The Golf Club at Equinox

This course is another beauty. I liked it because it was not so hilly. There are several holes where you have to play upwards but fairways are not so sloped that you’re hitting ball above or below your feet all the time like some others I played in the area. Nice assortment of hole types. Never dull or same. Forgiving, open fairways mostly, are confidence boosters. I’m a twenty handicap though, so I don’t yet have that much experience on different courses and may be missing the subtleties of this course. Played with a local who really helped with course knowledge. Equinox was the last course I played on my two week cat sitting odyssey or I would have played it a second time.

Driving with my family toward the Equinox Hotel from the east, I couldn’t help but notice, in succession, five of Equinox Golf Club’s rolling, hilly holes from Union Street Fork in Manchester, Vermont. Having had this excellent, passenger’s view of an impressive but hardly fading 96-year-old track, my appetite for a strong test of golf was already whetted. Next day, I was not disappointed with the layout during my first play here.

THE LAYOUT:

Walter Travis, who was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1979, laid out Equinox in 1926, not long before his death. Rees Jones executed renovations in 1991. It’s striking that Walter Travis’ most famous work, collaboratively designed with John Duncan Dunn, is only yards down Vermont Route 7a here in Manchester: the private Ekwanok Country Club, built at the turn of the twentieth century.

In terms of design features, Travis’ early work was noteworthy for what were American innovations when he brought them into being. One of them was his use of more strongly and cleverly contoured greens (which tended to be part of well-defended green complexes) than were the norm in the early 1900’s. While few of the Equinox greens bring to mind the even larger contours favored, often, by Donald Ross or Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek, there are some that require great caution–especially downhill–to putt. What I also see more of here (that is typically Travis) is his emphatic use of the site’s terrain features, such that green sites and fairway contours are often exploited fully. And while these two qualities may be commonplace today among talented architects, they were not so much at the outset of Travis’ era, when courses tended to be bland and without sufficient ground movement.

The key features at Equinox are the carefully wrought green complexes. Almost all are above grade–and many to a strong degree. Their elevation is complemented by the complex and elaborate bunkering that Travis favored–and here clearly evident. It’s fair to conclude that this is a second-shot course more than a driving test, although from the tees a few holes will rein you in. The key ball striking task: managing to hit enough of these elevated (even hilly) greens without falling prey to the often deep greenside bunkers.

And, while Equinox presents several holes that are quite straightforward though not unremarkable, it also poses its share of demanding challenges on standout holes. Here are the ones that I thought, after this first play, to be worth thumbnails (yardages from back tees):

Five: par-4, 336.

Short two-shotter, but both scenic and drivable and with a blind tee shot that plunges downhill to a flattish landing zone some 200 to 230 yards from the tee, after which the hole drops further to a well guarded green with a woodsy backdrop.

Seven: par-5, 522.

A hole that seems pedestrian off the tee, but then–given an unexpected dropoff from the fairway that runs straight downhill to the road–you’ll need to successfully traverse Union Street Fork (a well-traveled road) to find the continuation of seven’s fairway beyond it. The hole concludes on an elevated green surrounded by seven bunkers.

Eight: Par-4, 398.

Nice driving hole to an offset fairway with mounding right, three bunkers left. Then a beauty of an uphill approach to the perched putting surface, where four bunkers, embedded into the hillside, are lurking.

Thirteen: par-4, 423.

The 13th hole is among the hardest but also best holes I’ve encountered this year. It’s a terrific volcano template (in this case, a hole’s green must be built up in the air on at least three sides), and its green is further protected by an embedded left-side bunker and a tall upslope on its backside. Not only this, but yardage runs over 400 yards from the white tees, its bending fairway is contoured, and you may well have to negotiate the green’s spine when putting it.

Fifteen; par-5, 478

Short but ruggedly entertaining par-5, beginning with a tee shot over a dell to an awkwardly bending landing zone (the fairway eventually moves leftward). The second shot will likely be a blind shot to a swerving fairway, while the green is elevated a bit above grade and well bunkered.

Eighteen: par-4, 417

A strong closer here doglegs around a prominent tree, so the drive is challenging. What should follow is a long uphill strike to a green set upon a small hilltop, with only a small opening to the putting surface.

CONDITIONS:

Not quite excellent, although on fairways, tees, roughs and greens there is nothing to criticize. The only hiccup came in the bunkers–though, somewhat surprisingly, not all of them. Perhaps the majority, in fact, were groomed and maintained impeccably with good sand. But our foursome found many (I’m not sure what the percentage was) impossible to gauge accurately because they–the brownish ones—had a thin veneer of sand over what was essentially hard-packed dirt. Given this, there are mainly two possibilities: your wedge bounces excessively on the underlying dirt, exposing its leading edge, or the dirt grabs the head when you try to dig into it too hard. Neither result will be desirable.

SERVICE:

Mostly strong, but especially from Jeff, who was very helpful–outstanding, really–in providing some of the backdrop to the history of the course and its designers. He, and the woman whom I met in the clubhouse the day before I played the round, were both friendly and accommodating. I stayed this week at the Equinox Hotel for three nights, and had some time upon arrival to take some course photos. Drinks, pricey at the clubhouse, were nonetheless accompanied by fine bar service.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE ON THE COURSE:

I had a terrific time with Roberto and Richard, who paired up with my son and me. Both were avid golfers, both made good conversation. We were never bored, so it ranks as one of the top experiences, certainly, that I’ve been fortunate to have in 2022. The pace was excellent as well.

SOME CONCLUSIONS:

Equinox delivers a good deal of intriguing and challenging golf; I would consider it a safe pick to be among first-rate Vermont venues with public access. This should certainly tempt those fans of old-school, classic-American golf with some parkland verve. Bunker design is outstanding, even though their overall conditioning disappoints. Still, the rest of the course is groomed superbly. Were I to take another, more extensive golf trip in Southern Vermont, I would return here. The tranquil course scenery and its mountain backdrops are captivating.

If you're looking for an enjoyable round of golf in a spectacular setting and near-perfect course conditions, this is your place. If you're looking for a challenge go to Green Mountain National.

Hoping someone from GN actually reads this. I was a dedicated customer. Have been for years. Now there is no real advantage. As a premium member, that I paid for in May, I used to not have any fees. Now I really get no big advantage for being a member.

I will not be renewing my membership and will stop recommending the club to anyone.

Greatly dissatisfied.

I booked a tee time on golf now at the equinox this is the second time I've played there it's a very nice course great staff excellent condition course fairways and greens are above par great improvements all over however the price of some entities are a little extreme if I do say so myself for instance a cart rental for 18 holes is roughly $27 for one person and my golf buddy bought a Gatorade from the cart boy which cost him $4 for a 12 oz I paid $7 for 8 oz can of beer little pricey if you ask me for an 8 oz it should be no more than $4 and for Gatorade no more than $3 at the prices that they're charging for drinks they're making four times a profit which is not ethical especially during the summer hours when we have very very high humidity and they do not allow coolers at the course so you were forced to either deal with the heat and humidity and possibly succumb to heat exhaustion or have an extra $30 for drinks to play an 18-hole course

Great day that had the threat of rain all day…. Great conditions on tee boxes., fairways and greens, only saw one golfer all day on course due to threat of rain. We played 18 in just about : hours, staff was great

Great day. Staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Course was in fantastic condition. Pro shop is full of wonderful things and a very gracious gentleman was working the desk. Great day all around

It’s a treat to play this course every time I am up in Manchester. Tough course with lots of risk reward opportunities.