Black Birch Golf Club

After years of neglect, Black Birch GC (formally Banner GC) is making a comeback and is fast becoming a very good golf course. I played there yesterday and was impressed with the layout and evidence of ongoing improvements to the course. The layout is among rolling hills with tree-lined fairways instead of unplayable rough, which is common on many of the courses I play. This gives players a second chance on errant shots instead of a penalty for a lost or unplayable ball. There are six small ponds that come into play but most can be easily avoided or managed. See TIPS below.

The greens were in excellent condition as were the various sand traps. The grass in the tee boxes and fairways is quickly growing in and new seeding was evident everywhere. Keep in mind that Connecticut has been under severe drought conditions for the past two years, and growing grass is difficult without help from Mother Nature. I played over 30 CT golf courses last year and most had burnt grass and bare spots throughout the course. Also, mid-April is too early to judge grass conditions in CT as I have not even had to mow my yard this year.

The staff was extremely friendly, rates are reasonable, and the grounds near the clubhouse picturesque. Another bright spot that comes to mind is their website where a new “flyover” view of the first 5 holes can be seen. The remaining holes will be added soon per the pro shop. I highly recommend this course and will certainly play there again.

TIPS:

Hole #1: There is a small, unseen pond that is reachable off the tee box along the right side of the fairway 200 yards from the green, so stay left or hit your drive over it.

Hole #7. A small stream bisects the fairway 145 yards from the white tee markers making it 155 yards from those markers to clear this hazard. Additionally, 185 yard from this stream is a pond that comes into play, so a layup may be necessary for a shot to the elevated green.

This course keeps getting better since its re-introduction as black birch. Much better than Banner. Its well maintained and the greens are in great shape.

Good course, cleaned up leafs very good. All people working very good.

If you like crabgrass fairways with clover and bear spots this is your course . Aerated front 9 was closed and back was just aerated with too much sand left on them and should have been rolled to complete the job. They say there a new greenkepper bulldozing the course should be in the plans and rebuild . Paid for 18 ,walked off after 9. The only thing I got out of the 9 holes was I got some swings in even though I scored OK.

Course needs a lot of work. Tee boxes have high grass and are rock hard. Fairways are similar to rough at other public courses and have many bare spots. The layout is interesting and the greens have potential to be extraordinary but were aerated and not cut so they were extremely slow and bumpy. If they can fix fairways and speed of the greens this would be a nice track.

I stayed away from this course for 3 years because the conditions had gotten terrible. I tried it recently, and I will never play it again unless it is totally revamped. I feel those chances are very slim. Too bad, nice layout. Greens are decent but fairways continue to be hard and free of grass.

Course is in need of serious water. Its obviously bran a dry summer so I'll give them a pass. But I would only play here right now with significam2 discounts or coupons.

The lay out Was nice but fair ways are totally gone. The tee boxes have very little grass. The greens were very well kept so not all was lost. I would play again next year.

The course is a gem. Great layout. Great greens and traps. However due to the ct drought fairways were non existant! Hopefully a little rain will bring this courses fairways back to life

This was my second round of golf at Black Birch Golf Course this month. This course is a good value if you utilize the "Hot Deal" fees. The greens are in good shape, and the tee boxes and sand traps are fair.at best. The fairways were dry and barren in many spots because of the lack of rain and irrigation. The pace of play was somewhat slow and could be improved by utilzng a course ranger to monitor and facilitate the pace of play. All in all, it is a good course for beginners.

The only thing that is nice is the green. The whole 18 is really bad. so dried that we lost a lot of balls. You see your ball landed right o the fairway and when you look for it you could not find it. It goes down as the fairway is bare, no grass except weeds. I played here before but this is the worst I've seen the course. We like this course, the staff are super nice but playing like this is not fun. We hope overtime they will do something about it.

as a twosome we played 18 in 2 1/2 hours...awesome....greens are very good....a little slower on the day we played...fairways so-so...tee box not bad...all in all...can't beat for the price...

Course was in pretty bad shape. Tee boxes were full of divots and grass wasn't cut low enough. Fairways were a mix of crabgrass clusters, dead grass, and dirt. Had to move the ball almost every time just to hit off "grass". Greens and bunkers were in decent shape. Greens rolled inconsistently and had patches or crabgrass that would change the direction of your putt.

We got a great deal on GolfNow, but if I had paid full green fees I would definately be upset.

course in good shape for August

The layout and the design of the course is very good, but the tee boxes and greens were overgrown and poorly maintained. The course was very buggy and one hole had a hornets nest and swarming hornets right on the fairway.

The course was dry, but the greens were in great shape. Hole 13 is a big improvement

I played a few weeks ago and thought things were slightly improving. After a short dry spell the course has taken a turn for the worse. There are thick patches of clover everywhere and even small patches forming on the greens. The fairways are patchy if existent at all.

This Course is turning things around for the better! a few short years ago this track was not very well maintained however, a new groundskeeper has been hired and the course is not afraid to spend the money to make this a premier course. Lots of upgrades including better irrigation to maintain fairways and greens, regular care and maintenance of the grounds overall, newer carts and updating the course layout are just a few of the things they are doing to make this a great course. Super friendly staff, reasonable pricing, awesome Bar/restaurant. More upgrades are coming over the summer! This course is well on it's way to being one of the best in the CT shoreline area

For $10 this course is a steal. Enjoyed getting out on the course. A few challenging holes but relatively straight for the most part. Fairways were not in the best condition but for $10 I would go back.

I often see this course on the golf now app and figured I'd give it a try. I think it's a nice course to work on your iron game. There were very few holes that require hitting a driver unless you want to. Most par 4s around the 350yrd mark or less. The day I went was cloudy, 25 mph winds, and with a high of 50. I look forward to playing it again in better conditions! For the price to play it's well worth it!

The folks here have put a lot of effort and money into the course over the last two years, and it's definitely improved. Holes 13 and 14 are infinitely better than they were, and the irrigation should help the course tremendously. Now, for the criticism: Please mow the greens and fairways. This has gotta happen before the course can really compete with other area tracks. The greens, while green as opposed to dead (which used to be the case), are so furry it's really impossible to putt. The ball bounces all over the place, and you have to hammer your putts because the grass is so long.