Shining Rock Golf Club

I wish I can give it zero stars.  This course used to be one of my favorites because of the layout and the challenge.  I understand that courses need maintenance but when everything is COMPLETELY covered in sand, and you still charge $89 for greens fees??   Thats just not cool!  Awful experience.   I had some friends playing the next day and had to tell them to cancel right away.

We played on a Friday - it was very hot. It was the first visit for everyone in the group.

The staff at the front counter was pretty unpleasant. Seemed to be bothered by our wanting to pay our greens fee.

Went out to hit a few practice shots in the cage, rather than going to the range. There was a member who was both hitting shots into the cage, and pitching balls onto the chipping area. He seemed to be bothered by me wanting to have access to either of those facilities.

The course itself is okay. There are a few really gimmicky holes. The fourth hole is a short iron over the ravine, then an even shorter iron to a poorly designed green. It's a joke.

The overall design is also awkward. There is about a 10 minute card ride from the 9th green to the 10th tee.

The course conditions were ok. The fairways were in good shape, the greens too. But if you got off the fairway, the edges of the course are really rough. The treelines, cart paths, and even some areas around the greens are bare and rocky.

I wouldn't go back.

This course I hadn't heard about until this year, and I live 10 minutes from there! Very friendly staff, great conditions, awesome layout with the rocks. Practice green is very different then the real greens though.

The Safari Golf Club played 100 plus players enjoyed a great day of golf at the Rock .The conditions are great and the layout is perfect for all levels of player.The staff treated us as you would expect at an upscale opperation.

Good value for the best conditions!!

Great course! Played with the Safari Club on 10/4. Course was in excellent condition throughout. Several elevation changes made for an interesting layout. Very challenging, but fair. This was our first visit to Shining Rock, and hopefully, we'll be playing it again next year.

An awesome track for sure! Great condition, fast greens and a relaxing 19th. Hole. what's not to like. A super friendly Staff. Don't hesitate book a Tee time and GO PLAY!!!

ps. If you like to walk forget about it!!!

I played here after randomly finding it on Google Maps. I was very impressed. It was raining the day before I played so it was cart path only, but the conditions were still great. Unless you are opposed to very woodsy courses, I would definitely suggest Shining Rock. The greens were not too fast or slow.

Really worth the drive!! Course in great shape and an even better layout. Starts at #1 with a great downhill par 4 that doglegs left. # 4 ,#5 and #14 all great holes. Overalls a super day Highly recommended

Shining Rock "Rocks"

From Scott in the pro shop to the servers in the resturant and the Lou Papadellis the GM they couldn't be more friendly and welcoming.

The course has a great layout and the conditions even though it was wet played very good . The have several tees that will give the low handicap to the higher handicap everything they want as far as chalange goes.

If you play the Gold tees you will be tested on several of the tee shots but the other tees will give you a fair chalange.

Worth the one hour drive fron western Mass. for a great golf experence at a fair price."great road trip outing"

The staff are always friendly, and the course always in great condition. There are some spots that do collect water after it rains, but nothing too bad. This course can be challenging especially if you are not straight off the tee. Most holes if you don't hit it straight, you will have to take a drop. Course layout is awesome. The 4th hole you have to tee it up and hit over a canyon(for lack of a better term) it looks a lot further than it is to carry(probably only 150, but it can get in your head) the 5th hole is a massive par 3(from the blues) 245yds from the blues. The front 9 can be a scorecard killer, but the back 9 is a little easier. Weekends can be a little pricy over $80 in the summer, but very reasonable during the week, especially if you tee off before 9, just over $50. This is one of my favorite courses, and no matter how many times I play it, it kicks my but 90% of the time.

