Eastwood Country Club

This is my second time playing at Eastwood Country Club, and I found it an enjoyable experience on a fall afternoon with temps in the low-60s. The greens rolled smoothly and the fairways were much improved over my last visit. This old-school track, its designer unknown but built in 1962, rolls most gently yet sometimes abruptly over the Litchfield Hills. The surrounding views stretch into the distance a few times, but mainly this course is wooded and populated by numerously tree-lined fairways. Not a hard layout, as it slopes at 113 with a course rating of 33.9 against par of 36, it still sports several holes with hazards or trees that are quite likely to grab errant shots. There are ponds at eight and nine and bunkers that occasionally flank one or more parts of the greens, but overall the trees pose the biggest problem when you spray a tee shot. One of the par-5s is short, the other long, and the longest par-4 is the first, measuring 380 yards from the blue tee. The par-4 I like best is still the third (my apologies for misidentifying it as the fourth on my last review) which starts with a blind drive to a sloping fairway, then demands a solid pitch or short-iron down the hill to a large, circular green with a hidden bunker behind its back-left quadrant. Six, as well, seemed an excellent three-par, not for its length but rather its subtlety. You’ll need to hit a solid short-iron to hit the beautifully contoured, bi-level green, especially on its upper, back shelf, which is quite small. A large tree is situated to the right of the sixth’s green, which is also flanked by bunkers set well below the putting surface.

Conditions were good overall today, although the bunkers were somewhat washed out from recent heavy rains and not raked. Tees varied in quality from good to virtually poor. But the smoothly-rolling greens and mostly well-tended fairways made up for the shortfalls. Play was slow, however, as I waited several times for seven or eight minutes at the tees.

I would definitely recommend Eastwood and paired it today with Stonybrook in Litchfield, which is less than 15 miles away (about twenty minutes). In general, the layout is a typical example of what you might expect to see in fifties American golf. Most of the holes are straightforward, notably the first, second, fourth and fifth, but there are also some holes that necessitate some strategy to conquer. The eighth, a fun-to-play par-3, features a slightly elevated green that is fronted by a duck pond inhabited by a flock of mallards. And eighteen, the #1 index and a lengthy hole at 562 yards (blues), finishes the round with a flourish.

This course has improved so much in the past two years but the price is still SO CHEAP. While some of the tee boxes need some attention, they finally started taking proper care of bunkers and fairways. It looked like they got brand new carts as well. I wish they had an online booking system, but they still got me out to play very quickly. Overall great course and great price.

The largest community of the Northwest Hills region of Connecticut, Torrington is one of the more pleasant cities to visit in the state: small in scale; and many of its residents friendly--as I’ve found, having grown up not far from here. It also has several golf courses. I played Torrington Country Club in several high school matches, and remember it as quite the venue. But there are other worthwhile courses that the public can access in this Torrington/Litchfield area, including Fairview Farm, Stonybrook, the semi-private Green Woods Country Club, and Eastwood Country Club.

Eastwood CC is an interesting if somewhat old-school course by today’s standards because so much of the vitality comes from angular movement (both par-5’s have severe doglegs), numerous blind shots, and hilly terrain. It’s a short course, but you have to stay on your toes to steer clear of the trouble on this fairly tight track. Straight hitting is a definite asset (many of the fairways are lined by majestic, mature pines), yet you’ll also need some patience and a decent short game if you miss enough of these greens.

Strengths:

--On my first play of the course today, the most impressive thing I found at this nine-holer was strong ground movement. For example, the first hole drops down through the pines to its woods-encircled green; the second moves up a hill canted left to right; the third runs to a crest, then plummets straight down to a green set in bowl-like surrounds. And so on. Much of the challenge comes from this.

--Some of the greens, secondly, have punishing fall offs, such as at the left side of the second. The eighth is set on a sizable knob.

--A third feature of merit is the green design and contouring. They are small enough to be challenging, but several benefit from excellent ground movement or undulation, most notably at two and six.

--Set in a nice area, the course combines woodland with parkland aspects, and I found the look of the terrain and its surroundings to be aesthetically pleasing.

A weakness:

--The bunkering is good enough where applied, but it seems some of the bunkers at this 1962 design (architect unknown) have been grassed in. I think the course could benefit, instead, from adding a couple of bunkers placed closer to the greens, as is done at hole six--where the placement is ideal.

Conditioning:

A strong point is the greens, which are cut properly and run smoothly. The fringes are excellent. A couple of greenside bunkers appeared poorly maintained--though most were good. Fairways need tighter cutting and tee boxes have both weeds and long wisps of grass in places; in general, both need better maintenance. The roughs varied in quality. All in all, about average.

Best Holes: Four is an impressive par-4 that swoops downhill to its classic green complex--a beauty--and challenges you to hit an excellent wedge or short iron on the approach. Six, a great short-par three, has the best green movement among these nine, with its bi-level surface rising in the back.

I enjoyed my first round here. If you’re a fan of nine-hole tracks, you might try pairing this with Stonybrook in Litchfield, less than 15 minutes away; it should make for a good day of golf.

Thanks so much. Great weather, fun day at your club with the family. Eight of us doing the 9 holes and it was a delight. Your friendly staff has us looking forward to our next chance to visit. Thanks! Art

This course has been absolutely let go. It looks like they mow the greens and that's about it. The tee boxes and fairways are atrocious! If the course wasn't bad enough, the guy who runs the counter is extremely unprofessional. Safe to say, I won't be returning.

Haven't played this courses for a while so I was anxious to play it after the course I intended to play was closed. The greens were in good shape overall and faster than I expected. The rate was more than reasonable: $23 for 9 holes and a cart. Hopefully the grass on the fairways is cut shorter the next time I play. The grass length was the same whether your ball landed in the fairway or the rough. Course staff said it was left long to prevent the fairways from drying out.

This course continued to prove itself and is in the best shape I've seen it in 5 years. Great 9 hole track give it a shot