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3.8
7 Reviews (7)
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3.8
Value
3.6
Layout
4.9
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.7
Amenities
4.3
100.0%
Recommend this course
7 out of 7 reviews
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4.0
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4.0
Value
4.0
Layout
5.0
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Amenities
5.0
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5.0
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About

Holes 18
Type Public/Resort
Par 72
Length 6714 yards
Slope 130
Rating 72.0

Course Details

Year Built 1930
Fairways Blue Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Open: 4/01 Closed: 11/30

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - $20
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Accolades

Reviews

3.8
7 Reviews (7)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 313
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Top 25 Contributor
Connecticut Advisor
Perfect weather
Walked

A Test of Good Ballstriking

At the Country Club of New Hampshire, the focus of interest is not as much on putting–which is still important–as it is on the long game. It’s the kind of golf, in this specific sense, that Ben Hogan would have favored. When I played it first back in the nineties, this track revealed its character immediately, and there was no underestimating this challenge, generated from its huge, sprawling bunkers on every hole, with much of it running through forestland, and with a good deal of up, down, and sidehill movement from nine through seventeen. The course slopes at 134 from the back tees, 126 from the blues–both indicators or how sternly it plays. The course bears the firm architectural imprints of both Wayne Stiles/John Van Kleek (1930) and William Mitchell, the latter of whom renovated the original nine and built nine more in 1963.

The front nine starts well but without drama, yet gathers momentum by holes three through six. There is not a clinker among these eighteen holes, which is most animated by a strong stretch that comes at eight through thirteen. These, along with a fine finishing trio highlighted by the picturesque and elegant eighteenth, are alone worth the price of admission. Mixed into the course’s defenses are some plateau greens, plenty of ground movement on the back nine, green complexes set on mounds or at the tops of hills on eight holes, water on four, doglegs on five. The water hazards, except for two ponds, are ancillary in nature. Still, the most impressive feature is the bunkers, all massive and some ginormous, like the one fronting green twelve, which appears to have a similar square footage to the green itself. Nowhere in New Hampshire have I encountered such an array of bunkers with dimensions of this magnitude. They generally guard the greens but the occasional fairway bunker defends the line of play. There is a nest of bunkers at eight, both in the fairway and near the green, all making the path to par difficult.

BEST HOLE: #3, Par-5, 490 yards (gold tees).
Starting with a commanding view from a high tee, the drive aimed at a broad, emerald fairway, lined by scattered trees on the right, woods left. From there the fairway’s second segment sweeps in a curve, banana-like, around a marshy pond guarding the left flank. Beyond the pond lies the last stretch of fairway, running up to a raised green protected by huge white sand traps, into which players should strike–precisely–short irons or wedges as third shots. The wide fairway, a keystone to the third, allows several options for strategic attack.

MOST INTERESTING HOLE: #5, Par-4, 380 yards
One bunker has made all the difference: on the fairway’s right side is a massive, bi-lobed bunker, but the fairway itself is offset from the tee. What this means is that it’s decision time–should the bunker be carried, or not? If you fly it, at what angle will that be? Fortunately, the architect(s) have made the fairway broad enough that you can pick the right angle based upon your average driving distance. Then you’ll play a wedge or short iron into a raised, two-tiered green. The design, then, is ingenious.

HARDEST HOLE: #10, par-4, 440 yards
The fairway takes you out to a wide landing zone, guarded by small bands of rough right and left, and further away by dense woods and a small stream. After that the hole sweeps up to a hilltop green, fronted by a gaping bunker and sloping back-to-front.

CONDITIONS:
Good overall. Only the greens showed some deficits, as about half of them need to recover from some form of malady, which makes them patchy in areas. About half of the putting surfaces, however, were excellent. Green-side areas ranged from good to excellent, fringes were excellent, tees mostly excellent, and roughs a bit varied but good overall.

CONCLUSIONS:
Many of the greens disappointed today, but considering my previous positive experiences here, I’m guessing this will turn out to be an anomaly as the greenkeeping staff restores their excellence fully.

This is a course whose broad fairways allow the employment of driver frequently, and tests everything else tee-to-green. The greens themselves offer just the right mix of slopes and enough undulation, while their size allows for a huge range of pin placements. The layout remains one of New Hampshire’s finest, and, combined with the setting and stunning backdrops around the eighteen, delivers much of what is best about New Hampshire golf. I plan to return soon, perhaps later this summer.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 136
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Top 100 Contributor
Florida Advisor
First Time Playing

“Good Bones”

It was very apparent that at one time this golf course used to be a top-notch facility. The layout is by far the best thing this course has going for it. It is full of several interesting holes most of which include dog leg left or right. The greens were in decent shape and were very playable but other than that the conditions were lacking. I noticed several instances of large dry spots of missing grass on the fairway as well as the bunkers being extremely coarse sand with damaging rocks in them. The worst part about the course was the pace of play. Our foursome played our round in five hours, and there is really no reason that the golf course should be played in five hours other than overbooking. In general, I would recommend a first timer to play this course strictly due to the fact that the layout is good, but I personally consider it a one and done type course.

