Black Birch Golf Club

Love the layout and the setting but the course is just in bad shape. The greens were impossible and there was no fairway. Just crabgrass and clover everywhere. The greens looked like they had crop circles cut into them and there was not a fixed ball mark ever. I hope they invest in the course because it was once a good course.

Greens were all bumpy with indented lines everywhere. 3-4 times ball was rolling into hole and took a direct left or right. Fairways were patchy and rock hard, tee boxes horrible. Just not a well kept course - really too bad cuz layout is interesting and surroundings are very nice. Work on the course!!

My replay of Black Birch, some ten after the previous one, was of the front nine, which proved to be somewhat better than the back (last round). The fairways, especially, were more consistent. Still, the greens were about the same as on the back, which made putting dicey. Playable, but still has a long way to go to be called ‘good.’

We played last week the greens are terrible- follow the bouncing ball across the greens— usually stopping in many of the holes or low spots on the green-sand traps are more like a course gravel.

The rough was like grass in the cow pasture -between the tee box and the fairways-some fairways were to far to reach from the white tees and especially the ladies tees - spent a lot of time looking for balls in the rough areas. Greens also has lines from a mower with a oil leak and it is evident the the grass is dying in those areas. Piles of dead limbs and even log’s laying along the fairways — This course has so much potential but apparently the owners do not care as it continues to go downhill every year since Covid.

I’ve always been able to warm up to the good layout at Black Birch, having played it now for quite some time, but during the two of the pandemic years--after being shut down during the first--the club has struggled with conditioning of both fairways and greens. Last year the greens had improved somewhat by late summer of 2022, but they were still pockmarked–which hasn’t changed to date. They were also rough and bumpy today, and without enough grass. The fringe areas are not good either, though variable in places. Some of the fairways have improved (I played the back side only) but several still had patchy areas, and the fourteenth’s landing zone is little more than dirt. When on the short grass, then, preferred lies are often a necessity.

So while the course conditioning lags greatly, the rest is still pretty good, especially friendliness in the clubhouse as well as pricing. Pace was on the slow side, but I still enjoyed playing these back nine fairways and greens on a comfortable spring afternoon. It certainly doesn’t hurt that you’re in a peaceful rural setting amidst mature trees and rolling terrain, punctuated here and there by water hazards. Although Black Birch is mostly woodland, there are still a few pleasant views to farmland beyond on the front.

Course is in rough shape. I left after the front 9 because it was too slow and the course was in horrible shape. Couldn’t tell where the fairway ended and the rough or sand traps started. Big patches of dirt on the course and the greens were more pock marked than a teenagers pimple face.

Greens were just treated- and led to them being extremely slow for being a very dry day

Our first time to play. We played quickly and finished in about 3 hours. We were never rushed though, we caught up with a couple groups ahead of us. The front nine is more nicely maintained than the back nine, but both the front and back were fine.

Very laid back place to work on your game. Staff is friendly.

Discovered this course in 2022 through GolfNow.com site. It is a 30-minute drive from my house, but well worth the value. Rates are 50-75% LESS than what the course on my street charges. Course is located in a beautiful off-the-beaten-path setting. Began playing Black Birch during the end of the drought... the course condition improved greatly as each drought-busting rain event came through. The pro shop staff is wonderful - very down-to-earth and helpful; a welcome contrast to the stuffed shirts and skirts who ru(i)n the experience at my "home" course. I love the unexpected appearances of wildlife around the course... a doe/fawn by the 11th green, wild turkeys calmly strutting along the edges of the 12th, a fox, squirrels, and chipmunks at other points... a welcome distraction to offset my typical successions of poor golf shots ;). Trying to talk my (anti-sports) wife into buying a season pass for me, but THAT will require divine intervention... in the meantime, looking forward to returning to Black Birch for 2023! Phil F., Norwich, CT

Played Black Birch a few times this year and the condition of the course has improved each time. It’s getting greener since the drought. Greens in pretty good shape. Today, we played in 3 hrs and 15 minutes. Can’t beat it.