Wintonbury Hills Golf Course

The course was in great condition other than a few sand traps which could have been raked before play. Staff is very friendly. GPS on carts is a big help

Found a great GolfNow deal for Wintonbury, $37 for 18 holes on a Saturday at 5pm.

Course was well-maintained as always, place of play was good. Usually the wait time was only a minute or two on each tee if we didn't struggle on the previous hole.

Bunkers were in great shape, greens rolled very true. Pin placements were overall not too difficult. #13 was a really tough one, but none were unfair.

Staff was great in helping me locate a wedge I left behind on the course.

The one criticism I have is that the carts are way too over-sensitive in regards to the auto-shutdown program near rough and off-limits areas. One time it warned us to get back to the fairway while we were still IN the fairway.

But other than that, another fantastic round at Wintonbury. One of the best and most accessible courses in CT, IMO.

This is easily one of the best tracks in the state. From tee to green, the course was in impeccable shape. Challenges abound, but if you are a decent ball-striker and can figure out the greens (fast, but true!) you can score well here.

If you are from CT and haven't played here yet, you definitely need to add it to your list.

Wish time: these guys should take over Gillette Ridge and resurrect that place!

The course was in great shape with fast greens, which take some getting used to. Starter was superb. Pace of play was a bit slow and no sign of a Marshall to push some of the foursomes.

Always a pleasure to play. This course does not disappoint and let's you just play golf.

Paid for carts. Staff was extremely rude and told us that carts weren't available due to gps not working properly. Then halfway through the round, they were giving out carts to groups starting behind us. Clubhouse members were not pleasant or helpful. For a top rated course. I or the group I was with will not be going back to this course. They lost the business of about 15 players.

I have played this course many times before thru Golfnow and was able to get significant price reduction on peak times on weekends. This year I was not able to play as it is a bit pricey and the course did not have any discounts on weekends when I looked.The course is always in shape and Greens are one of the best of area courses. We played in early november weather was in the low fiftys. Wish I knew that the greens had been airated week ago so they werent perfect but had a good time.
Will refer a friend but again wish they would put out more Tee time discounts on Sundays in the morning.

The design of this course is a nice change from the standard Connecticut "keep it between the trees" course. I really enjoyed the openness (there are 4 tree-lined holes to remind you you're still in CT). A somewhat steady 10-15 mph wind made club and shot selection a little more challenging but my game could use a little more thought anyway. :-)

I didn't use the offsite driving range and decided to chip and putt on the practice green behind the clubhouse. A wise choice given the firmness of the greens.

The cart restrictions I read so much about are similar to those in Florida and are not at all onerous. It's not the cart's fault when you miss these wide fairways. Even when a fairway is missed, the rough keeps it from running too far.

Course was in excellent condition and the staff was both professional and friendly. I'm not sure why some reviewers expect to be pampered for a $70 round. The post round pub grub was a little better than standard fare as well.

I drove 70 miles to play and was not at all disappointed and will return (unfortunately not as much as I would like).

All in all a great course, I play there 3-4 times a year, greens were fast despite the dew on them which never really dissipated (10:20 start and there was still a little moisture on 18 green when we got there). Rest of course still in great shape. Staff was great with one exception, the only down fall was the was the person running the tavern. We were a little late getting to course, ran in and wanted to get something to drink to start, place was empty, called out twice but NO ONE responded so off I went to first tee!! Carts have GPS and on hole 7 screen comes up with food order. OK now were are getting somewhere, put in order before we tee off on #8 a par 5 played #9 par 3, get to clubhouse and have to wait 20 minutes for food to be done (burger ,fries, turkey sand) so we end up losing our place on #10. Just that one wrinkle puts a "bad taste" in our mouths for the day (sorry lol), so much so we don't go in after the round.

It's a pleasure to play in the first group to tee off, and the round played on Labor Day was no exception. While the course has an ample share of challenging holes, there are no gimmicks (except for maybe the 16th green with its devilish left to right incline that is not apparent from the approach). What really sets Wintonbury apart from other municipal courses is its contoured and very fast greens. I regularly play other public courses in Central Connecticut, but the others feature much slower putting surfaces. Too many 3-putts prevented me from breaking 80, but I look forward to the next time.

