East Hartford Golf Club

Fun course, hard to lose balls which makes it worthwhile to go and play ball

Troon has done a remarkable job in turning this course around. A pleasure to play and a friendly and courteous staff.

Payed near 100 for me and my girl to play because they had to charge us twice on the cart. Even though we was using the same cart. Horrible customer service. The guy gave us the wrong rate 2 times and was a smart a** about it. We was waiting the whole time. Course was over booked with groups of 5 plus. After 10 holes they told us carts must be returned. Course conditions are the same as a yard with 2 huskies. This was a joke. This course is 5 min away from me and I promise I'll never give these people a dime of my money again.

Designed by Orrin Smith (first nine, 1930) and Albert Zikorus (a second, 1960), East Hartford rambles up and down a large hill at the property’s east end, providing–on its fifth tee–an extended vista all the way to downtown Hartford. The western end of the course ambles over much flatter terrain that may well have been, at one time, pastureland.

LAYOUT & DEFENSES

The entire layout, however, is balanced: five holes play uphill, while five and fourteen are the only two that play downhill, significantly. The course is of the open, parkland style design, and has moderately wide fairways and lots of room on many (but not all) holes from a bail-out side for most tee shots. Six holes dogleg and a couple of them bend a bit. There are also long, narrow greens: six, seven, nine, and, especially, ten.

The course is not long overall, but does have a quartet of four-pars ranging from 389 yards to 420 (the longest being #6, the number five index). Three of the four par-5’s are 500 yards-plus.

Golfers will also get a taste of Golden Age golf from Smith’s original design of the original nine, seven of which remain on the current layout. Some of the mounding around the eleventh green, for example, immediately brought to mind Tillinghast’s general style. Other Golden Age features include small greens with fairly liberal contouring and an emphasis on greenside bunkering, along with an advantageous use of the existing landscape. Albert Zikorus, who worked under Donald Ross, preserved the feel of the original holes with his eleven new and redesigned additions. This front side shows his appetite for tilted greens that play fast and can be deceptive. Zikorus’ greens vary nicely in size and shape, though they tend to be larger than those of Smith. But the entire eighteen are well bunkered; most have two traps; and, with one exception, the bunkers guard entrances to the greens rather than block them. The Zikorus bunkers tend to be larger and are often deep. Examples are at 1-3 and 17.

The sixteenth starts a challenging finish, and it is at eighteen that Zikorus delivers a kind of knockout punch. The second shot on eighteen is the most interesting while also delivering the highest shot value: you must decide either “go” or “no-go” over the cross hazard lying some 70 yards before the green. Even if you carry the water, there is work to finish by your pitch onto the elevated green, a green protected by four bunkers.

Length will help you on some holes at East Hartford, but it’s less important on several others. Hitting wayward shots, on the other hand, will have the biggest effect at the perimeter of this large, rectangular property, but far less so on the interior holes, where only scattered trees line most of the fairways. Some fairways are fully tree-lined; they seldom feel too squeezed.

TWO STRONG HOLES:

The eighteenth and the first–bookend holes–are two of the course’s strongest. Eighteen delivers what’s expected, with a series of hazards that culminate at the green. The first hole surprises with the unexpected, a tricky, tree-lined toughie for an opener with a tilted fairway and two massive bunkers guarding the green.

SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF

Two more notable holes are the shorter, tighter, back-to-back par fours at twelve and thirteen. The twelfth’s driving task is clearly defined: find on the fairway’s left side and hit far enough past the dogleg’s elbow to ensure an open shot. But the tee shot at thirteen, at which a sizable pond protects much of the fairway’s left side, means you’ll need to think carefully–impulsively ripping the driver is dangerous.

CONDITIONS:

Very good, with smooth and quick greens, decent tees and roughs, well-groomed fairways. I’ve heard from those who’ve played here for a while that East Hartford has made big improvements in this department over the past few years.

SOME CONCLUSIONS:

What I like about the course is its combination of flat and straightforward holes and those with strong ground movement. Its difficulty may be moderate (the slope is 120) but the architects made green complexes with some flair and strong variety. Slopes on many of these greens will challenge players but seldom to an extreme. One of my playing partners advised against leaving putts above the holes on these greens. He was right. The holes also blend well with the landscape: artificial-looking they are not. Further character comes from the graceful-looking and mature trees scattered between most of the fairways, giving you more options than just chipping back out when you find yourself in their midst. All in all, the holes at East Hartford are not flashy; they’re just well-designed.

If you haven’t played this course in a while due to it being run down then please try it again, they've done a fantastic job bring this fun course back. No drainage problem, fairways in good condition, greens were soft and maintained. Bunkers were fine and pace of play on a Sunday was good. Give this old friendly course another chance, you will be surprised how good it is.

Very surprised how great the course was and a very fair price. Staff was super friendly and diligently working all around the course. Highly recommend

Nice mix of holes. Well placed bunkers. Well-maintained greens. Staff is excellent. The course used to have poor drainage, but they have done a great job of alleviating the issue. One of the best values around.

18 holes for $43, can't go wrong. For a high handicapper like myself, course is perfect. If yiu miss left or right, csn always get back on track with next shot due to layout.

Friendly helpful staff, improving conditions and a great bar. Best all around golf value in area by far

Prices are up 43% from last season. Non resident weekday 9 holes walking went from 14 to 20. Course quality does not warrant such an outrageous increase

Course had a decent lay out. Very wide open for most holes. Also the course is very forgiving. Good for its price !