Indian Springs Golf Club

Indian Springs is a delightful but also menacing nine-hole golf course, one that almost every golfer should play at least once. The course resides on an incredibly beautiful country New England site, all rolling hills that were once farmland, and many of its views seem as if they could easily find their way onto Connecticut postcards. In many respects, this is tough, genuine, fiery golf, but the surprise for me has been that a few of its aspects almost appear as if they would befit a U. S. Open setup. And I’m U.S.G. A. serious—as serious as a 330-yard Brooks Koepka tee shot to an uphill green, driven in a single beastly stroke.

At any rate, this is an early (1964) design of the prominent, ubiquitous, and slightly underrated Connecticut architect, Al Zikorus. It seems to me the kind of course that most will like, a minority will find too difficult, and certain number of golfers, piqued after their first or second time playing it, will return for the pure challenge of beating it. After all, isn’t that golf’s nature? It is the most difficult nine-hole course I can remember playing, despite an amazingly low slope rating (117) that seems totally incongruent with the set of challenges posed. Whoever ‘sloped’ this golf course may need to have his or her vision checked immediately by an optometrist (especially one who knows a thing or two about putting): the slope plays more comparably to courses at 125-130. The burning question for all to answer, then, is ‘What, exactly, makes this short track so tough to score on?’

What most golfers will realize quickly is that nearly all of the greens here are difficult to putt—consistently and competently, that is. In fact, when walking back to the clubhouse after nine, you may conclude that a majority of the 9 very quick greens have eaten your lunch, because 8 of them are severely sloped, challenging to read, and prone, by their design and nature, to tough pin placements. To clarify this last point, I can relate a story from a scratch golfer with a first-rate short game who plays here intermittently. He tells me that you’ll rarely see the pin on the front half, or thereabouts, of the third green, strictly because putts hit above the hole will roll downhill and off the green, almost without exception. While I haven’t yet had the chance to verify this (this is my second time playing here), I can tell you that this man’s powers of observation are nearly always beyond question. Not only, however, are the greens here difficult to putt, but enough challenges prowl around the greensides to put the pressure on your chipping and (especially) pitching when they’re missed.

I’m not sure whether or not I enjoy the extreme challenges inherent in these greens. Since this past Christmas vacation, I’ve played challenging, well-respected American layouts designed by a laundry list of admired architects: Donald Ross, Geoffrey Cornish, William Mitchell, Ron Garl, Dr. Michael Hurdzan, Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek (Is this enough? There’s more…), George and Tommy Fazio, Perry and P.B. Dye. Only the difficulty of the Ross greens approached, without equaling, these brutes—I would prefer to call them trolls, but I’m on best behavior during this writing. It does bear mentioning that Architect Zikorus studied, in early days, under Ross. Last summer I played one heathland course and three seaside links (the category regarded by experts as the toughest) by four ‘name’ architects from the British Isles. All greens from these top-100 courses were less challenging than those at this 9-holer. If you want to take a crack at stringent putting surfaces, then this is your golf course. As for my tale of woe, I hit six of the nine greens here today in regulation but, as the pros say, still “left some shots out there,” most dismally after missing a couple of shortish putts that had followed good chips and pitches. Anyone for ten-foot gimmes?

Tee-to-green play is far less intimidating here than putting, though not without its dangers. The other obstacles to low scoring at Indian Springs are managing awkward slopes well, playing the wind, knowing clearly how the terrain responds when hitting approach shots, and—as is so common in New England—staying out of the blasted woods. A lot of this involves both course knowledge and careful course management, so this is a course you’ll have to come back to, time and again, if you seek general mastery of it. I’m confident that some members are actually ‘beating’ the course with some regularity, but it would be hard to guess how many.

In my judgment, the best set of holes at Indian Springs is the more ‘manageable’ group of them. These include numbers 1, 4, 6, 7 and 9. Four among this quintet are short par-4’s, with all except for hole #6 featuring wide driving zones. Hole 6, a tight, uphill dogleg right, does not tolerate wildness: you may be hitting only a mid-iron or hybrid to the landing zone, but blow through the dogleg and your ball is OB. The same hole, along with #1, has a tough uphill carry to its green, while numbers 4 and 9 come in flat; the latter’s approach is over a hulking frontal bunker. The variety, then, on these holes keeps you on your toes, and they are all playable.

