Hartford Golf Club

Foursome in front of me refused to let me play through

Hartford is a semi private course with moderate play. Greens are in good shape and consistent throughout. Pace of play is very good, I would recommend if you haven't tried it. Easy walking course.

The first four holes were almost unplayable because of wetness. My feet were partially submerged standing on the tee box at #1. Shots into the green were 100% plugged. Trees that had been cut down were not yet cleaned up. All of these issues are weather related and can't be held against the club. We need some sunshine and warmth!

Decent value for $34 but in 18 holes we got one beverage. Would have liked to see the beverage person just slightly more

Nice course with an even nicer layout. Greens and tee boxes were in great shape. Fairways for the most part we’re very nice as well.

Great day to play and the course was relatively empty. We waited on 8 holes on the front nine and flew through the back. It was a very nice day and experience.

Let me start out by saying I have been looking forward to getting to this course for awhile now. Although it's semi private, the membership fees seem to be very reasonable compared to other public courses in the area. With this in mind I had hopes of checking the course out for potential membership in the upcoming years, so it was an anticipated round of golf. With the COVID situation the course opened for play on April 24 and we got out there the first open Saturday. With the early season golf we didn't have high hopes for conditioning and weather but we pleasantly surprise with both. The weather held all day in the low-mid 50's with some cloud coverage making the walk pretty easy throughout.

With the COVID, the course did following all guidelines: pay online, show up 10 minutes prior to tee time, one group on 1st tee at a time and the course maintained no rakes, water, ball washers throughout. As I tend to do, I was running a few minutes late and hastily made my way to the 1st tee with my group already waiting. The Pro quickly popped his head out the door to confirm I was with the three on the tee and away we went. The course had good drainage, it had been fairly wet in the area prior to playing and the only hole the was a little wet was #1 right out of the gate. Once we made it past that hole didn't have to worry about mud balls, or soaking wet socks, always a plus.

The course seems to be in the middle of a tree removal program, the number of stumps showed they were well on their way along with a good number of trees marked with a X, future removal imminent. The course was fairly playable even with the overgrowth of trees and I couldn't help but think of the sightlines that will be available with more trees removed. The entire round I kept thinking, "This will be something once cleaned up a little more." Greens were recently aerated but didn't putt any different they were filling in nicely and rolled true at the time, will be nice to see later in the summer again.

Pros:

Interesting Layout - a few back and forth holes but good use of land variety of directions.

Easy walk - not extremely hilly, rolled with the land, no manufactured stairs and climbs

Payable - Even with trees it was really playable, water comes into play on 2 holes and only penalizing with poor/errant shots. Entire round played with 1 ball is always a plus.

Rate - At a walking rate of $23 for 18 on a weekend, in this area that's a tough beat.

Cons

Not overly interesting, and the course is pretty straightforward. That said the stretch of holes 11-14 were really good. Long par 3, par 5 requiring some planning, short par 4, followed by a par 4 that's well protected was the highlight.

End Result

Really liked the course and experience, will certainly get back a few time this summer to check on conditions and on course amenities. Left me thinking this would be a great club to join for a league or weekly game.

Great fairways,greens aerated? but still rolled well.Tough par 4s. Will go back.

Course played very long today. Windy and just got 2-3 inches if rain. Fairways and greens just in awesome shape. Greens a rad slow to my liking but that was do to the rain. Not that tough of a course and very little elevation change. Good amount if slope on some greens and just the right amount of sand traps. Got in 18 holes in 3 hours (2 of us). Will be back to play.

The very bumpy, often poorly cut, and at times wet fairways make the course play longer than it is listed. The first hole, which is around 400 yards and plays uphill, was so overwatered for the last 60 yards to the green that every step I took produced a splash. It made the hole play extremely long. The greens were o.k. The layout itself was also decent if not exciting. Pace of play was fair, but the real sore spot is the fairways.
The club house is modest, and I did not try the dining facility.