Quarry Ridge Golf Course

Arrived very excited to play this great course again. Bought two 18 with cart for $44 each plus tax and such off of golf now. When checking in for our 12:15 tee time my guest and I were treated very poorly by the Pro Shop representative. Harassing us over how to drive a golf cart and accusing us of being reckless drivers before ever stepping into one of theirs. The rain started coming down hard around the 3rd hole and by the 9th we were soaked to the bone and the temperature had dropped. We decided to go ask for a rain check for the last 9. The same representative from before, again, greeted us with hostility over a rain check request saying we should not book from “cheap sites”. Saying there’s nothing he can do for us and we should talk to who we booked through. We were left to feel like second class citizens. His treatment of us because we booked our tee times off of Golf Now was unacceptable and ruined any chances of us returning and recommending this course to anyone. Shame.

We played yesterday (5/18) with all the crazy guidelines. Check in was easy (masks on every employee), carts clean and powerwashed, course was in great shape, but greens were very hard and tough to read speed. Great day by all. No amenities because of COVID-19, but who cares

Very nice course, 100% recommend playing here if you get a chance. Just be aware that only some of the staff is friendly.

Quarry Ridge is not for the faint of heart. A lot of target golf. Not much water but thousands of trees. An amazing layout throughout the Quarry.

Course conditions were excellent. Bunkers were in tough shape but heck it’s only May 4th!!

I will be back !!

After playing Quarry Ridge for the first time last weekend, but in 30 degree, overcast weather, my son and I wanted a return engagement here. Today the weather, far more cooperative, was seasonable—temps returned to the mid-forties, no wind to speak of. We both played well, enjoying the course immensely. It’s funny how, in golf, one can form a very fast impression of a place when everything seems to click. We both believe this is comparable to such longtime CT favorites of ours that include Shennecossett, Blackledge, and Lyman/Jones. For my part, I would sum up this complex and smart layout this way: over a Portland quarry, it’s classic, rolling glory.

We also met two members of the men’s club here today on the course, and both gentlemen were unhesitant in their praise of both the men’s club and the PGA Professional here, Mr. John Lucas, Jr, whom they view as outstanding.

I’ve included additional photos with this review, as today was a sunny day (in last week’s pics, you can almost ‘see’ how cold and raw it was, as odd as that may sound).

Quarry Ridge will remain at the top of our list next year when we are booking tee times. The continuous elevation changes (from hole six onward) generate excitement, and both fairways and greens are varied and tough enough to hold our interest throughout the eighteen.

Author’s Note: I received no compensation for writing this review from either this website (GA) or the golf course. The incentive refers to entry into a sweepstakes.

Quarry Ridge is a fine golf course, a complete but also fun test of golf. What may impress most are its soaring, panoramic views and stunning natural scenery, replete as it is with massive granite outcroppings that just ooze character. This championship course was built on a quarry that once yielded feldspar, initially, then mica, beryl and quartz. Aside from rock, the course itself possesses something indefinable: presence. More than that, you must think clearly to score here. Its design, the work of Al Zikorus and Joe Kelley, is superior, and comparable to Zikorus’ private Heritage Village—briefly an LPGA Tour stop—in Southbury. Here’s a rundown of the QR’s strengths:

OPENING HOLE: Steeply downhill and narrow. With trouble on the right and a well-defended green, it requires fine shot execution along with a sure touch (around its subtly contoured green) to start with par. Indeed, this short hole (a mere 345 yards) sets the tone for the majority of the seventeen holes to follow: none, excepting 12, are particularly long, nor the hazards frequently grim, nor the challenges insurmountable. Yet make no mistake—your game will be tested.

PRELUDE: The next four holes allow a sort of ‘warm-up’ before the exam gets rigorous, exerting no great demands on us. Two and three are straightforward holes, the former a flat par-3, the latter a downhill 383-yard four-par requiring a careful drive to a gently curving fairway and a midiron into its green. Four is the first hole of high strategic interest. A reachable 463 yard five-par, it can lure players to cut the tree-protected right side of this doglegging hole; they may hope to shave some yards on the approach. The green is open in front, and with only one threat (the back side’s water hazard) bombers and the rest of us who feel frisky might have a go at this green. The fifth presents another gift-wrapped birdie possibility with a short (337 yard) distance to traverse, and a green that puts up no great fight.

LOOK OUT BELOW: Six is an eminently playable hole, the drive here drops to a wide-enough landing zone. On the scorecard, its par is five against a scant yardage of 448. Yet there are big complications: the tee boxes are perched on a massive hill (we’re talking a rise above the fairway commensurate, at my estimate, with a ten-story building). Count your hang-time with a driver on this hole. I read that Sean Fister, a tour player, allegedly achieved a hang-time of 20 seconds (almost 5 times that of an NFL punt) from a high tee on a Colorado track. At any rate, the tree-lined fairway below at six tilts right-to-left, and some rightward bunkers guard the landing zone. Then there is the uphill approach, the green complex, and the putting surface, all of which are equally rigorous. Is this one of Connecticut’s best short par-fives? If you think so, I won’t argue strenuously. The beauty of this difficult hole—index 3—is that it’s short enough to yield birdies and eagles. The seventh is another smashing hole—either you’ll absolutely love it, or it will demolish your scorecard. But do smash your driver (or 3-wood, for bigger hitters) down the center here. On the tee, you may feel as if perched at the apex of a lift hill before the first breathtaking drop of the Nitro roller coaster at Six Flags. At a mere 346 yards, a PW/SW should do the trick into this green site, but the green itself is set on a big plateau—missing short leaves a demanding pitch up the hill to the surface.