In fact, in its entirety the first hole is a first-class opener. It demands a solid drive into a gentle, doglegging, tree-lined landing zone; then the aforementioned uphill approach; finally, a challenging green to putt. Number 4 is the other standout. Here, after a well-placed drive, the requirement is judging whether the approach should be brought in low and run onto the green (dictated, mostly, by the wind) or it should be finessed in, as with a high, soft-landing shot, perhaps essential with the pin on the green’s front third. The green’s moderate contours will require finesse with the flatstick. Those who bounce over—or, worse still, airmail this green—will find deep problems lying in wait at its rear down the hill. It’s a fabulous golf hole, even if largely treeless, for golfers who want to think their way around a course. There’s even a touch of links-like feel to it: check out the bunker between this fairway number four, sunk into a giant mound of its own. Shades of Sandwich, England, where the great duo of Prince’s and Royal St. George’s reside!

The better par-3 here, # 7, starts with a stunning view of your downhill approach, an approach destined to land (you hope) on a beautifully contoured green, perfectly proportioned for this shot’s length. Still, difficulties around the green—a vast bunker right, a water hazard behind—are looming to snag errant shots. It’s a tough hole, but a classic one. Hole eight, a feisty par-4 and the number 1 index, similarly boasts a fantastic uphill approach into the uphill green with a huge knob on its left side, one that rebuffs the faintest misses directly to the bottom of a steep falloff. Ouch! The driving area on #8 is less-than-wonderful, though, as it is too punitive for pushes/slices, having a tight OB line at the woods. It isn’t much better on the other side either, as more white stakes do appear, not far from the fairway. Fortunately, the driving zone and rough are wide enough on this hole—It’s a close call, though—to save most of us, most of the time.

The most treacherous hole, especially for golfers who fail the demands of careful course management and acceptable ball-striking, is clearly the quirky number five. This 552 yard par-five is a wild roller-coaster of a hole, playing uphill on the tee-shot, straight downhill on the second shot (or third, depending on your power resources), uphill front-to-back on the green itself, then straight downhill again over the green for those who overcook the approach—and down into no-man’s land. The hole presents three distinct problems: A) the tee shot is hit to a fairway that slopes drastically left to right, directly into the woods (aim a bit left of the huge tree on the fairway’s left side and cut it); B) the second shot, should you choose to make this a two-shotter, is blind to the green; C) for those who choose to lay-up, the approach will travel some seventy to eighty feet directly downhill to a green situated a scant 20 yards or so from the base of the massive downslope. Still, three hard shots consecutive shots like these, in my book, make for weak shot values on any hole. This fifth is also somewhat dangerous, given that fairways 4 and 5 are directly adjacent to one another. Be cautious playing them.

Another hole that I couldn’t warm up to was the second—the other par-5. It’s short at 446 yards but launches directly uphill to a somewhat crowned landing area, but even the crown is mostly uneven and leads to very awkward stances, and controlling the second shot can be nightmarish. I geared down with a punched-5, having the ball way above my feet in the middle of the fairway, but still managed to hit the ball well offline on the second. Additionally, a huge right-side hill, a pair of massive bunkers, and deep falloffs around or near the severely-sloped green make this hole extreme, something of a torture test. Par is a good score on two.

Despite these limited flaws, the bottom line here is that all golfers, especially those ready for a challenge, will find this layout playable, enjoyable, and challenging. It can’t quite be called a ‘hidden’ gem, because it seems far too well-known by virtue of its visible popularity. Slippery greens aside, I find it an intriguing and likeable track. Its complexity is what, I think, will keep me coming back here in the future—doubtless bemoaning my fate again after leaving it, but ideally gaining a touch of mastery.

Great deals for this place on golf now. Course is kept in good shape. Hardly anyone out there when I played which made for a beautiful pace of play. Some fun holes. Family owned course that makes you feel right at home! Only wish they had nine more holes!

Another great morning at Indian Springs. Course in great shape and played my best round there today. Bar was great, staff very friendly, wonderful time.

I think I paid more through Golf Niw than if I just walked into the clubhouse. Did not enjoy the course; too many hills, slopes, blind tee shots.

There are all lot of sub par nine hole course is in the area , NOT THIS ONE !

Was very happy with The service of the staff , friendly & polite . As for the tea boxes and greens , very nice , is a very scenic course , very challenging for a very over par golfer

Highly recommend this course for a few hours of fun

I've probably played Indian Springs 50 times over the last few years. Don't let the length fool you, this is a tough course to score on. That's mostly because the greens are faster than most public courses and they have a lot of undulation.

The course has a lot of elevation changes, which again adds to the challenge in a fun way. This is the rare course that's enjoyable for a 30 handicapper or someone in single digits.

The views from several holes are stunning, especially 4 and 5, which are the highest elevation.

If you live in the area and have never played this course go! It's a treat.

I first played here last year with a HotDeal from golfnow and became instantly hooked. I played here about 20 times or so now and love the course and the staff it is well maintained and challenging. Thank you.

Excellent day on the links. Course in nice shape.

Diamond in the rough!