Pomperaug Golf Club

With terrain that is mostly pancake-flat, Pomperaug’s absence of large hills may lead golfers to underestimate its difficulty. Yet every one of these nine holes threatens tee-to-green play with a water hazard–or two or three. Two longish par-3s supply good scoring resistance, but even moreso does the superb, 425-yard sixth, a modern cape design placing a high premium on accuracy. Then there are the third and sixth, both tricky and tight doglegs, both demanding precise approaches to elevated greens. This layout may also lull you a bit at the start, but by the third hole it becomes stingier, and toughens further over the stretch from four through eight, especially from the back tees.

The balance inherent in this Ted Manning design can be quickly illustrated by a pair of back-to-back holes: three and four. While both have the same, shared large pond along the right side of their landing zones and woods to the left, the rest couldn’t be more opposite. The dogleg third plays short and tight; the straightaway fourth much longer and wider. While the third fairway’s landing zone is protected by bunkers, the fourth’s is edged by mounds and a pair of huge trees (about 50 yards prior to the green) with shot-blocking limbs. The bunkered bi-level third green is easy to three-putt, while the fourth green’s contours are a bit less challenging and without bunkers. Variety is the spice of golf.

The round at Pomperaug is also neatly cyclical: you begin with an opening tee-shot over the river and end at the ninth by a dicey approach that must traverse the Pomperaug River again, reaching a green situated a few yards beyond its riverbank.

No matter how well I play, the trip here always seems an enjoyable one.

SERVICE:
Again, received unfailingly friendly help from Tommy, the Assistant Pro, who pays close attention to details.

CONDITIONS:
Greenside roughs and bunkers were good, but several fairways and some roughs appeared patchy. Greens were in only fair condition because they were not long ago aerated; they were also top-dressed. The sandiness made for slower, less predictable putts.

CONCLUSIONS:
In terms of playing shape, the course has improved since my visit last fall, especially some of the bunkers (e.g. behind green eight); though it still has a way to go on the fairways, I’m hoping the trend continues.

As a layout, Pomperaug’s flatness may render it–at first glance–a bit benign, but it’s like an able sparring partner who is capable of delivering a knockout punch at almost any moment. Its foremost qualities are balance, angularity, and hazard placement. Ted Manning, who laid this out in 1971, was at heart a stern designer, less an architect of wide-open spaciousness than of careful maneuvering by strategic choices. But on balance this short but complex course is quite fair, even if not too many errant shots will pass unchecked when landing wide of the mark, often with your Titleist or Srixon sinking from sight.

This course historically had plush fairways and well groomed greens. It’s quite obvious that overall attention to detail is lacking in upkeep and maintenance of this 9 hole course. Won’t be back anytime soon.

Pomperaug’s solid layout makes for a good round of golf, but the summer drought decimated this course:the fairways (particularly) and roughs are either sketchy or shabby most everywhere. Too bad, because last time I was here in late June, the course’s conditions were good across the board–with the greens leading the way as always. Now the putting surfaces are inconsistent, marred by sporadic pockmarks and other blemishes, and the outstanding smoothness that I’ve become accustomed to over three years now is mostly gone, even though the greens are cut properly. Let’s hope the course returns to form by next spring, although that seems an uphill road for the grounds crew. One further shortfall today was a clear lack of attention to fallen leaves in too many areas, meaning my foursome wasted a good deal of time hunting for any ball that strayed from the beaten path.

Pomperaug is playable, but you’ll need patience. All in all, a disappointment. The course was nonetheless crowded when I left at about noon. Service, as always, was very friendly and helpful.

Very tough to see and write this review. Ive played this course for decades and have always enjoyed other than pace of play on some days. It was always in decent shape, moderately challenging, and well priced for a o hole public. Now, I feel like PGC is almost beyond repair. This course should be closed for at least 6 months and revived before charging people to play here. Greens with bare spots, and previous airation left unattended to. Cups left unpainted and edges overgrown and beat up. Bunkers full of weeds and even signs that say GUR but obvious they were not being repaired. Fairways full of bare and dead spots and crab grass grown in. Rough left neven and unmowed for days maybe weeks. The course looked worse and worse the further we got.

The course is laid out well. It is pretty flat. There are enough obstacles (trees, water) to prove interesting. Unfortunately the weather has been extremely dry so the fairways were very dry or with little grass.

Fairway grass is burnt with most areas having nothing left but bare soil -- the bunkers have not had any maintenance for a very long time -- weeds are growing in bunkers --Greesn are okay--a few a damaged by the heat and dry conditions --

Unfortunately we were behind a very slow group of 5 walking golfers who were not concerned with our enjoyment. They were very slow golfers and wasted a lot of time on every hole (talking, looking for balls, etc.). Although this is not the fault of the manegement, I am surprised to see a fivesome playing at 10:00 AM on a Sunday.

First and foremost, I am amazed at the number of rude and discourteous ‘players’ are allowed on this course. It’s just not fun when clueless people are out there on a golf course. Golf etiquette is so lacking. The course has problems, particularly the sand traps, but also has potential from a physical perspective. However, how do you improve people’s attitude. Three possibilities 1) Have a starter there to speak to golfers before teeing off, 2) have someone on a cart out on the course observing the behavior and pace of players, 3) make everyone who plays the course watch a short video on the way to act and respect others on the course. For Love Of The Game,

Great course for new golfers or someone looking to get out for 9 and swing the clubs. Easy to walk at a great price.

Layout:
Pomeraug is a secluded, parkland nine-holer with many water hazards, mostly in the form of large ponds set on the sides of fairways, but also the Pomperaug river. There's enough bunkering–all greenside–to keep things interesting. Trees are dense on the property’s borders, but overall the feeling is open.

Conditions:
Some very significant improvements, especially since I started playing here (again) two years ago. Greens have always been well-tended and they again ran very smoothly at an above-average speed. Yet the big comeback has been the fairways, especially at three, four, and seven. Roughs were decent. Only lackluster areas today were tees and bunkers–some, but not all, of their conditioning flawed more than they should be. Overall, good conditions.

A Few More Playing Points:
The layout, though not hard, is a winner because of the strategic shot values built into it by Architect Ted Manning. If you simply give the ponds a wide enough berth, a good score should be had, but realize that this course, more than most, favors straight hitting. Play the back tees and you’ll find two tough par-threes in five and eight; the third can be played from a frontal tee, requiring a forced carry over water. Three and seven are demanding and tricky doglegs that bend around ponds. All combined, this should supply enough challenge for most players.

Conclusions:
Alhough most choose to ride, the value is simply outstanding when you walk the course, and I found no problem doing so on a warm day. The clubhouse atmosphere is invariably friendly.

Not bad! Pretty wide open but also some tight challenging shots
-greens were in great shape , definitely a little slow (local kid said there always slow ) but they were smooth at 3pm! Also mostly flat greens 8/10
-Water in play on most of the holes
-bunkers were ok, 6/10
-fairways were average for a municipal 7/10
- rough was a little weedy , not really patchy and cut to a manageable length 6/10
- few doglegs off the tee
-small but good putting green/ no driving range
- very flat I walked it easily !! 10/10. Carts looked decent non gps