607 West Thames Street, Norwich, Connecticut 6360, US
(860) 425-3500
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About The Spa at Norwich Inn

The Spa at Norwich Inn could provide the perfect couples golf and spa getaway. Guests can stay in villas or a historic inn featuring a destination spa with 27 treatment rooms, sauna, salon, fitness center and indoor pool, all surrounded by 42 stunning acres of perennial gardens, mature oak trees, fountains, reflecting pool, courtyards and the city-owned Norwich Golf Course across the street. The Kensington’s Restaurant offers indoor and outdoor dining. The 6,228-yard course dates to 1926.

Facts

Price Range$$$
Property Class★★★
Acres42
Year Opened1929
Number of UnitsLess than 100

Amenities

RestaurantsFine, Casual, Bar
Room TypesRoom, Suite
Fitness CenterYes
Practice FacilityYes
Banquet SpaceYes
SpaYes

Services

Room ServiceYes

Rules

Is the resort pet friendly?No
Is resort stay required for a tee time?No

Golf courses at The Spa at Norwich Inn

Reviews

4.3
518 Reviews (518)

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 93
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 1000 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 15
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Traps

Traps are in need of some sand not rocks! They are hard and a lot of rocks. The rest of the course is in great shape for being in a drought.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 21
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Nice course

Coures was in great shape considering the the drought.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Golf Course

2nd time playing this course and I love it. It has a little bit of everything. Open, woodsy, straight, doglegs, long, short. We were fortunate to be paired up with a member (Goose) & His brother Sly. Goose is a great player and taught me a few things that day. He could be a caddy on the pro tour in my opinion.
Even the maintenance crew is so courteous they stop, quiet thier machines & move out of the way when your hitting. Even Hannah the beverage cart girl (I hope I got the name right) stopped her cart when we were hitting and was so pleasant and came around often. I highly recommend Norwich Golf Course. Wish we could've tried the food. Maybe next time.

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 3
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Always a pleasure golfing here

Course is in great shape, particularly in the middle of a drought in late summer. Greens were great, fairways very good. Some of the tee boxes were a little rough, but overall a great day, as usual. I try to play this course at least twice a year, as I live an hour away. Always worth the trip

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Enjoyable

Considering how dry it's been the overall course conditions were ok. First time playing there. An interesting mix of short and longer holes. We would return.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 15
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 56
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Played On
Reviews 7
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 20
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 38
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

BAD FIRST IMPRESSION

The starter at this golf course, Joe H. Needs a few lessons with customer service.
He gave a terrible first impression when I approached him to check in...
He told me I was paired up with a threesome. He then said I would have to share a cart. I tried to explained to him that with COVID, I am not comfortable riding with someone I did not know. I did noticed they had plenty of carts available and mentioned this to him. He just stated that I was just making excuses and was reluctant to allow me to ride alone.
I told him I work in a busy environment and wear a mask to protect myself. His comment was, quote" how did that work out for you? I see you're still alive!!!"
What kind of an answer was that? I hope that the superintendent will read this response, as this is no way to make a first impression. He should not impose his politics while in a position of guest service!
I do like this course and hope that this will be addressed.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 31
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Hidden Gem

Not very long but don't be fooled by the yardage tricky shots elevated greens.Greens were a little slow trying to keep the grass green during the dry season place was an impeccable shape otherwise

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Wet weather
Used cart

No starter or ranger

I’ve played several times at Norwich but never has it been such a slow pace on the back 9. There wasn’t a starter at 1:00 so singles and twosomes went out no matter what their tee times. Everyone caught up to the foursomes on the 6 or 7th hole and didn’t seem to want to pair up. We finally decided to leave before crossing the street and quit at 14. There was no ranger either. The weather was not great and there were a few sprinkles but not enough to stop play.. I will make sure before If I book again that the pace of play is overseen.

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 10
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart

Very Nice Course

This was my first time playing the course. I enjoyed the layout - a nice mix of different types of holes. Would recommend to others looking for a new course to play.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Norwich Golf

This course is in excellent condition. Especially for a public course that gets a lot of traffic.
The starter, Mr. Lathrop was so personable and accommodating.
Really enjoyed the round.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice place

First time playing here. Staff was friendly. Course was in pretty good shape. Nice practice areas. Lucky to be hooked up with a friendly foursome which made the round more pleasurable. Some greens were slow and some were fast which made each hole challenging. Will play there again.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
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
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Tough but Strategic

THE LAYOUT :
-Plays longer than course yardage, and brim full of challenges
--High slope rating (131), so unsurprisingly there are no real “breather” holes
--Parkland style dominates, with a few more woodsy holes
--Fairways pitch and roll impressively by their continual ground movement
--Frequent doglegs test your driving skills
--As on a links course, you’ll benefit from knowing how to play the bounces
--Bunkers, mostly deep and large, protect the greens (a few in fairways)
--Judgment around the greens–pitching, chipping, putting–is a key to scoring
--Good size variation among greens, though most are smaller and well-contoured
--Beware the small ravine on eleven and the ditch fronting green fourteen

OUTSTANDING HOLES:

BEST PAR-4’s: Seven, Par-4, 380 and 11, Par-4, 412.
Playing closer to 400 yards (steeply uphill approach), this is a classic, Golden-Age styled hole where the tendency is to play safely left off the tee to the dogleg, which effectively makes it longer. The approach to a hazard-laden, small green is a pure test of your skill with an iron. Seven is a brutal par-4 that requires both a strong tee shot and even better approach into a fortress-like green complex.

MOST INTERESTING: Seventeen, Par-4, 328
Thrilling, imaginative short hole, and looks like something that C. B. MacDonald or Seth Raynor could have created. Downhill from a high tee with OOB left, stands of trees to the right. Unique fairway and a green set upon a plateau– a great target. Wow!

BEST PAR-3: Thirteen, 110 yards.
You simply can’t miss this postage stamp green, set atop a steep hill, by all that much, unless you go a bit right (where there are still problems). The other problems are OOB and what happens when you miss short.

CONDITIONS:
Good in places, very good in others. The greens were almost excellent, but marred somewhat by too-frequent ballmarks. Fairways and roughs were generally good, having but a few weak spots. Roughs and tees: above average. Very thick rough around the greens isn’t my preference, but–I get it–some clubs find favor with it. All and all, I think the greenskeeping efforts are strong, but the course is popular.

SOME CONCLUSIONS:
This is a hard but still strategic track, which is a nice balancing act. I haven’t played here in two years, but, writing this, I was reminded that Norwich possesses some of the best individual golf holes in Connecticut. I don’t see how serious golfers–unless they have a strong preference for modern courses–could be disappointed in this excellent, never-boring layout.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
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