Winnapaug Golf Course

I'll never return to this place again. New ownership has destroyed a course which had a lot of beauty and tradition. They have been tearing down every tree in sight for two years. . Turning the land into a bald, feature-less, blah landscape. They have no distance markers and have chopped down all of the trees that provided aiming points on blind shots.. All of their membership has left and gone over to another course nearby.. All this course needed was for an owner who would inbest in a fairway aerator and to get overseeded to shore up all the grass.

I’ve played Winnapaug many times over the past 30+ years and I’m sad to say that it has fallen into such a state of disrepair that it is almost unrecognizable as a golf course. The new ownership has completely abandoned any pretense of providing a legitimate golf experience. The tee boxes and fairways are made up of hard pan dirt that plays like concrete. The greens at least have been watered, but the grass is so high there is no stimpmeter that cam measure how slow and fuzzy they are. The entire perimeter of the course has been destroyed by tree cutting and bizarre earth moving. Various tee boxes and sprinkler pumps look to be under a constant state of repair/disrepair. This course should really come with a warning at the pro shop how bad things are. This used to be a fun and somewhat quirky course to play. It’s such a shame it has been reduced to a virtually unplayable course. I can’t for the life of me figure out why they’ve let it go to the degree they have. Rumors are it’s going to be turned into condominiums . . . It won’t be a loss from a golf perspective.

I never played this course but from images I saw online it looked good, so I booked it. Single Player with Cart 18 holes, was $60. The course was shocking, terrible fairways and tee boxes. While a few holes were in good condition the majority were subpar and I have played a lot nicer courses for FAR less money. The views are nice on the back 9 looking towards the ocean but that’s about it. I probably won’t play here again.

This course has steadily deteriorated, last year I thought it was rough, looks like last year was great compared to yesterday, tee boxes are deplorable, fairways are non grass, greens are ok considering drought in area, overall course is not worth your time! Many better courses in short driving distance, take a pass on this one, also a pack of biting bugs attacked in swarms on the 3 holes that are next to ocean, overall not a good experience at all! ! STAY AWAY

Fairways are hardpan. Greens are OK. T-boxes bare.

The greens were good, however there was no grass on the fairways. T-boex were bare as well. Very poor condition. Too bad.

I play here about once a year when I return to Rhode Island to visit family and I’m saddened to see the conditions. Patchy fairways, burnt out rough and unkempt tee boxes. Greens were mostly fine. The pro shop dude was friendly and the round was quick and easy, but I hope they bring the course back into decent shape next year.

South RI based, 14HC. Hate to leave a review like this, but when your course is in such a state of disrepair, you had better have some kind of signage up about what to expect before paying.

Fairways were hard as concrete, with a thin layer of dusty dirt over rock hard ground. Tee boxes were completely neglected with some being unplayable because you cannot get a tee into the ground. The greens were green, but the amount of crab grass and weeds makes anything off the green very difficult.

For your money, go anywhere else. No other course is in this bad of condition.

Guys. This place is a mess. 17 HC from RI originally.

I hate doing this but man, this mornings 6:33am tee time was a bad experience beginning to end.

The starter was late, but i was able to go out by myself which i was excited about. Two biggest issues here:

1. The conditions are the worst I’ve seen anywhere. Desert and no grass anywhere to be found including the tee boxes. The greens were a 6/10. Chopped up and tire marks on a couple holes. Area around the greens are crab grass and dirt. Man, so disappointing.

2. I played in 18 in 3 hours flat walking. Which wasn’t nearly fast enough for two members who played into me several times and almost took my head off on #6. They crawled up my you-know-what the entire round and certainly were not apologetic about it.

Just an unpleasant experience. I can’t recommend this course to even beginners, the surfaces are so dry It’s difficult to strike anything well. Also if you don’t play at a pros pace you get hit into. Yikes.

Great views, interesting course. links style and there fairways were dry as a bone but great carry for drives. Greens consistent, Played 18 un 3 hours

The good: beautiful course design. This was my 3rd Don Ross course and they continue to impress. Good variety and challenging for any skill level. Greens were also in very good shape considering late in season. Scenic views especially on 10-13. Great service at front desk.

The bad: Tee boxes in many cases were borderline unplayable. Completely dried out on many holes. Fairways also very dry and burnt out in many areas. While the greens were well maintained, its clear they need to implement an irrigation system. Hard to recommend playing here otherwise - for $50 there are courses in much better shape.

Dispight the Donald Ross design, the course is in need of major maintenance and upkeep. Fairways are burned with no grass in spots to place your ball. We were extremely disappointed considering we took a day off to play.
Greens are challenging and in good shape. Nothing else appealing. For the price, too expensive to play a round on dirt.

I remember playing here in the 1990's and early 2000. Great greens, beautiful fairways and tee boxes , just a great Donald Ross design . Well today this coarse was no way near that. I must admit the greens were in great shape . But the fairways and tees not very good. I play here often because the layout is spectacular especially the ocean holes.It seems that it is taking a long time to get the course back to what it was. They have made some improvement ,i hope they continue.

Greens were in good condition. Tee boxes and fairways in need of water.

The course is a fun layout near the ocean with occasional views of the salt ponds and Misquamicut beach. The drought has not been kind, as many fairways and tee boxes are burnt out and it is difficult at times to find grass and a soft surface to hit off, which plays havoc with my chipping. If they could pour water on the course to fix these conditions along with over seeding, it would go a long way towards improving the aforementioned conditions. The greens are in good condition, so they must be watering them frequently. We are in our second heat wave, and I’m sure it is not helping them rectify the conditions.