East Hartford Golf Club

Nice place for the average golfer. Course was a little dry, but the greens were in good shape.

Couse not burned out like most others.
Just between the fariways is burned out.
The greens and fairways in good shape.

Playing East Mountain Golf Course for the first time yesterday, I was impressed with the secluded and countryside setting (it’s a bit hard to believe you’re within the boundaries of a city like Waterbury) along with the classic look of the holes and their general spaciousness. The track is neither hard nor long, but, having time only for nine today, it was more than stimulating enough to give me the itch to return sometime soon and play the whole eighteen. The course is hilly and boasts a fine, mature look, with stately trees lining most of the gently bending fairways and long par-3s.

The first four holes struck me as decent, if a bit tame. The second, the most interesting, is a short and tight four-par of 273 that requires a straight tee shot and a wedge–or, for aggressive long hitters–a perfectly cut driver around the slight dogleg. Things toughen up at the fifth hole, a longish par-3 playing downhill with a bunker that will snag a hooked or pulled tee shot. The outstanding sixth, where the course comes out of the woods briefly, also plays a bit downhill off the tee to a fairway bending leftward. The view at the crook of the dogleg includes the handsome, stone-embellished clubhouse to the left and stretches into the distance beyond the course’s confines. Green six has a large falloff on the right, so care must be taken with the approach.

The following sixth is the front nine’s best hole, a stern, uphill 385-yard par-4, which, off the tee, favors a fade, then a well-hit mid-iron up the slope into the big and somewhat elevated two-tiered green. The 200 yard par-3 eighth will test your skill with a hybrid or long-iron; its biggest danger comes in the form of woods behind the green. A test of patience and precision, the front side’s closer, a five-par of 483 yards which doglegs left, will be a three-shotter for most players. The fairway’s landing zone is tight to the woods on the left, such that it’s nearly impossible to cut the corner on your second shot. Unless, off the tee, you choose to go far right into the rough–a dangerous option because of the downslope–there is no direct and unimpeded line of flight to the green. The likely sequence, then, is drive, followed by drawn mid or short iron, and finally a wedge into the perched and well-protected green.

Conditioning fell within the range of average for a public course. The greens were decent but slightly erratic in places. Tees were good overall, fairways about average, and roughs sometimes sparse and inconsistent in places.

Some conclusions: Against a par of 70, East Mountain is rated at 68.7 from the deep tees. Its difficulty level is similar to its crosstown counterpart, Western Hills (where I’ve played many times), though the front side layout here is more straightforward and less tight overall–yet equally engaging. I enjoyed my first taste of the challenges among the hills of East Mountain.

Troon has done a remarkable job in turning this course around. A pleasure to play and a friendly and courteous staff.

Payed near 100 for me and my girl to play because they had to charge us twice on the cart. Even though we was using the same cart. Horrible customer service. The guy gave us the wrong rate 2 times and was a smart a** about it. We was waiting the whole time. Course was over booked with groups of 5 plus. After 10 holes they told us carts must be returned. Course conditions are the same as a yard with 2 huskies. This was a joke. This course is 5 min away from me and I promise I'll never give these people a dime of my money again.

Designed by Orrin Smith (first nine, 1930) and Albert Zikorus (a second, 1960), East Hartford rambles up and down a large hill at the property’s east end, providing–on its fifth tee–an extended vista all the way to downtown Hartford. The western end of the course ambles over much flatter terrain that may well have been, at one time, pastureland.

LAYOUT & DEFENSES
The entire layout, however, is balanced: five holes play uphill, while five and fourteen are the only two that play downhill, significantly. The course is of the open, parkland style design, and has moderately wide fairways and lots of room on many (but not all) holes from a bail-out side for most tee shots. Six holes dogleg and a couple of them bend a bit. There are also long, narrow greens: six, seven, nine, and, especially, ten.

The course is not long overall, but does have a quartet of four-pars ranging from 389 yards to 420 (the longest being #6, the number five index). Three of the four par-5’s are 500 yards-plus.

Golfers will also get a taste of Golden Age golf from Smith’s original design of the original nine, seven of which remain on the current layout. Some of the mounding around the eleventh green, for example, immediately brought to mind Tillinghast’s general style. Other Golden Age features include small greens with fairly liberal contouring and an emphasis on greenside bunkering, along with an advantageous use of the existing landscape. Albert Zikorus, who worked under Donald Ross, preserved the feel of the original holes with his eleven new and redesigned additions. This front side shows his appetite for tilted greens that play fast and can be deceptive. Zikorus’ greens vary nicely in size and shape, though they tend to be larger than those of Smith. But the entire eighteen are well bunkered; most have two traps; and, with one exception, the bunkers guard entrances to the greens rather than block them. The Zikorus bunkers tend to be larger and are often deep. Examples are at 1-3 and 17.

The sixteenth starts a challenging finish, and it is at eighteen that Zikorus delivers a kind of knockout punch. The second shot on eighteen is the most interesting while also delivering the highest shot value: you must decide either “go” or “no-go” over the cross hazard lying some 70 yards before the green. Even if you carry the water, there is work to finish by your pitch onto the elevated green, a green protected by four bunkers.

Length will help you on some holes at East Hartford, but it’s less important on several others. Hitting wayward shots, on the other hand, will have the biggest effect at the perimeter of this large, rectangular property, but far less so on the interior holes, where only scattered trees line most of the fairways. Some fairways are fully tree-lined; they seldom feel too squeezed.

TWO STRONG HOLES:
The eighteenth and the first–bookend holes–are two of the course’s strongest. Eighteen delivers what’s expected, with a series of hazards that culminate at the green. The first hole surprises with the unexpected, a tricky, tree-lined toughie for an opener with a tilted fairway and two massive bunkers guarding the green.

SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF
Two more notable holes are the shorter, tighter, back-to-back par fours at twelve and thirteen. The twelfth’s driving task is clearly defined: find on the fairway’s left side and hit far enough past the dogleg’s elbow to ensure an open shot. But the tee shot at thirteen, at which a sizable pond protects much of the fairway’s left side, means you’ll need to think carefully–impulsively ripping the driver is dangerous.

CONDITIONS:
Very good, with smooth and quick greens, decent tees and roughs, well-groomed fairways. I’ve heard from those who’ve played here for a while that East Hartford has made big improvements in this department over the past few years.

SOME CONCLUSIONS:
What I like about the course is its combination of flat and straightforward holes and those with strong ground movement. Its difficulty may be moderate (the slope is 120) but the architects made green complexes with some flair and strong variety. Slopes on many of these greens will challenge players but seldom to an extreme. One of my playing partners advised against leaving putts above the holes on these greens. He was right. The holes also blend well with the landscape: artificial-looking they are not. Further character comes from the graceful-looking and mature trees scattered between most of the fairways, giving you more options than just chipping back out when you find yourself in their midst. All in all, the holes at East Hartford are not flashy; they’re just well-designed.

If you haven’t played this course in a while due to it being run down then please try it again, they've done a fantastic job bring this fun course back. No drainage problem, fairways in good condition, greens were soft and maintained. Bunkers were fine and pace of play on a Sunday was good. Give this old friendly course another chance, you will be surprised how good it is.

Nice mix of holes. Well placed bunkers. Well-maintained greens. Staff is excellent. The course used to have poor drainage, but they have done a great job of alleviating the issue. One of the best values around.

18 holes for $43, can't go wrong. For a high handicapper like myself, course is perfect. If yiu miss left or right, csn always get back on track with next shot due to layout.

Friendly helpful staff, improving conditions and a great bar. Best all around golf value in area by far