Conditions Average
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 99
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Top 250 Contributor
Massachusetts Advisor
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

A Former Legendary Resort Just Hanging On

I had always heard about CCNH from guys who went away on golf package weekends back in the day, but I had never trekked up North to play. I gave it a go after the 4th of July. It still looks like the typical 1960's clubhouse, with very few modern updates. The layout is wonderful, winding around hills and wooded areas, with a little bit of water in play. There are back tees that would test long ball hitters. The downside is that the course conditions have fallen into the barely maintained category. Grass is patchy, with weeds and dirt often in play. The greens could use a lot more love and attention. This is of course is the trademark of the company that owns CCNH and a few other NH public courses. I think with some investment and caring this course could again attract golfers to Sutton. There is no chance that is going to happen though. I wish I could have experienced the course in its Kearsage hay day. I bet it was a golfing gem!

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 153
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Top 100 Contributor
Boston Advisor
First Time Playing

Wow!!

Spectacular mountain course with some really great holes. #8, 9 , 16 and 17 are memorable holes. Greens are flawless, couple bare spots in the fairways but can be expected with hot sun and drought conditions. Jim the ranger is a super cool guy. Stopped to talk and greet me. He’s an asset to this club. Can’t wait to get back

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Flowing layout.

Although the reviews were great, when I arrived at the course it seemed at first glance to be a back forth layout. But it was nothing like that. It took me though a challenging well manicured layout. With individual holes that flowed and embraced the not too dramatic but mountainous terrain. It was walkable despite the terrain.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
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
Used cart

One of New Hampshire's Top Courses

The Country Club of New Hampshire is aptly named: Set in the peaceful countryside in the outskirts of the small town of North Sutton, the club at once seems emblematic of all that is good about classic New Hampshire golf courses. The clubhouse is good looking but unpretentious with all you expect (and may need) inside; moreover, a sizeable driving range is situated behind for a quick, pre-round warm-up. The course’s excellent routing shows off the hills and mountains, forests and fields. It has everything you could want from a classic-styled, parkland course (though my fifteen-year-old son did not, somewhat mysteriously, find it dramatic enough). Despite its enviable reputation, this is not a course that sets out to crush you, even though both slope and course ratings are hefty enough from all sets of tees, because the holes are invariably fair.

The course’s opening hole, a 380 yard par four, presents a landing zone framed by three bunkers, but the bigger problem may be the overhanging tree limbs encroaching on the fairway. My tee ball hit one of the limbs, deflected straight ahead, and ended up in the right next to the 150 marker in the center of the fairway; my gentle suggestion to the greenskeeper would be to prune these! The approach here is to a large green (36 yards deep and 25 wide) green with rolling contours. The green on the second, a challenging 160 yard par three, is narrower than the first, and the tee-shot objective should be to hit, at all costs, the putting surface, because three sizeable and rather deep bunkers utterly defend the front and front-sides of this target.

The Country Club of New Hampshire possesses the best set of par-fives I’ve played in New Hampshire, although these are essentially matched by those at Passaconnaway. Hole three, a 495 yard gem with a long pond interfering with left side on the second shot, begins a stretch of excellent front nine holes that runs through eight, and is the best strategic par five in North Sutton. The hole has three sections or legs, offset from a direct line to the green: the first and longest, where the drive lands, angles out a bit right; the second (sided on the left by the pond) moves back left by about 30 degrees more; the third angles back right somewhat, into the green. After a good drive, your strategy may be to go for the green, a hard target; the other option is, of course, laying up. The latter choice still requires high precision on the second shot, because you must play those angles carefully, but this can be a birdie hole, still, provided you hit three shots accurately to reach the green. The fourth, like a pair of other front-nine par-fours (5 and 7) that follow it, is a good test of driving. The fairway is wide enough, yet a large, steep-faced bunker set into a burly mound guards the left side, and then there’s always the matter of this hole’s totally tree-lined perimeter to punish more widely errant shots, but if your drive does find this fairway, a short-iron is all you’ll need into the moderately contoured green. Similarly to the previous hole, number five has one lone, strategically positioned bunker in the landing zone, which is sided by rough and, further back, trees. But Mitchell added a variation to the theme by embedding the bunker in a large and fairly lengthy ridge, almost a series of mounds, that defend this landing zone, and because you approach the fairway from a 30 degree (or so) angle, the bunker/mounds must be flown to hit the prime zone. A narrow and more sharply sloping green (than seen previously) will complicate the approach and make par more elusive on this hole, arguably the foremost short four-par on the course.

