Bdpetroni2

This is one of my favorite courses that I've ever played. It's 90 minutes away, but I look forward to every trip out to play it. I know last year they took down some trees, but it made sense and it didn't affect the sight lines much at all. This year however, I was blown away with how many additional trees they've removed. A big part of the reason that I loved Crumpin Fox was that you couldn't see any other holes around you when you were playing. Each hole seemed to be carved out of the forest and completely secluded from the other 17 holes. There was a real charm and a beauty to that. That characteristic has been seriously impacted with all the trees that have been cut down. Sight lines on iconic holes have been drastically changed. The 8th green is no longer framed with trees behind.

Overall, I was really disappointed with the way this course is being changed. The course has a much more pedestrian feel now. I can only hope the plan is to replant new trees in the same spots to create that same privacy and charm that these holes used to have.

I played this course as I was in the area yesterday. I'd always played Gillette Ridge in the past when I was in the Hartford area, but they've since closed.

Wintonbury Hills is a much better maintained course, though probably not as memorable. Value was great at $35 with a cart. Conditions were as good as you'll find on a public course. Most holes are fairly wide open, so you really can hit driver on almost every par 4 and 5. This really is a nice course for players of all levels. Gillette Ridge was not, it was geared exclusively towards advanced players.

This course would be of average difficulty if not for the greens. These are some of the trickiest greens I've ever seen, and they're also fast. There were several putts where I read it to break one way and it actually went the opposite way.

There were also a few quirks I noticed, one was somewhat charming, the other unbelievably annoying.

The former was a starter that takes his job WAY too seriously. He asked us if we'd ever played the course before, to which I replied no. He said, "Ok, so just a few things..." and then proceeded to read us a 5 paragraph essay about what to do and not to do on the course. He also forgot to mention the single most important piece of information, that all groups were starting on the 10th hole. I have never seen a course where every single group goes to #10. If someone can enlighten me, I'm all ears.

The latter quirk is regarding the GPS carts. So the carts do offer GPS, but the yardages are only to the center of the green as opposed to the flagstick. They also don't offer an enlarged view of the green. For a first-time player, that turns some blind approach shots into guesses on where the green actually is. Lastly, WH also doesn't allow the carts in the rough. And what happens if you do drive into the rough? The cart literally shuts down and you have to call the clubhouse so they can come out and have someone restart it. I know because it happened to us. 10 ft off the cart path. I asked the starter about this exact scenario, but I really didn't believe it. Instead of calling in, we literally pushed the cart backwards onto the cart path. 90% of golfers wouldn't have been able to do this, and would have jammed up the course waiting for someone to come restart their cart. A few holes later, I was on the cart path next to a tee box, and the GPS screen said i was in a restricted area! I thought the cart was going to shut down again, but luckily it reset once I put it in reverse.

How on earth do members of this course tolerate this garbage with the carts? I have literally played hundreds of nice courses, and have never seen anything like this. It's absolutely ridiculous.

I forgot how much I love this course. It starts with the drive down Sunnyside Rd when you catch a glimpse of the yellow gambrel clubhouse and several nearby holes. Conditions were tremendous even after a summer full of 90+ degree days. This is a thinking man's course, but there are also plenty of places to just smash driver off the tee. The GPS carts are incredibly helpful and other elite public courses should take notes from The Ranch. There are a few throwaway holes, but there are also many memorable holes, especially #1, 4, 6, 9, 13, 14, 16, and 17. I typically make the 2 hr drive on a yearly basis, but I'll be trying to come back more often in the future. And for $39 with cart, the price was unbelievable.

Of all the public courses in MA, I'd put The Ranch, Crumpin-Fox, and Red Tail at the top of the list.

This was my first time back to Crumpin Fox in maybe 2-3 years. I almost forgot how much I love this course.

So I have probably played over 200 courses in my lifetime, and this is my favorite of them all. A true player's course, full of subtleties that can only be appreciated by good golfers. Every single hole is unique, there's not one single throwaway hole out of the 18. Every par 3 is an absolute gem, and it has 4 of the most interesting par 5's you've ever seen. This is not meant to shortchange the par 4's, which are also all very different and challenging. It's as true a test of golfing ability as you'll find in New England. And if you can break 80 here, you can probably shoot even par anywhere else.

And for such a spectacular course, the people that work there are incredibly friendly and low-key. I've been to countless courses in New England (e.g. Wachusett and Shaker Hills) that can't hold a candle to Crump, where the uppity staff acts as if they're running Augusta. You get none of that arrogance here.

So if you want to see a course you'll never forget, take the drive out to Bernardston and check it out. If you don't instantly fall in love with this course (especially in the fall where the foliage is simply phenomenal), you should really find another sport.

So I had heard about the improvements made at Shaker Hills with the new management. Most of the rumors are true. The staff is friendlier, and the prior arrogance seems to be gone. Course is in very nice condition. There are still some spots here and there that need attention, but overall it's much better than when I played it 3-4 years ago. I couldn't ask for a better value, the round cost me $37 in the early afternoon.

I had to take a star off for three reasons. First, it was cart path only on the entire course. The course was dry, i didn't understand it at all. Most of the time, I'd rather walk than drive when it's cart path only. Secondly, there are alot of blind tee shots. This is especially noticeable due to the lack of GPS on the carts. For a regular, this probably isn't much of an issue, but for someone who plays here sparingly, it's a factor.

Lastly, for some reason, the starter let the twosome I was supposed to be playing with out 20 minutes early, and didn't tell me. So I'm literally standing on the tee for 15 minutes waiting for my playing partners when he realizes what happened. I knew there were 3 foursomes directly behind us as well so i had zero interest in getting stuck behind them. He then lets the first of those foursomes go in front of me, which really ticked me off. He then tries to explain himself, saying "it's tough dealing with singles (basically blaming me)." What does that even mean? Every player has a tee time on his slip, it's not rocket science. He then proceeds to tell me he's going to have me join a threesome coming off the front nine, so I'd be starting my round on #10. This REALLY made me angy. I ended up saying absolutely not. I went out solo and played thru that first foursome. It worked out well in the end because I was able to play the entire round on my own, playing 2 balls on nearly every hole.

My favorite course within an hour of Boston. I love courses that challenge every part of a golfer's game, and you're likely to play every club in your bag here. The price during primetime is a little high, but during these long days of summer, the twilight rates are a great deal. I was able to take my time and play in a little over 3 hours on a Friday afternoon. You're likely to see holes here that are different than anything you've ever seen, esp. #7, 9, 14, 16, and 17. All the par 3's have elevated tees and are beautiful. My only complaint was that the course was a little damp, but that would be nitpicking.

Also a must play in the fall, the foliage is amazing.