Crown Point Country Club

That eighteenth green will live in your nightmares though. Not gonna lie, that thing is almost sadistic. Overall a wonderful course for a good price, that being said.

We have played Crown Pointe in the past so I knew the course quirky sloped fairways on some holes. The conditions this year were terrific even given the very dry spell.

Greens were very fast but true and challenging. Our pace was great likely due to a midafternoon tee time as we played it less than 3.5 hrs. We were only a twosome.

They have done a great job of managing the rough around the green keeping it a challenge again given very dry summer.

I will definitely play here again anytime I am in the area.

They said there was a couple of local courses and we chose this one. Friendly staff, the pace of play was excellent, and the course was in good shape. Looking forward to playing it again next time we come visit.

The course was in good condition for the lack of rain.

Course was in good condition for the dry spell we are going through.

The course was in good shape even with lack of rain.

Vermonter's are obviously hardy folks, living through their winters. But, I also saw quite a few of them walking this course...which may be even tougher. I rode, and the course was still very up and down. There are some beautiful vies from elevated tee boxes. The shots look long and majestic. Then you have to play the uphill shot in to the green. I don't have slope adjust in my rangefinder, but I honestly wonder, if that is factored in, how long the 5571 yard white tees actually play. There are also a lot of fairways with serious side to side slope, and with the course being dry and fast you could easily land on one side of the fairway only to end up in the rough on the other side.

The course is beautiful, and fun! You have to think your way around it. If I am in the area again I will definitely play it.

Having seen entries about Crown Point Country Club in course guides from print media, I had been left with an unclear idea of the quality of this layout. Still, I had played the Country Club of New Hampshire, another William Mitchell design, many times, and that connection led me to believe that Crown Point might not only be a good course, it might well be a great course. I needed to judge for myself. The layout–exceeding my expectations today–proved to be exceptional, and the Crown Point experience somehow even more than that.

What is part of this experience, most notably, is friendliness. I was struck by the positive customer service from the four Crown Point staff members I met–one an executive (whom I came across by pure circumstance) and the other three employees. At most courses, nearly always I meet just one or two staff members, which reflects the general nature of the golf business. Yet Crown Point goes far beyond what is “normal,” and one indicator of excellence here is their having finished fourth among 25 recipients last year for “America’s Friendliest Public Golf Courses” (across the country in the GolfPass Golfer’s Choice awards). In my case, just one example was how one of the staff members offered me a ride back to the clubhouse, from the farthest point on the back nine, when a thunderstorm was ominous.

A second major aspect of this organization’s quality is course playing conditions, which are uniformly excellent. Tee boxes, fairways and greens are impressive, not just good, and what stands out are the amazingly well groomed fringes and greenside roughs, which I seldom see on public courses. The fairway roughs are fine, if a bit browned out in a few places–but only a few.

Layout: Some of the Best Holes

3rd: A classic short par-4 yet with the road looming dangerously past the right trees, the third plays downhill to a left-to-right tilting fairway, followed by an uphill pitch to a raised green that presents some large mounding right and a gaping bunker left.

5th: The toughest par-3 (although the three others also put up a fight) plays straight uphill–194 yards–into a two-tiered green that is best hit with a fade to get at most pin positions.

6th–A crafted gem of a hole, six is both visually stunning and highly challenging at index #3. Dropping downhill off the tee and then uphill to a well-bunkered green, a green set at 45 degrees to the fairway, the tee shot must also avoid a trio of massive left-side bunkers. Fairway six has a flat section, but it doesn’t cover as much area as you’d wish.

11th–par 5: A reachable-in-two green awaits on this downhill par-5, yet the curving, tree-lined fairway forces you to hit from its right side for a clear shot at it. To somehow make birdie, the player must consider two primary aspects on the second shot: positioning and judging the slopes, especially because the green is raised and bunker-guarded.

15th–par 5: Long and straightforward, but also elegant, with a tempting fairway set well below the high tee box. Because the hole is so open, you may choose your own best strategy (and ballflight) to approach the nearly oval-shaped green.

Key Hazards / Course Strategy:

Architect William Mitchell’s style echoes, to some degree, that of Robert Trent Jones, Sr., with its prominent use of large bunkers and multiple tees, along with a natural appearance to course terrain and features–outside of some artificially raised green complexes. On the other hand, there are some significant departures from Trent Jones: water hazards are almost minimal and bunkers appear less frequently (here they are absent on several holes), while fairways tend to be a bit wider, and they are almost never narrow. Another interesting Mitchell preference is to allow a clear opening onto every green, such that shorter hitters can run shots into the green if unable to fly them on.

The presence of trees is also critical on this course, particularly on those holes that are wood-lined. Still, the layout typically provides enough room in the roughs for some margin of error–before the trees come up. I also like the way some of the holes are relatively open, especially for a Vermont course. They are still parkland, but have a touch of linksy feel, allowing the player more airspace should they want to work the ball right or left. Smart architects, too, may give players holes that favor either a drawn or faded shot into the green. By my count, among the par-4s here are an impressive nine holes that do so: five for draws, four for fades.

The architect’s capability for finding or creating a variety of interesting and strategic green sites is also clear, as in this string of holes:

9th. Shelf-like green embedded into an open hillside; faces the tee; just at the base of the hill lies a pond.

10th. Gradually uphill approach to a two-tiered green, which is mostly encircled by woods.

11th. This par-five’s green lies at the corner of the hole, partly tucked away but still accessible from the left. The player may bounce the ball on the green using the huge left-side slope–as a strategically placed bunker guards this elevated green’s right side.

12th: Approach is best from the left side of the fairway, away from steep falloff on green’s left side; the right-side woods make it tougher from other angles. Green is blind from the fairway but the best approach shot is a draw.

Some Conclusions:

Make no mistake about it: overall, this layout has rigor: either you play well here or you’ll head home a little frustrated. From the deep tees, it slopes at 129; the scratch against par-rating is 72.5 versus 72.

William Mitchell, who served as a Navy Pilot in WWII prior to opening his construction/design firm, demonstrates a strong sense for the details at CPCC. As the famous architect (of buildings) Ludwig Mies van der Rohe famously said, “God is in the details.” Besides everything mentioned previously, Mitchell created subtle putting surfaces and a finely aesthetic look to this track, not to mention its careful, first-rate routing.

Details are just as important, as well, to Crown Point’s Superintendent, Rodney Williams, as this course’s conditioning has catapulted it into the upper echelons of Vermont golf, such that this deserves a spot among the top courses in the state. For its part, the rest of the hard-working staff absolutely knows the importance of genuine friendliness, teamwork, and customer service.

Crown Point has been the kind of place where, upon driving out the parking lot, the first thing I thought about was how soon I would return.

I play several courses thought the year in VT and NH crown point always has consistent fast greens and beautiful fairways. Fun challenging course!!! Lots of change in elevation!

Nice track. Excellent condition even with the lack of rain. Played with 3 members who were friendly and showed me some of the in and outs of the course! Will definitely be back!

Course was in great shape. Light rain off and on for the 1st 9 holes. Slightly windy for the 2nd 9 holes. Greens were fast and tough to read.

Course was in great condition, very green. Nice accommodating staff.

Had a great time. Had some rain off and on but the carts had rain covers for the clubs so it was fine.