Cedar Knob Golf Course

This is another high quality take from architect Geoff Cornish on what a New England golf course should be--winding through woodlands, running up and down over hills, doglegging around copses, with holes ending, oftentimes, on raised or plateau greens. Water is used only sparingly at Cedar Knob, and it’s seldom a key part of the action. The siting here is outstanding, with huge mature trees everywhere lending a timeless feel. Cornish adds other elements by emphasizing terrain where there are pronounced rolls and swales and dips and humps in these fairways, although just a few are flattish in places. Yet the course never seems like it’s sitting still: the use of rolling, countryside landforms seems almost perfect. Cedar Knob may lack giant drops down to greens set in valleys, or massive hills to surmount, but given that the ground movement achieves a perfectly happy medium, who needs them?

I’ve played eighteen here several times in the distant past, and have always had a healthy respect for its quality and challenges. Today, unfortunately, I could only play the front side, though the club was kind enough to let me take photos of the back, which I did late in the day. The pro and assistant were both friendly and very accommodating. I also was fortunate to play with two fine gentlemen--initials S. and T--who definitely made things interesting.

So why should anyone play this course? Besides the friendly atmosphere and strong aesthetics, the course conditioning, routing, and sense of seclusion are all superb. The layout’s balance and variety are above reproach, and some of the holes break the box of typical course design. There are, for instance, the fifth, a 249-yard par three with an ideal opening through which to run the ball onto the putting surface; the clever dogleg seventh, on which your layup or second shot must be near-perfect; the beautiful drive-and-pitch ninth with its well-protected green; the spectacular-looking par-5, dogleg tenth, and the equally impressive downhill, doglegging par-5 seventeenth. Mastering every one of these holes requires accuracy and finesse far more than brute strength. A nice feature, as well, are the typically oversized bunkers. In a couple of cases, the architect employs huge, British Isles-style traps on the edges of fairways (for instance, at one and eight), and these are definitely in play and may be punishing. These monsters are not simply submerged into the ground; they are part of tall hillocks and may block your shot almost completely--or make for a difficult out.

Telling too much about this course may spoil, a bit, the pleasures of playing it, so go out and enjoy Cedar Knob to judge for yourself. I don’t think you’ll find it dull.

By the time I had reached the third tee today, a beautiful par-5 at Cedar Knob’s periphery, one thing was clear: this is a fine setting for golf. Majestic trees, flowing fairways, unspoiled countryside--all contribute to the serene mood the course instills.

Standing on the sixth tee, however, it was also clear that none of the first five holes had been easy. Two long par-fours, a pair of three-pars requiring a 5-iron and three-wood (the latter 248 yards), and a 515-yard par-5 that only long hitters can hope to reach in two. This is, indeed, a 6734-yard course from the blues, sloping at 127.

Designed by Geoffrey Cornish in 1965, Cedar Knob pulls off the trick of combining challenge with playbility. The front nine, which I toured today, is not overly hilly, but three or four of its holes rise or fall significantly. Greens here are not heavily mounded; their main hazards, instead, are often the huge bunkers placed around them. Greens themselves are contoured mildly, but an exception was the seventh--strongly tilted back to front.

PAR-FOURS: As a group, these held my interest strongly, offering a successful blend of the uncomplicated and the deceptively tough. The longer first and fourth holes give you ample driving zones and large greens as targets. But eight and nine mix it up: tee shots must find tighter fairways, while the hazards--trees and bunkers--are prominent and intrude more, nearby or upon each fairway.

BEST HOLE: Nine, par-4, 360

If any tee-to-green shot is weakly struck, this short hole can be deadly. Narrow fairway, dogleg left, tight and elongated green with deep bunker left and hillside right. Magnetic bunkers in the left rough to catch hooks. It’s a corker of a short par-4.

MOST INTERESTING: Seven, par-5, 512

Following an open, wide driving area (stay right!), the second shot may induce headaches if you’re out of position. A narrow chute of trees, past the hard dogleg-left, will play havoc with any second shot even slightly missed. The fairway slims to 20-yards, making a lay-up here tricky; such a surprising risk, moreover, magnifies when attempting to reach this green in two.

CONDITIONS: Very good overall. Greens: Good (and of medium speed); Fairways: Strong, although a bit long; Rough: Mainly excellent but a few bare spots in places, including greenside; Fringes: almost wholly uniform.

CK is one of the best values across Connecticut. This track is well-conditioned and its routing sensible and varied; furthermore, its layout should appeal to the vast majority of golfers. Playing on the weekend after 2 pm, I found the value almost unbeatable. This was one of those days, though, when I needed to get home to watch the end of a major championship, so playing eighteen was not in the cards. It was nice to see that winning was in the cards today for the man whom Jim Nantz called an “old guy,” comparing him, no less, to Old Tom Morris.

Very nice course to golf at

I recommend it to all people

I drive an hour (from central CT) and my brother drives 1.5 hours (from western RI) once year to play this track. IT NEVER FAILS TO BE ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR SEASON.

We play ALL of the courses across eastern CT and western RI we rarely play the same place twice in the same season. But, we do always come back to the tracks we love. This is the fourth year in a row that "The Knob" has been in our rotation.

