Gillette Ridge

The course was in amazing shape for being early spring and after a lot rain. The course is certainly challenging and has really turned around under new management. Bring an extra sleeve of balls with you.

Early Spring round on the first decent weather day we have had. Gillette Ridge was packed and the pace of play was pretty dismal. Just over 5 hours for 18. Everybody was rusty and there were pins set like it was the Master. How about near the middle of the green for a couple weeks! It also slows down when egos get in the way. Watched the group in front of us hit it 180 off the Blue Tees all day so you get the drift. If everyone played the correct tees it would have maybe been a little better. Hard for someone from the course to tell a group to move up....shouldn't be, but it was hard to watch. Course was in decent shape for early season.

I hadn't played this course for over a year as it was suffering from poor maintenance. I had heard that they have since worked on it to get it back to where it was a few years ago so I decided to give it a try again (a good price from Golf Now made the decision easy). I'm happy to report that conditions have improved and I would recommend the course to others. Note that many believe this course falls under the "extremely challenging" category - and it does if you insist on playing from the "tips". If you play the white tees and you become familiar with the layout, the course is "getable" however there are big scores lurking on many holes if you're not on your game - our foursome had an enjoyable experience (despite not all of us bringing our "A Game"). Also note - "Happy Hour" pricing in the bar would be welcome. I'll be back.

This course has come a long way since I played here 6 or 7 years ago. Pretty tough course but fair. Nice interesting layout. Fairways are in great condition, nice sand in the bunkers, nice level tee boxes. The greens had been punched 3 weeks before we played so they were still bumpy and sandy but still rolled decent and will be nice come spring. Got a good deal on golf now paid $39 but there regular rate is around $70 which I believe is a bit much. Every bit of a $55 course but not $70.

Course was in Great Shape for the time of year. Had a wonderful late Fall round of golf. Weather helped out with a high of 44.

You can feel safe going to the "Ridge" again. This is not a waste of $. The holes are still extremely difficult but the horrendous conditions are gone. There are still some problem areas but the greens are back and the bunkers at least have sand. Some of the holes just need work. The design never really worked and people just found it too much of a mess. Hole #2 still has a ridiculously hard approach to a green that has no bail out area with a cliff on one side and water on the other three. #5 is a mess, the bunker on the back hill was removed but the hole needed it even though the shot was hard to get out of it on to the green. The back nine also has some holes that will perplex you and make you say what were they thinking, especially 17 and 18. Nonetheless it will make you think and work hard for a good score. Give it another chance.

Finally got out to play Gillette Ridge last month for the first time since the reopen... Just have to say how happy i am that this course is back and in great condition once again! One of my favorite layouts of all time, almost every hole is memorable. The course was in fantastic shape and the staff was superb. I will definitely be visiting again!!

Hi great course. Challenging and interesting. In really good shape. If we hadn't picked such a cold and windy day it would have been perfect.

Gillette Ridge has had a bit of a roller-coaster history, with more downs than ups. It hit its low point in 2016, fully closing for a few months. But it's open again, and it was rounding back into decent shape when I played it while in CT in May. I've always enjoyed the Arnold Palmer layout, which does skew a bit severe in places, but it generally playable from the right set of tees. The long par-4 18th might be the toughest finisher in the Nutmeg State.

Bad experience from start to finish. Manager Lucas lied about play time and course conditions. I found fictitious items added to my bill. I overheard Lucas boasting that most customers don't realize that he has signed them up for their monthly "Players Club." and that it is almost impossible to cancel the continued monthly billing. Sad that such a potentially nice facility is run by such management that taints the entire experience--- Play if you have 6 hours; HOLD YOUR WALLET!

I have always liked plahing here but lately it appears that communication from golfnow to the coirsare non existant. Twice now my tee time has been back logged and the course extremely slow. I walked off last time because it took 1 1/2 hours to play 4 holes with 3 groups and each hole. Poor place of play and no rangers

Played as a foursome, all pretty good golfers. Three some in front of us kept trying to play from the blues. 2 out of 3 had no business hitting from the blues. Only ranger that came by asked them if the three some in front of them was playing fast enough. On a par 3 one of them hit a tee shot that almost landed on top of himself, no lie. Started at 1:30 and was unable to finish the round. Totally unacceptable. Course was in good shape and got a great rate but unless they get a grip on the pace issue it’s not worth the aggravation.

As some have suggested, this is very near a country club experience in terms of course conditions (greens in particular) and the courtesy of the staff. The layout is a little quirky, with several short holes that require some strategy and many quite challenging holes. Bunkering, green shape and a variety of contours on the greens make them enjoyable, if difficult, to putt. Some local knowledge goes a long way here, as a few holes have features that can be deceiving. One example is the second, a medium length par-5, that is guarded on the left front by a bunker, which from the fairway appears to be near the green, but it's about 25 yards short of the green, which leads to consistently short approaches. There are several substantial forced carries over marshy areas to reach greens that are often "perched," making precision critical.

Perhaps I can sum this course up best by saying that the more I play it, the more I like it, and I plan to play it often in the future.

We went back to Gillette again, we wanted to try it again. The course was seriously overbooked and once again there was no action taken by the course to remedy pace of play. It is a great course but book before noon and maybe look over the number of cars before you go in?

I’m so pleased with the reopening of this course! As nice as any private club I’ve played. Kudos to the entire organization at Gillette Ridge for reviving such a marvelous gem.

We went out as a twosome and the course added a single with us. He was a good golfer and a nice guy. We immediately were told the course did not have carts available and there was a delay in times. This can happen anywhere. We were behind a group that was slow but they had a group in front of them that was unbelievably slow. We were not invited, or able, to play through. In the New England October a 1:40 starting time should not yet be an issue, however we had were not able to get to the turn until 3 hours later. There was no possible way we would be able to get the rest of the round in. The staff was friendly but firm in that we had booked through Golfnow and thus would not get the pass the group behind us received .Frustrating afternoon at a nice course.

Fairways and greens very good condition, golf carts are very good and the cart paths are in very good shape . Cant wait to play there again.

. . . but not anymore. Played it when it first opened and it was in terrible shape -- greens and fairways spotty with grass coverage (they opened it too soon) and didn't like the layout. Still didn't like it in the following years as I found that playing from the blues it just beat me up and was too penal. A few months ago, tried again -- this time from the whites and it was a real pleasure. Same experience this week. Shortening the course let me hit less than driver at times and the challenge was still there, since most of the trouble is in green surrounds and on the greens themselves. Conditioning is fantastic. Fairways cut low so if you hit it in the fairway you get the run-out you deserve. Greens lightning fast, but pure, with humps and mounds that greatly affect each putt. This course is now one of my favorites.

Well maintained, somewhat challenging, but not well managed by starter with pace of play - 4 groups all waiting on each other.

I was surprised by the great condition of the course. The greens and fairways were perfectly manacured. The challenging layout has a variety of hazards, waste areas, complemented by a number picturesque small ponds. It was a great day, finished off with a drink and lunch on their covered patio.