shopping. It’s popular as a place to get in nine holes after work in Hartford or the place to go for 18 without much fuss and waiting for openings. This will change as the course gets more play.

Okay, so much for the history lesson, now the course basics.

Today I teed off alone at 11 am on a Wednesday and finished my round in less than three hours. I found the tee boxes okay but mostly crab grass. The fairways were lush and green in watered areas, but brown and burnt in the sunny spots. There has not been significant rain in weeks so I don’t blame the course superintendent for most of the brownouts. I was able to break out my “ball-hawking” Pro V1’s on many holes ‘cause if they missed the mostly wide fairways I knew I’d find them close by. The hole routing is good, just follow the cart path, but first-timers may get lost so I suggest the course super paint a few directional arrows on some of the cart paths. Nice, granite columns at each tee box give the hole specifics and an overhead view. Many fairways have only a few trees between them so missing a fairway is often not a problem, just play up the adjacent fairway.

Goodie is short by most standards: 6015 blue, 5605 white and 5069 red with a par of 70. Goodie is also a tight course so there are screens protecting greens and tee boxes everywhere for safety. There’s some water…four ponds, and about 24 sand traps with most holes without even one. The ponds come into play on three holes though. The most intimidating I found is #2 where a large tree grows mid-fairway across a large pond with a sand trap to its right. The obvious play is to the left of the tree but the carry is 160 yards from the middle of the white tees. It seems longer. The 153 yard (whites) 8th is also unnerving as your tee shot is all carry over water with the green very close to the pond edge. Use your “water ball” here.

All the greens were well-maintained. Most have slight undulations but #9 & #18 are roller coasters and fast. Unless you stick it close a 3-putt is very possible. Course management is not a premium as most holes are fairly cut and dried. One exception is #10, a right dogleg. Your tee shot must go center or right as it runs out left about 225 yards. There were water jugs throughout the course and ball washers on every other hole. Also, they have a driving range next to the North Course.

My round was enjoyable as I reminisced about the good ole days. I found the course good for a quick round with friends or a practice round alone. I hope Goodie comes back better than ever. It just needs a few more seasons of good weather and some TLC in places.

Used to be a sub par course...Now in much better condition..Greens are substantialy better

the new company managing this course has done an unbelievable job restoring this course after the catastrophic damage done to it by the previous company, mdcgolf. The greens are in great shape. Very happy to see the old course brought back.

Haven't played Goody in a couple of years. The course has come along way since I last played. The back nine is in pretty good shape, the front is OK. The greens overall are good. I still think their pricing is high, I got a "hot" deal on Golfnow and felt it was worth it.

Early morning tee time and the course was saturated from the sprinklers, but the greens are well kept, the course is just fine and probably very good for the beginning/intermediate golfer who just wants to get out quickly and play a bit.

Up and coming you can see the work they have put into the course and hope they continue to

Glad to see a municipal course making it 's way back. The greens were good the fairways still need work but hopefully the city will keep focused on caring for this resource

Between Goodwin and Keney (which has yet to open), these courses are very sentimental to me as I learned how to play golf on both.

Having seen both courses deteriorate to practically "dirt," no pun intended, I was heartbroken.

Now, Goodwin is in perhaps the best shape I have ever seen in my nearly 30 years of golfing. The green are fairly fast, true and in great shape. The tee-boxes need some TLC, but they are addressing that issue now.

Also, the fairways are mowed tight and are excellent - especially compared to a few years ago.

Finally, there are maintenance workers everywhere; in fact, they are actually planting flowers!!!

I will continue to play this course as often as I can to support and enjoy this once beautiful course/park again in the city of Hartford!

Great experience matched my expectation. The first time I played the course I thought it would be perfect to take my 15 year old daughter, who is quickly learning the game. The course is forgiving in that errant shots may not be out of bounds or lost.

As hoped, her errant shots were still playable which minimized her frustration & helped her enjoy the experience while still posing a challenging and varied holes.

Overall course condition has improve sincw I last played it which was early last year

It took 3 hours to play 9 holes. There was no rangers managing the pace of play. if you play there get the first tee time of the day or you're in for a 6 hour round

Course used to be practically unplayabaale but it has come a long way. Still has some bad tee boxes and the rough is all weeds. Greens were much better though.

After years of neglect, much improved - from tee to green.