VERY GOOD LAYOUT. REQUIRES TEE SHOTS TO THE PROPER AREAS, THOUGH THE FAIRWAYS ARE VERY GENEROUS IN SIZE. APPROACH SHOTS CAN BE DIFFICULT IF YOU CAN'T SPIN THE BALL. HITTING SHORT OF THE GREENS FOR A RUNUP IS A GOOD OPTION. GREENS VERY SLICK AND TRICKY IF YOU AREN'T FAMILIAR WITH THEM. RECOMMEND PLAYING AT LEAST YOUR FIRST TIME WITH SOMEONE FAMILIAR WITH THE COURSE. NO DRINK CART OUT ON A VERY WARM DAY.

I moved from California, and I've been scouting courses in Connecticut that lived up to my expectations of some of the better public courses I played frequently out west. Wintonbury Hills golf course is excellent. 4 sets of tees, good luck finding that at many public courses in CT. Well maintained fairways, rough, bunkers, and greens. The practice green is large and in excellent shape.

The staff was very friendly, because it makes me feel slightly better about the following...

Complaints:

Golf carts — The automated governing system on the golf carts is the worst experience I have EVER had as a golfer in 20 years playing golf. It's poorly tuned, and once I drove in the rough (the rough!) off the fairway on the #4 par, which was down a medium grade. The cart stopped and would only move in reverse. The cart did not have enough power, traction, or speed to reverse up the hill. I had to request assistance from the pro shop. The cart governor system was implemented as if children were allowed to drive. PLEASE CHANGE THIS, PLEASE. Re-negotiate with the insurance company, or whatever policy forces most of this, it kills the experience.

Driving range — Do not take your golf clubs out of your car if you intend on going to the range before your round because the range is 1/2 mile away and it's only accessible using your car. I loaded up my golf cart after I had paid for my round and up sold the "Advantage Card", which I'll get to later, and was given a range token. I went outside, and looked for the range only to be told of it's inaccessibility. I understand the unfortunate distance, but TELL CUSTOMERS before letting them leave the pro shop! "First time here? Well, the driving range is..." The golf pro, or manager said I could leave my cart and clubs at the pro shop (under view of security camera) if I wanted to take a few clubs in my car to the range. That was redeeming, but also, that's the service I would expect.

Advantage Card — I was up-sold on a discount card, which I welcome, but not when it offers the same discounts (15%) as GolfNow and EZLinks for $100. The EZLinks system was broken, and I originally arrived after trying to book on that system at a 19% discount, but then had to pay full price when I arrived. That is not the customers fault. Honor the discount offered on a system that prevents booking, or it's bait n' switch.

The experience as a first time customer is about impressions, and there are obviously a lot of issues at this facility. The golf course is excellent, but that doesn't excuse everything else.

Reall enjoyed this course. Open Links style layout. Looks open. Looks can be deceiving . Makes you place the ball off the tee and then land the ball in yhe correct spot on the green. Otherwise plan to 3 putt a lot. Fun course. Beautiful .

I felt like I was a member at a top-notch private course.

Starter, George, is one of the best I've ever met and is a tremendous asset to this operation. He is informative, helpful and you can tell he really wants you to enjoy yourself.

Conditions were excellent, loved the mix of links-style and semi-wooded holes. This is a fair test of your game without being ridiculously difficult.

Can't wait to return.

It is the best public course in the area. A real test with a variety of holes. It's open throughout the front and narrows through the back nine. Pin positions can be wicked and the greens can be pretty quick. GPS in the carts is great. If it takes you longer than 4 hours then your slow. 4th time I played here and I'll be back.

Course was in geat condition, No waiting around in under 4 hours

Best public course in the Hartford area. Plan on playing there again next week.

I enjoy this course especially the back nine. However I feel it overpriced at $80.

This course is the best course in the state. The course was challenging and I don't recommend if you are above a 20 handicap. The greens are the best in the state! The greens were also I feel PGA style greens thats how fast they were! The course is challenging and long but its a really fun course. Food was amazing. Just an overall great experience. The only problem I had was how slow it was the round we had was about 5 1/2 hours long. The course really needs a ranger!

Wintonbury Hills Golf Course is very well maintained and offers golfers the challenge to play the hills and banks throughout the course. The greens can be "as fast as lightning" and the carts offer up-to-date technology for your golfing pleasure.