The string of excellent holes continues over six, seven, and eight, which are, respectively, a par three, four, and five. The sixth hole is a 169-yard thug that travels uphill to a green lying some twenty feet above the tee, meaning careful judgement of distance is required. The green is strongly fortified by two massive bunkers, the left one literally 40 yards long. Moreover, woods sit behind it, and this green fall-offs steeply on both sides. I found myself hitting a hard, straight five-iron to reach pin-high, and assuredly the shot was not ‘easy,’ (even with the right club) and, if I had not ‘pured’ it, as the pros say, there would have been a difficult second afterwards. And, oh yes, the green is quite contoured and breaks sharply from various positions. The seventh is a very fine 376 yard par-four, a dogleg-left with a pond, crossing the fairway from just inside 100 yards, which will rein in big hitters (but also assist them, as they can blow their drives past the two fairway bunkers on the right, while average hitters must contend with them). This hole also possesses a cleverly constructed green complex (53 yards long!) whose rearward section wraps behind the left-side bunker. And its two green-side bunkers are noteworthy for both their depth and their back-side lips that reach upwards between four and six feet. The eighth, a superior par five, will ideally require a fade off the tee, a shot that should be aimed a bit inside the lone tree on the left side, an old oak with its trunk largely uncovered by branches. Hit this difficult drive long and place it accurately, and the hole will reward you, the green now sitting within range, though the route to it is guarded stoutly by five bunkers—three greenside, and two more located 100 yards out, poised to gobble up any erring second shots.

The 380-yard ninth introduces the first big elevation change (one of many), as your drive will tumble downhill to a fairly wide landing zone, even allowing room to the right for marginal misses. Although the well-contoured green is defended by a pair of large bunkers, the hole is only a moderately challenging two-shotter.

The back-nine opens with the daunting tenth, a 410 yard, heavily sloping, dog-legged, uphill brute of a par four. It is one of the toughest holes I’ve encountered in the state, demanding precision ball-striking—nothing less—and careful placement on every shot, including those on its putting surface, to ensure a par. Embrace the challenge here, and decide for yourself if a hole this tough should be called ‘fair.’ And call me crazy, but I can’t possibly see how this little monster checks in as handicap index 5. Fortunately, the following eleventh is something of a routine, short par three, which doubtless yields many birdies, while the twelfth is most easily managed by a straight drive, and this short-par four includes a memorable landing area by virtue of its distinctive looking, squared-off hill to the right. The thirteenth is a shorter par-five, though it plays uphill to the landing zone, and its green is reachable in two. The catch, however, is that the putting surface is well defended all around by severe slopes and intrusive bunkers. A mid-length par-four, fourteen is mainly an exercise in positioning off the tee, sloping downward, as it does, dramatically from left to right.

Although they are good holes, then, four of the first five on the back nine are of middling difficulty. The last four, however, generate a strong finish for The Country Club of New Hampshire. Fifteen is another longish par three that will require mid-iron to land you squarely (let’s hope) onto its putting surface. Sixteen is simply a great hole, a long, dog-leg right par four of 412 yards, for which the ideal tee shot is a fade to a reasonable proportioned landing area, from which a mid/short iron may be hit into a tilted, elevated green. Your tough par made on sixteen can only be matched next if you work equally hard on the seventeenth, a 400-yard, uphill affair, and a hole placing equally high demands on both first and second shots. Given its downhill drive from an elevated tee, the 465-yard par five eighteenth is again, possibly, a two-shooter for the long-hitting and ambitious, but first that drive must be straight to avoid the sought-after landing zone resting between three large fairway bunkers. The green affords wide-open surroundings with no real penalty (only one bunker on its right flank), encouraging you to have at it on your second shot, though reaching it may still require an aerial assault, most frequently, because of its large, plateau setting.

From the foregoing analysis, it should be clear that everything about this layout is above reproach. Its holes are refined and set well apart, sensible and intelligently designed. Its bunkering is more than adequate and often demands skillful recoveries. Other than bunkers, it is slopes and encroaching woods—not water hazards—that are used to defend greens (the closest any pond comes to a green is more than thirty yards). Some golfers may prefer penal water hazards; I think this is the fairer way to go. Fairway shapes are strongly varied; greens are gently to moderately contoured, with less than a third having strong slopes. And perhaps most importantly, shot values are well balanced because they tend to always even out: Architect William Mitchell never follows a routine first shot’s difficulty with the same level of difficulty on the approach, and vice-versa. On hole three, as one example, a wide-open driving area is followed by a much tighter, angular landing zone on the second shot, on hole five, as another, the challenging drive over a bunker is succeeded by a pitch to an open-fronted green. And so on over the entire course. The design allows the course to be played by golfers of all levels, although beginners should probably look elsewhere. The Country Club of New Hampshire is also a very well-conditioned (most notably for the smoothly rolling and high-quality greens) and congenial place to play golf, its staff welcoming and friendly (those I met also had a refreshing sense of humor), its “value for the money” more than fair. In 2019, it is ranked third in New Hampshire by Golfweek among public golf courses.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Conditions

The course is in excellent shape.. I have played there several times this year and the course was never better.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
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