Everyone is super-friendly here. The staff is amazing. The course is always on excellent shape. Looking at the scorecard, you can be fooled into thinking that this course has no teeth; you're wrong to think that! The long par3s have plenty of bite. The long par4s are challenging. The doglegs place a premium on your course management skills. the par5s are as they should be: risk/reward length for the long hitters, but good three-shot par5s for the average golfer.

And, once you tee off and get away from the clubhouse, you probably won't hear or see another car until you are putting your clubs in the car.

Well done, Knob staff...well done, indeed.

I called the clubhouse to see if I could play 18 in the early afternoon on a weekday. The person in the clubhouse said it was "wide open" and that this would not be an issue. When I arrived at the course, I was surprised to see the parking lot full. I went into the clubhouse and asked to get out for 18 and was promptly shut down due to a men's league going off both 1 & 10 tees. This was truly disheartening as I had traveled for nearly 45 mins to get here. However, I was taken back by the response after I had told them this. I was told by one of the pros that I could only play 9, but that this would be a "slow 9" due to the volume of golfers on the course. This was not the desired and appropriate response. Their pros gave me false information, failed to apologize, and failed to give me any incentive to come back for another round. That is BAD BUSINESS! I have played this course a few times, and it a nice Geoffrey Cornish design, but I will not be returning.

If you drive from Central Connecticut to Cedar Knob, the ride alone will make your day. "Scenic" is an understatement!

Cedar Knob is tucked away in Somers, so once you tee off on #1, you won't hear a car or see house for the next 4 or 5 hours.

Par 3s are challenging (long). Three of the four par 5s are really challenging (no way to get close/home in two that I can figure out). Par 4s are a good mix of sorta/kinda easy and challenging.

I love this place!

This Geoff Cornish designed course is located in Somers, Ct and is about 15 minutes from I-91 exit 47E or 19 minutes from I-84 exit 67. It’s well worth the trip and I consider it a top 10 public course in northern Connecticut.

Upon arrival there is a parking lot with two buildings above it. The left one is the pro shop, the right the clubhouse and 19th hole. A fairly flat putting greens lies just behind the clubhouse and there is also a driving range on the course.

The course ranges are: 6734 yds blues, 6298 yds white and 5784 yds red. I normally play from the whites and at 6300 yards it is long compared to other courses in the area but it felt shorter the day I played. Probably because the fairways were just mowed and there was not much rain in weeks so shots rolled out more than usual. The tee boxes, fairways, greens, bunkers and gravel cart paths were all in excellent condition. Most of the greens are sloped back to front but nothing drastic. Depending on pin placement try to keep your approaches short of the hole.

Cedar Knob is an excellent, challenging golf course. It’s nicely laid out with wide fairways and well-maintained everywhere the day I played. The cost to play was awesome. With October pricing in effect our foursome paid $130 total with carts.

There’s a good mix of holes: four par 3’s (154-210 yds), four par 5’s (470-490 yds ) and ten par 4’s (319-400 yds). I found the course is a pleasure to play. The fairways are wide; the rough was cut just right and the space between fairways are pine straw, short pines, evergreens and small trees, which allows a chance to get a wayward ball back into the fairway without much of a penalty. The back nine is more difficult and longer than the front due to more doglegs and water. The pace of play was slow the day I played (4.5 hrs) due to one foursome a couple groups in front of us, but it was nothing to complain about this beautiful fall day with the foliage peaking.

Course knowledge is essential to score good at Cedar Knob as there is water within driver range on several holes and doglegs where less than driver is needed to cut the corner but still stay in the fairway and have a shot at the green. The 1st hole is one example. Favor the left side of this fairway to avoid an unseen pond along the right side about 220 yards out (from the whites). On the dogleg left par five 7th a tall tree protects the left corner so favor the right side of the fairway and don’t over hit your second shot, if it is short of the corner, as they will roll off the right side of the fairway. A layup to the corner could save a few strokes. It’s all downhill after the corner. Favor the right side of the 8th and 9th fairways to get a shot at the green.

On the back nine the par five 10th tee shot is over a pond and the temptation is to go for narrow end of the pond down the left side of the fairway. Shots hit there leave a difficult 2nd shot past a bump out on the left to a narrows that slops off right and another bump out on the right side. Just keep it in the middle of the fairway on this hole. No. 13 has a small pond about 220 out from the white tees so a layup may be prudent. The dogleg right 15th is another hole where less than driver is a good idea to reach the corner but not run out of fairway. At the tee box the dogleg left 17th looks intimidating with a narrow tree-lined downhill alley with trees at the end. You will need to make the corner off the tee but not overrun the fairway. From the bottom of the dogleg it’s uphill and right but favor the left side of the fairway to the green. Finally the 18th, a dogleg left that requires a second shot over the same pond from the 10th hole. Shoot for the middle of the fairway off the tee. Bombers can try cutting the left corner over a small tree. It’s all downhill from the tee to the water so shots will roll out some.

Cedar Knob is one fine course that you’ll want to play often.

This course plays very fair greens are not the fastest but consistent