Bellows Falls Country Club

Solid walkable layout with several u Kaye holes. The punch bowl green is out of this world and wild to play.

Courses from golf’s Golden Age--the 1920’s--may be too short by today’s standards, or perhaps need modernization, or may have a few tame holes that could stand revision. Bellows Falls Country Club, however, is an outlier: a complex and classic design that has stood the test of time. A couple of the holes at BFCC may be on the easier side, as expected of any course. But every one of them features some sizeable slope or large hill to climb or descend. As well, most move over or are framed by dramatically uneven ground: a large ridge or a depression, a declivity or uprise, canted and variously sloped greens with big falloffs, or even a yawning pit, as in front of the fourth green, or an equally impressive funnel that surrounds the second putting surface.

Holes one and nine exemplify how well the architect of this gem made great choices that used the ground, from beginning to end, to full effect. At the first tee, the terrain tumbles gracefully but also dramatically downward from the clubhouse to a well-guarded green that concludes a terrific par-four; at the home hole, your drive must be slammed up over a massive and imposing hill to land on a plateau, from which your second (to this par-five) may be threaded, ideally, between a pair of bunkers. Both holes are exhilarating, strategic, imaginatively conceived, and, above all, fun to play.

Ironically, this course was not created by one of the well-known, established British Isles architects operating in this region one hundred years ago. It’s not the product of a Donald Ross or Willie Park, Jr., or Stiles & Van Kleek. As the BFCC Secretary and Treasurer Ms. Kate Harty wrote on this website last August, this happens to be the handiwork of one David “Deacon” Brown, an early British Open title holder who claimed the Claret Jug in 1886. As far as I can determine, Mr. Brown built no other courses in the U.S., but was a club professional at many clubs including four in the Northeast (two were in Massachusetts and one in New Hampshire). Even though David Brown was likely better known as the teacher of Queen Victoria, he surely had genuine talent as a golf course designer.

The ground movement allows this to play much like a British links layout, but BFCC is even more hilly and rolling than, for example, comparable courses such as Lundin (near St. Andrews) or Dooks in Ireland. The trees and woods make this course something of a hybrid, with a further nod to American parkland golf. Still, it is the frequently wide fairways that lend options to shotmaking, and nearly every shot demands a carefully chosen strategy that will vary from player to player.

The course’s perimeter consists of mostly woods and is where most of the danger lurks. Clearly, these areas don’t favor the better player, as hooks and overdraws will be swallowed quickly; you’ll seldom be reunited with your golf ball after it ventures there. Even on the hole situated in the center of the course, the fifth, a hook will disappear into a strip of woodland. But the design will punish the slicer, as well, on three tee shots: 2, 5, and 7.

My first review of two years ago details the whole course thoroughly; here are a few of today’s thoughts after my third and fourth play:

Playing Experience:

Service at the clubhouse, like our first visit here two years ago, impressed by the friendliness, helpfulness, and flexibility of those we met. A very accommodating staff. My son and I enjoyed the very good conditions and an overall quick pace. He’s two for two against me in matches here, and this course seemed to bring out our best on the second go-around. The layout is so good, we think, that it ought to be played twice, as we’ve done each visit. BFCC also benefits aesthetically from an isolated and serene country setting with a handsome backdrop of Vermont’s Green Mountains. Combine this with the beautiful look of the flowing terrain, and you can’t ask for more.

Hardest Hole: Par-4 5th, 376

The fifth--playing downhill from the tee to a tight fairway, penalizing both hooked and sliced tee shots, ending on a small, pitched green with a hidden bunker and woods rightward and a big side slope on the left--is no bargain.

Most Original Hole: Par-5 second, 528

The second, with its funnel containing a green at its base (see picture). Is there a hole like this anywhere in America? The only place I’ve seen funnels like this in the ground were at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. These happened to be the volcanoes. The neatest part about number two, anyway, is hitting your third approach shot up over the hill and into the funnel, then guessing the outcome.

