Alling Golf Club

I’ll be honest, when I found myself at the entry gate, I almost didn’t turn in to the lot. I was ready to call my friends to tell them that I wouldn’t be making our tee time. If my wife was with me, she would have told me to turn around. The gate area was shoddy and uninviting, even prohibitive in appearance and I had driven an hour to get there. Here’s why: The parking lot fencing is old, ragged and overgrown, the drop off area, and surrounds are absolutely filthy, littered with trash, broken bottles, stacks of beer cans/bottles, old shoes, glass shards and sundry other garbage in every direction. When I did pull in, cars were parked in every which way. I was concerned about leaving my car in that lot unattended. The check in building, club house and men’s room, were equally shabby and dilapidated inside and out. My friends were laughing at me because they could see the look on my face when I met them—they all had the same reaction.

I chose to share a cart that day due to a knee injury. The cart was rundown, stinky, without gps and with a faulty brake that allowed the cart to slip down hills, but when it did work, it would pop us violently into the air when the accelerator was pushed and the brake released.

All the personnel at the course that we encountered were incredibly personable, friendly and helpful.

The course…

The course itself is fairly well managed. The greens were a little slow, but they were in decent shape. Good approach shots stuck and even spun. The fairways were all very playable, not immaculate, but acceptable with some bare spots and some weedy areas. The rough was not absolutely penal, we could still find our ball, and still hit out, but it took some skill. Best to stay in the fairly generous fairways. The sand was near non-existent in some bunkers, it was either hard pan or loose soil, but definitely not sand—but I know how difficult and expensive it is to maintain and restore bunkers. However, the course design is still exceptional, even for it’s 90 year old age, it has some very memorable holes with none of them being run of the mill. They all have their own unique character and it’s fun to solve all 18 puzzles. From the back tees, it can be challenging, not necessarily because the overall yardage is so daunting for the entire course, as long as your drive is at least 240 yards, you’ll have no problem from the back tees, there really were only a couple of holes that had some forced carries. It’s the longish par 3s (a couple of them 200+ Yds) that can be challenging, especially with wind. If you miss the green, you can still recover from most of them, but the greens are not ample, so you’d better sharpen your short game. There are plenty of blind shots to the greens, so it helped to have a cart to see where I was hitting my approaches for my first time out. There are a number of elevation changes both hitting up to the greens, and down to the fairways. One of my friends walked, and he got a little winded on a couple of the hills, but he said it wasn’t as overwhelming as it may have looked. There is a drivable par 4, and there are a couple of reachable par 5s for anyone who can hit their drive about 240-250.

Again, the edges of the course are a little ragged, and I had a hard time looking past the trash that was strewn in the shrubs around the entire course. I feel sad that regulars can’t see how poorly their course can look with so much trash around it. I get it, muni’s have limited budgets, and they have to cut costs constantly, but that’s where it’s up to the players to make up for the lack, and it doesn’t cost a thing to pick it up. I belong to a private course, but I also play regularly and hold passses at 3 municipal courses, and regardless of which course I play, if I or my playing partners see it, we pick it up and bring it to the nearest receptacle. I’ll go out of my way to climb into the shrubs to retrieve somebody’s old beer cans, even when I walk the course. It’s one thing to have some dope throw their trash there, it’s another thing that the other members don’t pick it up. It can’t all land on the course superintendent to spend all their work hours and budget cleaning up after a few golf pigs, especially at these muni courses. I picked up quite a few things on my way out of there today, but my entire cart would have been full by cleaning just one single area had I stopped to pick it all up. I find that when people take pride in their golf courses, they keep them clean, they fix their divots and pitch marks, and rake the traps—even if it isn’t their pitch mark, divot or bunker footprints. The courses don’t have to sparkle, and they don’t have to be new, but it’s a better experience when they’re clean. It’s that simple.

So, yes, the course itself plays well, it’s challenging and the holes require you to play your ball straight in some areas, with draws and fades in others in order to stay out of trouble and to score well. That makes it a good challenging course.

Now, if they found some money to maintain the other areas mentioned above, and they cleaned up the trash, then I’d likely say this would be an excellent course to come play. But, for me, I just can’t get past that aesthetics of Alling Memorial GC. It’s too bad, this place could be a real gem. I play golf for a number of reasons including my love for being outdoors in beautiful and healthy non-threatening environments. And for that reason, I have to give Alling 2.5 stars, because golf is so much more than just hitting a ball with a stick.

Fairways are wide and long. Challenging but fun. Enjoyed. Conditions were good. Weather very chilly typical New England breeze.

After 20 years, this was the first 18-hole course I played in my return to the game and I saw the whole course, left and right, and occasionally center.

My second go round was even more enjoyable.

The people are Alling are really nice and welcoming.

The course itself can be confusing at times if you don't where to go as there are a couple of intersections of cart paths where three or four tee-boxes meet, and you could go off in the wrong direction if you just assume.

The course features some easy wide open holes and some tight tee shots where u have to clear some serious hazards to find the fair way and/or rough.

My favorite holes are 10 and 14, which both feature elevated t-shots, the former at a par 3; the second a long par four with a blind tee-shot to the fairway.

I improved 15 shots from my first go-round at Alling to my second. I'm anxious to get back there and try it again.

I grew up playing this course. I have hundreds of rounds here. Since the renovations, this course has been the best track for the money. The grounds crew have truly made it a gem in my backyard. Having said that, they're starting to slack a little bit. Cart paths are very beat up. It rained Saturday night and I teed off about 8 o'clock Sunday morning. Bunkers were not raked, thankfully I only found one of them. Some of the greens were not cut, still had the morning dew on them. Some of them weren't rolled so the first couple groups going through chewed up the turf around the hole with spike marks. There were some 5-somes out there but pace of play was still good, given the heat yesterday not many played. Rough is still luscious fairways still nice, still can't beat it for the price compared to others. But that doesn't mean you should slack on your upkeep. Still love my old home course!

Fantastic. Lush fairways, superb greens. Elevation changes and sloping fairways definitely add character to this course. Can't wait to play again and again.

Beautiful track. Each hole is unique. Elevation changes will absolutely test your game. Played the back tees and could get away with irons off a decent amount of tees. Greens fast and true. Lush fairways, but the walk is a beast. Did it in 3 hrs for a great twilight rate of 13 bucks- awesome value. I would absolutely play this place often because it can be super challenging but also rewarding if you're finding the right slopes in the fairways. Fairways decent width, but a handful of blind shots will back you off a second to think. Overall, one of the best in the NH area.

Can't beat 34 bucks for 18 and a cart during the week, but charging $49 on Columbus Day was ridiculous, it's FALL! Course was packed with old men who thought they were on the PGA Tour and some groups had 5 people in them slowing our play down tremendously. You need to have tee-times and update your website with the correct info,. Cart paths need alot of work in some spots. We play the course 10x a year and wills till go back but you guys need to announce when you have tournaments and shotgun starts. Went there one day and had to leave not knowing what was going on

After 12 noon its $37 for 18 and a cart. However it gets very slow pace after 8am and all the "all-stars" get out there. Course is in phenomenal shape, nkce layout and greens are very quick.