Gillette Ridge

Had a coupon to play for $25 on a weekend. Good price but course in bad condition. Tee boxes were terrible. Greens were beat up. When me made the turn from 9 to 10 there were two foursomes in front of us on the tee which slowed play for the back nine. We finished only to find the club house/pro shop/restaurant locked up.

Clubhouse is nice
The course is a dump
For 30 w a cart - it is what it is

The fairways and greens are in great shape, but the bunkers are horrible. They are dirt and very difficult to hit out of. Its too bad because the rest of the course is in great shape and is very challenging.

I last walked this course when it hosted an ladies ING golf tournament several years ago. The layout was still very challenging and the holes having distinct challenges. The two major weaknesses are the tee boxes and the bunkers. The tee boxes were so chewed up and had so many divots. It was sometimes hard to find a place to tee up. The bunkers all had the result of a small tractor smoothing them out each morning, but all they did was press the sand into hard pack. It was very difficult to get a wedge under them. This course is owned by the same company that manages Laurel View CC in Hamden. They also have a major weakness of poor bunkers. The bunkers are so bad in Hamden that the men's club allows you to lift, rake and replace your ball. Gillette Ridge might want to consider this local rule. Also I noticed some bunkers did not even have rakes. The price was reasonable but I did not realize that it was price so low in recognition of the substandard condition of some portions of the course. I found the fairways and greens more than acceptable. I would play it again just for the challenge and beauty of layout. It is a shame that a course that was such a gem designed by Arnold Palmer does not live up to his standards. It is worth playing at a low enough price as long as you know there will be some issues.

Booked a weekday afternoon teetime for $26 for 18... course sent our twosome out starting on 10th tee- played back 9 in 1.5 hours. Some negatives include some of the tees were almost non-existant of turf & lack of yardage markers. Made the turn and were surprised to see a league teeing off on 1. Fortunately, they were welcoming us to continue on through! Great shaped course with challenges aplenty-- but with some great scoring opportunities as well.

Nice long course, had a great time. Tee boxes, fairways and greens are in great shape. Golf carts are fast!

Some fairway was narrow but straight, approach shots will play longer then yardage, you have to land the ball at the flat spot and set up for approach, perfect tee shot often turns out bad due to slopes, other then that you are good to go, greens was good and fast.

Beginning with the positives - This is a challenging course, with an interesting layout. It would definitely be a different challenge for each of the tee choices. The greens are also not just sitting flat at the end of the fairway; they are often elevated or tucked behind a challenge.
Now, on to the issues. The sand traps do not actually have any sand. They are hard pack. The greens have damage from all of the unfixed ball marks, and no one seems to replace a divot or put sand down. The tee boxes needed some work, but manageable.
The pace of play was also awful. When we arrived for our Saturday afternoon tee time, they informed us that there was a scramble tournament we would be behind (and what course schedules a scramble in the middle of the day on a Saturday). Since there was not a ranger anywhere to be found (see pace of play and ball mark and divot comments above), we often sat at tee boxes waiting (a couple of times with two foursomes already there).
It's unfortunate that an interesting design was offset by so many issues.

I thought the course was in pretty good shape considering how it has been over the past few months.

I keep remembering the course how it was a few years ago. Challenging, beautiful, and well kept. Now it's just challenging to believe anyone is taking care of the course. Yes the grass is mowed where is it growing but over all it's in below average shape. You can forget most all of the bunkers if you aren't planning to buying new wedges soon. I've seen sandier gravel pits.
Perhaps I should be frustrated with myself for thinking anyone is going to get this potentially great course into at least average shape. Short of it is I can't recommend this course until I see the most basic things improved upon.

Big improvements since the last time I played here!

This is a great layout. If it was in top condition it would be superb. There's a good mix of straightforward holes and holes that demand smart strategy. The last three holes are as good a finishing stretch as you'll find anywhere. The greens and fairways are in good shape; the traps and tees need some TLC (and money).
George Connor runs terrific instructional programs especially Red Zone Challenge.

Course was in so-so shape and looked a little tired. Course can be very penal if you are not on your game. Overall was dissapointed in the round.

Great course period. Well taken care of, groomed throughout. Cart path is paved around the course. A lot of visible wildlife, Rabbits, Deer, etc. Definitely need to play the course a few times to learn all of the challenges.

The course is tough and has huge potential. The play was slow. No starter. The sand traps were terrible. They need a lot of work. Tee areas were beat up. I think with new ownership this place will become a 5 star.

This course used to be in really nice shape, but this year something is amiss. The tee boxes were in very rough shape and the bunkers were even worse. I like the layout and it's a nice course to play but not when it's in this kind of shape.

Course could be special, conditions holding it back. Hopefully, new ownership will be found that can invest in improving it.......I heard it's currently in foreclosure

Fairways and greens were not maintained. Sand traps were like cement. Glad we got a deal to play the round, I would not be happy if I paid full price.

Fun round of golf. Very difficult approach shots on most greens. I play a lot of local public courses that don't compare to this place. It was much more challenging and taught me a thing or two about course management/strategy.

Great price but putting greens and t boxes were below Gillette standard. Not sure if that is the reason for good rates. Love the course layout but pace of play was slow with no course ranger in site to speed things up. Would play again but not during middle of the day