More on the First Hole:

The first, one of the best 4-pars I’ve played anywhere, this 400 yarder starts with a fantastic downhill drive to a wide landing one, over which the terrain tumbles down over a hill (for longer hitters), and everywhere canted right to left. Favor the right side unless you derive pleasure from hitting out of rough. The second shot equals the first but requires more precision. Bunkers will snare an approach that drifts right--or left and short--of the raised green, but the approach can be run on, via the downslope in front of the putting surface.

Some Conclusions: Among some sixty or more nine-hole courses I’ve played over my lifetime, this easily makes the top five. BFCC not only delivers great and engrossing golf, but a few dramatic flourishes that fall well outside the box. Mr. Brown also balances a couple of pitiless and tight holes here with a majority that emphasize subtlety and strategic play. The club’s website sums it up pleasantly when its writer asserts: “We believe we have an above average nine-hole course that offers numerous challenges to all golfers.” I can’t help but comment that the “above average” self-description is an admirable understatement.

For some American golfers, the sight of an almost purely natural golf course that follows the terrain, as does Bellows Falls Country Club in Vermont, might seem a bit too simple. Yet what they should come to discover here, in the form this nine-hole masterpiece, is something of a paradox: a small collection of striking holes that at first appears to have been designed by nature; yet, clearly, were made complex by the subtle, guiding control of shrewd and deeply insightful design work. It may become quickly apparent to many by the time they step on the first tee at this club. Here, we start off facing a sweeping and thrilling sight, partly comprised of brilliant views of the Green Mountains. And with that, we should anticipate a nine-hole round that likely will examine every aspect of our golf games to the core.

This opening drive at Bellows Falls favors a slight draw that flies down a huge and lengthy downslope, landing on a leftward-tilting fairway. After the hole flattens in the 150-yard zone, another downhill shot is to be played into a green, notably flanked by a huge (35 X 10 yards) bunker short and left. Relatively flat but with subtle undulations, this first green accepts well-judged run-up approaches over its false front. It is a stunning opening hole, perfectly challenging but not harsh, the golf designer’s equivalent of a lead-off homerun into the upper deck.

The 2nd hole, a 528 yard par-5, is more akin to a grand slam, a Ruthian blast flown clear out of the ballpark. The hole flows dramatically upward, returning to the clubhouse over the same natural terrain. The lay-up shot that is the second one (for most) is received by a more forgiving target area than the first, though here the ground tumbles, then rises abruptly. But it is this hole's finale that verges on the incredible: a massive, funnel-like dell, some two stories deep, harbors a small putting surface. No greenside bunkers frame the surface, but the funnel-walls around it angle down sharply enough to make effective greenside pitch shots a tall order.

The bold start here continues on the 195-yard par-three 3rd that follows, tumbling straight downhill from a tee perched 40-50 feet above green-level. The small green appears painfully small from the tee-box and is well guarded by three bunkers.

On the fourth tee you'll be facing another par three, shorter (175 yards) in length but less friendly. The reason is obvious: a massive pit is taunting you to hit your best mid-iron or hybrid over it to reach the putting surface. For those who wish to run the ball onto the green, a scant 15 yards is the only cushion provided between canyon and green. Tilting slightly from left-to-right and front down to back, this green will hold only the well-struck approach. Lying in wait behind it are three shallow bunkers, all invisible from the tee.

What follows on the next tee, at the 376-yard 5th, is the prospect of the course's most easily missed and well-protected landing zone. Unleashing your driver is likely a grievous mistake here, unless, perhaps, you can propel a golf ball over long distances as straight as Jason Dufner (and he himself might back off here). The downhill tee shot must find a 20-yard wide, angled fairway (it doglegs some 30 degrees), which is sided by deep woods to the left and a long row of mature conifers to the right. Adding to the complications is a huge right-side downslope that graciously accepts errant slices and pushes, and the threat of out-of-bounds looms at the base of the tree line. The whole driving setup verges on the overwrought, though, as slicers have no room to use before the hole’s fall-off, and even a mild hook will end up gone, given only ten yards of rough past the ultra-narrow fairway.

