farnumst

The day I played, I was hoping to play 18 holes. They apparently had zero open tee times withheld by the course, to offset a frost delay. So, the course was still affected by it after Noon. I booked a tee time before 1pm, thinking a four hour round would have me finishing about 5pm. I didn't finish no.9 until 4pm and was told by dome members that the course calls carts back in at 4:30pm. So much for 18. I left. The tees on several holes were almost impossible to access due to severely wet ground. The course should put down some pavers or something so golfers don't risk their neck trying to walk from cart path to tee. Especially white tees on no.8.

I was a Member of Norwich GC years ago. I have always loved this course for it's challenge and variety. Saw a Tee-Off or Golf-Now deal at 3:30pm on a Saturday, and took it. Carts have to be back in at 8pm, so pace of play needs to be not worse than a four-and-a-half hour round. Easily done. But it was like beginner-paloosa that day. Had to skip holes three times and only got to play 14 holes. Not such a great deal, then. I don't want to pay *double* to play earlier, so I guess I won't be playing Norwich again.

I'll never return to this place again. New ownership has destroyed a course which had a lot of beauty and tradition. They have been tearing down every tree in sight for two years. . Turning the land into a bald, feature-less, blah landscape. They have no distance markers and have chopped down all of the trees that provided aiming points on blind shots.. All of their membership has left and gone over to another course nearby.. All this course needed was for an owner who would inbest in a fairway aerator and to get overseeded to shore up all the grass.

The practice facilities at Tallwood are outstanding. Show up early or stay late and take advantage. Front nine was in great shape. In fact fairways and tee boxes were all nice considering the severe drought this year. Back 9 greens were aerated and sanded which made them slow and bumpy. They were poor for putting. Course is pretty this time of year with the leaves changing.

My advice?  Skip this course. There are much more enjoyable courses very close nearby.

I'm never going to play Portland GC again. 

First of all, the course design is stupid.  If you love NOT knowing where to aim and NOT seeing your ball come down, and endlessly searching for the ball on every hole ... Then you'll love this course.

BUT That's NOT EVEN THE WORST PART!   There are no aiming guides and nonexistent or hidden markers!!  For crying out loud, buy some 4x4's and white paint.  Or at least some 1x1 stakes in the fairway.

Today they put the wrong colored flag on #8 Par 3 today.  GREAT PRANK, guys.  I went up one full club for the hill, struck the ball perfectly, right at the flag, and came down short, in the sand trap.   They had a white flag when the hole was cut in the back right portion of the green. 

And who aerates their greens in JULY ?!?

All the greens were punched with an array of holes -- but apparently, Management doesn't consider this to be "aeration".  

When I booked the round, the course gave NO warning about this "mini-aeration" AND when I complained to "the tee-time reservation service" THE COURSE TOLD them that THERE ARE NO HOLES IN THE GREENS.  I should have taken pictures ...

It was SO AGONIZINGLY PAINFUL playing this course that AFTER ONLY 8 HOLES, I took my bag down off the cart and WALKED BACK TO MY CAR and left.

Now, yes, the grass is lush because they get so much rain in this part of the state.

But it is a miserable experience playing here.

Booked a round at this course by accident, just looking at distance as the crow flies - not realizing where it was. My mistake. Play was super slow. Starter shack run by a kid who was not proactive. Asked for a heads up when cart was ready. None given (20 yards away in direct sight on putting green.) Course is boring, with mostly very long straight flat holes with the only distance markers being three fairway buttons 100, 150, 200 on each hole. No 150 poles. No colored flags or wiffle balls on the flagsticks. White tees were full of 200 yd par3's, 400 & 450 yd par 4's, and a 600 yd par 5. Red tees were super unfair to women. Greens are raised up and well protected, making it very difficult to roll a ball onto the green. You would think with the holes being this long, they would be much more easily accessible. The greens were in recovery condition -very lumpy after fall aeration, but no warning on golfnow. I cannot understand how this course could have a 4 star rating. The conditions did not warrant it. The layout is stupid. I won't be returning, but if you live in the Newport RI area maybe you will, just because it is nearby. For me, there are courses that are worth playing despite the long drive to get there, but this one was definitely not.