East Hartford Golf Club

For the price ($23/walk18) the course was in nicer shape than I expected. Some areas of real wetness that made approach shots difficult. One bunker was in good condition and one (9th hole I think) was more like clay. The two people I walked with were great and I think we got around in about 4 hours (on a Friday). A couple of switchback holes, particularly at the end of the back 9, that I don't really like.

Surprisingly nice course conditions for a mid February round. Very walkable course, and a great value.

East Hartford Golf Course is in excellent shape for fall golf. Greens were amazing, well kept and fast.

A nice, walkable course with tee times available whenever I can just drop by during the week. Only caution…If we’ve had rain, give it 3 days to dry out.

A good value. Considering the recent rain, course was in pretty good shape. Greens were in good condition. One of the better "munis" that the lovely and I have played.

Having now played East Hartford for the second time (the first was in late June), I was impressed again by the quality of this layout. The course’s greens stand out, as they roll and pitch with great variability, keeping you on your toes–you may also be gnashing your teeth a bit–on nearly every putting surface. There are standout holes on each nine; the par-4s, in particular, frequently play long and tough; the par-5’s are easier, but still the fifth and eighteenth will test your shotmaking skills. Many of the holes are straightforward, but enough variety is injected into the works to keep you engaged.

The course was not in the same condition as it was in June, prior to the drought. Greens were good, nonetheless, but everything else was below average, and the fairways especially will need some work to get back to where they were. I experienced a few substandard lies on the rough, too, that were not typical of what I saw here before. Overall, conditioning was a bit below average.

Pace of play, unfortunately, was on the slow side.

What I like best about East Hartford is this track’s generally open feel, even though there are dense woods around the course’s perimeter. There are a few tight holes here, in truth, but it’s typically possible to advance the ball toward the hole in most cases, as ending up “in jail” is usually the result of a widely errant shot.

Tee times are 10 minutes apart, absolutely too close together. Took me 2 hours to play 5 HOLES. Ended up just leaving after waiting for 15 minutes on #6 tee box, even though i paid for 18. Complete b.s. People walking into fairways while people are hitting off tee boxes, people shanking balls and not yelling a word. My golf cart had a flat tire and a non working parking brake, making it equally frustrating trying to get the cart to not roll down a hill. The course is not bad layout wise, but that's all it has going for itself. I'll not waste my money there again.

10 minutes between tee times doesn't work. Spent more time waiting than playing. Golf cart had a flat tire, and a non working parking break. This is a good Monday morning municipal stay away on the weekends

The course is in great shape. Play 18 under 4 hours.

Nice place for the average golfer. Course was a little dry, but the greens were in good shape.

Couse not burned out like most others.

Just between the fariways is burned out.

The greens and fairways in good shape.

Playing East Mountain Golf Course for the first time yesterday, I was impressed with the secluded and countryside setting (it’s a bit hard to believe you’re within the boundaries of a city like Waterbury) along with the classic look of the holes and their general spaciousness. The track is neither hard nor long, but, having time only for nine today, it was more than stimulating enough to give me the itch to return sometime soon and play the whole eighteen. The course is hilly and boasts a fine, mature look, with stately trees lining most of the gently bending fairways and long par-3s.

The first four holes struck me as decent, if a bit tame. The second, the most interesting, is a short and tight four-par of 273 that requires a straight tee shot and a wedge–or, for aggressive long hitters–a perfectly cut driver around the slight dogleg. Things toughen up at the fifth hole, a longish par-3 playing downhill with a bunker that will snag a hooked or pulled tee shot. The outstanding sixth, where the course comes out of the woods briefly, also plays a bit downhill off the tee to a fairway bending leftward. The view at the crook of the dogleg includes the handsome, stone-embellished clubhouse to the left and stretches into the distance beyond the course’s confines. Green six has a large falloff on the right, so care must be taken with the approach.

The following sixth is the front nine’s best hole, a stern, uphill 385-yard par-4, which, off the tee, favors a fade, then a well-hit mid-iron up the slope into the big and somewhat elevated two-tiered green. The 200 yard par-3 eighth will test your skill with a hybrid or long-iron; its biggest danger comes in the form of woods behind the green. A test of patience and precision, the front side’s closer, a five-par of 483 yards which doglegs left, will be a three-shotter for most players. The fairway’s landing zone is tight to the woods on the left, such that it’s nearly impossible to cut the corner on your second shot. Unless, off the tee, you choose to go far right into the rough–a dangerous option because of the downslope–there is no direct and unimpeded line of flight to the green. The likely sequence, then, is drive, followed by drawn mid or short iron, and finally a wedge into the perched and well-protected green.

Conditioning fell within the range of average for a public course. The greens were decent but slightly erratic in places. Tees were good overall, fairways about average, and roughs sometimes sparse and inconsistent in places.

Some conclusions: Against a par of 70, East Mountain is rated at 68.7 from the deep tees. Its difficulty level is similar to its crosstown counterpart, Western Hills (where I’ve played many times), though the front side layout here is more straightforward and less tight overall–yet equally engaging. I enjoyed my first taste of the challenges among the hills of East Mountain.