The sixth delivers the course’s best straightforward driving challenge. The landing zone may stifle even booming drives because the fairway’s upper level has an angled upslope, demanding more length to surmount the farther leftward your tee ball flies. If your drive, however, has clambered up or flown onto the fairway's upper level, it will probably be by crossing it on the shorter right side (or maybe not—if you can drive it 280 yards; then go left). The reward is a direct view of the green on the approach, rather than a blind shot.

On seven, gear up for another possible blind approach, unless you are bold enough to drive the plateau on the fairway’s second half, a risky proposition; but note that the green's surrounding trees are adequate directional markers. A similarly small green takes no prisoners: a precipitous, 30-foot falloff to the left may leave you scrambling for double-bogey (I'm not kidding), while the slightly-less-diabolical woods to the right could lead to a lost ball.

The eighth hole is arguably the best among the trio of excellent par-3's at Bellows Falls CC, but surely the most beautiful. From a high tee, your tee shot flies downward to a green sided by woods on the right, with open space leftward. The green is actually fronted by two bunkers, but only the left is visible from the tee. This plays like a classic par-3 out of the British Isles because the tee shot is best run up into the up-sloping green, front-to-back. Short-game challenges around the 8th are rife, not the least of which is putting the severely tilted green itself.

The ninth, a par-5, provides a rugged journey home. Not far off the tee begins a stunningly steep and cyclopean hill, whose overall shape and dimensions are reminiscent of the 18th at Yale University Golf Course (I visited and played it several times as a member of the Columbia University Golf Team). The tee shot is exhilarating, and must be hit with height; hit a low drive off this tee, and the hilltop may swat it down like a fly. A short 438 yards, the hole’s elevated fairway makes it play longer.

Another superlative nine-hole golf course nearby in New Hampshire is the Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek-designed Hooper Golf Course. While Bellows Falls does not quite match Hooper (I played the latter in June), its many great holes cannot be discounted. The BFCC website does not attribute any architect to its layout; but this course could—conceivably—have been the work of Stiles and Van Kleek (though such comparisons, even if based on educated guesses, are purely speculative). Perhaps tellingly, the overall style of this course resembles that of Hooper: the first holes on each are remarkably similar; imposing elevation changes are frequent; even strategic elements seem comparable, not to mention the high quality and individual character of nearly every hole here. But all of that is still not enough, in truth, and I could counter-argue these points with the contention that the greens are more strongly contoured, as a whole, at Hooper. Here, the subtly—rather than heavily—contoured greens (excepting #8) would have been a significant departure from what is clearly visible in most of the nine greens at Hooper. I would also be surprised if Stiles and Van Kleek had designed #5, which seems too penal for their tastes. Moreover, the bunkering shows no tell-tale signs of congruence. It seems even more doubtful that this is a Donald Ross design (that other great 20th century architect who built many New England courses). For one thing, Ross’ greens are even more dramatically contoured, based upon my observations, than those of S & VK.

After arriving at the course today, we met at the front counter Jerry, whom I had spoken with earlier on the phone. The embodiment of hospitality, he took us out on the clubhouse’s front and back decks before we teed off and showed us, for the first four visible holes, what to expect and how to play each. This quick but perfectly apt preview was a first in my golfing travels.

The clubhouse at BFCC is quite agreeable: it’s spacious enough and very pleasant inside, with great views of the course and tasty, reasonably-priced food. My son David and I played with a woman’s club member on the last two holes of the double-nine we played, and she told us she loved her home course. After he shot a 78, David asserted the same opinion. I’ll call Bellows Falls a rare green diamond in the Green Mountains of Vermont, a must-play for serious—or even fun-loving—golfers.

See previous.

Hidden gem, no doubt. I'd recommend this course to even my snobbiest of golf nerd friends. Tough to really judge the course conditions...it's Vermont after a really tough winter and early in the season. But the fairways were smooth and the greens putted true. The first two holes are world class, I'm struggling to think of many courses I've played that have a better opening 2. The second hole is incredible and might be one of the ten best holes I've ever played, it's that good. Also, a fantastic set of par 3 holes. If you're anywhere around here, do yourself a favor and stop in.