Mr. Papadellis –

Earlier today (Sunday, 4/17), my son and I came to Shining Rock under the assumption we had booked a tee time for 11:15am. Turns out that while changing the tee time earlier in the week, I mistakenly booked it for two days earlier. I’m embarrassed to say that I was initially adamant that the course had made the mistake and not me. Lou Papadellis and Matt Hersey were more than patient waiting for me to recognize my error, and when it was clear I had screwed up, you kindly offered to try and squeeze us in later that afternoon, which – despite being the best day of the spring and knowing the course was fully booked – Lou and his co-workers amazingly, somehow did. The starter, whose name I did not catch, graciously gave up his cart to let us wedge in between two groups to play the back nine. We had a very nice round, but to completely cap off this already excellent experience – they let us play for free. I tried to pay for the 9 holes, but Matt would hear nothing of it. “That’s on Lou,” he said.

I’ve played golf all over the country, and as far away as Japan, and had some very nice customer service experiences – unfortunately very few in New England; the courses around here typically don’t feel they need to offer that kind of service, since there are so many golfers for so few decent tracks. This wasn’t my first time coming to Shining Rock – I’ve played a few times and really enjoy the layout – but it was absolutely my best time, probably the best experience I’ve had at a Massachusetts course in years. Because of Lou and his team, I plan to travel back often this season, and will be happy to share my experience with all of my colleagues, and on Golf Advisor. I’m sure my experience alone will persuade a few more to try out the course. Many thanks to the Shining Rock team for initially putting up with a grouchy, absent-minded golfer and turning my round into one I will fondly remember for a very long time.

We had heard a lot of good things about Shining Rock and conditionwise it didn't let us down. Layoutwise, it was an odd course with more than one par 4 measuring less than 320 yards, even from the blues. The course starts off with a tough downhill dogleg left par 4 where every shot has to be pinpoint.. People in my foursome hit great tee shots and walked away with bogey. Hole #4 is a bazaar all carry par 4 that leaves you with less than 75 yards to the green if you can carry 207-258 to a postage stamps fairway. There are other crazy holes that include a 200+ yard par 3 with a rockledge running around the right side of the green. Shining Rock is tough so make sure you choose the right tees and pray that you don't end up behind two groups of 3 and 4 that know eachother who thought it would be fun to play as a sevensome from time to time, really screwed all of us behind them.

There are a number of tough things about Shining Rock. It can be tough to find, wedged into its obscure corner of the town of Northbridge. It is a course that is tough on those who cannot hit the ball straight. And it is tough for even skilled golfers to grasp on the first time around with numerous doglegs and uncertain carries. Shining Rock is a very good layout that takes great advantage of all of its natural beauty and terrain. It is always in great condition and the staff is very friendly. Your first goal is to play from the correct set of tees. The whites may seem short at 5800 yards, but it may suit players of 12 handicaps and up. Those with handicaps under 12 may prefer the blues and the golds are for very competent golfers only. The 4th is the hole everyone leaves talking about. It is a short uphill dogleg right, that has a 100 foot wall of rock staring you down. You could conceivably tee off with any club in your bag, as long as you curve it softly to the right, and then you will have a wedge in. You could attempt to drive the green, but if you hit it you probably won't hold it, and you will fall off another cliff over the green. The 6th is another short, uphill dogleg right. This tee shot is more innocuous, but the green will befuddle you. This severely pitched, 2 tiered green, is very treacherous. If the pin is in the front, you cannot be above it or you will putt it back into the fairway. If the pin is in the back, and you are below the hole, you may end up rolling back to your feet if you do not get all of the way up the hill. The 13th is a confusing driving hole, where most golfers are either in the rocks and rough on the right or trees on the left. The center of the fairway is hard to find. The 17th is a drivable par 4, that requires straight above all else. These challenging holes may confound you, but you will have to plenty to talk about in the modern 19th hole. There are plenty of ways to play all of the holes at SR, you just have to do some trial and error. I think this course is truly meant to have GPS in the carts. It will help to speed up play and keep players from hitting into each other. If you want to challenge your game on a course that is well conditioned and destined to keep getting better, a trek to Shining Rock will be well worth toughing out.