DOESN’T WORK FOR ME: The eighth was perhaps well-conceptualized, but in actual play it misses the mark. A dogleg left, the uphill tee shot must be well-placed to the right to leave a direct approach shot green-ward. Add a 20-yard-wide landing zone and a small strip of rough (both, no less, with rightward cant) and it’s a torture test. A rightward falloff, hideously steep, awaits to crush slicers. At least the rest of the hole is fine.

ELEGANT NINTH: Making amends for eight, the ninth is a classic par-3, longish, downhill from the tee, and sporting a well-protected green.

THREE EXACTING HOLES: 10, 11, 12: The action begins with a short but trouble-strewn par-4. Accuracy will be rewarded, but hazards—green-flanking bunkers, woods, downslopes and side slopes that send your Titleist into those woods—await the unwary. The next two holes feel quite similar, though 11 is a short, uphill five-par of 447 yards, and 12 is a long, uphill four-par of 442 yards. Both holes have fairways that are almost ludicrously narrow at 20 yards, even though sidewalls (excepting the right side of 11) may deflect your slight misses back onto the fairways.

A TRIO OF STUNNERS: THIREEN: This begins a string of terrific holes that relents not until conclusion. It’s a gorgeous downhill par-4 fronted by a serene pond, which put me in mind of the eighth at Bethpage Black, a hole I saw, walking the entire course, during this spring’s PGA Championship. The two holes are not identical, and there is a 50-yard difference in length (the Black’s tops 200 yards), yet the alluring and similar imagery is what impresses. Thirteen may be a beauty, but it doesn’t suffer foolish shots gladly, punishing weak tee-balls. FOURTEEN: Playing dramatically downhill off a high tee and amidst spectacular granite outcroppings, the driving area unfolds beneath us in tempting—but also slightly forbidding—fashion: the fairway is mere 18 yards wide. Fortunately, a hill to the left side may deflect slightly off-line shots back on target. Adding aesthetic interest are a tall tree and lone bunker adorning the fairway. The green, one of Zikorus’ finest, appears flattish in front. It does move uphill before reaching a mild apex, and here begins—over the last third of the green—a steep falloff to the rough beyond. FIFTEEN: The drive poses a different challenge in the form of a blind shot over tumbling terrain, with woods lurking on the right. For drives that reach this hill, the fairway’s lower level is tight with punishing rough on the left flank. Thereby follows a pitch, but it is steeply uphill to a plateau green with the narrowest of tongues in its front section. Miss it right and the hill may be your friend; miss left and you’ll be pitching up the meanest of slopes to save par.

THE FINISH: Rock-solid (no pun intended). The par-3 sixteenth, when first viewed from the tee, stands before you as if an evil opponent who threatens a terminal ordeal. What looms above is a jaw-dropping spectacle of rock and hill and sliver of green. Yet it’s merely a golf hole, and its hill the hole’s true strength. Hit a short iron firmly and squarely to the green and a two-putt par may well ensue, for the putting surface is both receptive and relatively benign. Seventeen is an undistinguished par-5 that nonetheless gives us an ultra-tight fairway, a semi-blind second, a chance at a birdie (it’s 459), and enough perils to instill caution within us. What I really enjoyed about eighteen was the pleasure of handling an iconic-looking closing tee shot: driving over a hazard, up a hill, and onto a plateau landing zone, with little margin for error. The approach seemed less distinctive, as green 18 is sizeable enough for a pleasant finish—it doesn’t punish—to the round. After the previous string of back-nine challenges, this one seemed like just enough.

Quarry Ridge is a distinct pleasure to play, and I assert this despite having played the course on an ultra-cold Sunday afternoon (low 30’s). I managed to shoot within a couple of strokes of my handicap, but am inclined to think that some of this was plain dumb luck.

Thanks to the pro here, Mr. John Lucas, Jr., who gave us a heads-up about these ice-cold greens, telling us that earlier players on the course were wisely bouncing, not flying, shots into them (Can you say “knock-down”?) Mr. Lucas was also polite and personable, which reminded me of how many truly excellent professionals I’ve met in clubhouses this year. It seems a nice comment on the state of the golf industry.

IN SUM: Quarry Ridge would get my vote to be on Golf Advisor’s “Best of Connecticut” list for 2019. Having read many intelligent and accurate (and often rave) reviews on this website, I suggest that the star-rating is trending a tad low at 4.0. QR’s layout and its distinctiveness clearly put it, in my view, on the same tier as that of the Pequabucks and Timberlins and Blackledge/Anderson’s Glens.

If you are new to golf or have a lower skill set this is not the course for you. Although the course is very nice and unique. It has narrow fairways and very difficult greens. If you are up for the challenge go for it but just be aware it is one of the more difficult courses I’ve played.

I wasn’t able to play unfortunately because of a work issue. I’ve played there often and enjoy it immensely

Quarry Ridge is not a long course, but it more than makes up for it with tight landing areas, and deceivingly tricky greens - not to mention the downhill and uphill lies you get do to the slopes associated with being built in an old quarry. Course conditions were fantastic, and staff was very friendly. Some of the views are really great.

Overall, just a great round of golf. We got paired with a single who knew the course and that helped ALOT. Just a great day of golf - perfect weather, beautiful course, great playing partner, friendly staff.

You wish every round could be like this one.

Some very challenging holes, tight fairways and tough steep landscapes off the fairway keep you to hitting the fairways. Greens are in excellant condition.

Great day for golf, weather was perfect! Aside from tee boxes in poor shape, the course played well and rather quickly. If you’ve never played here, the signage to direct you to the next hole is really the only thing that should be improved. Overall it’s a great place to play, very scenic and challenging

Overall OK. Keep it in the fairway. I like the course layout.. The hilly terrain makes it a good challenge. Some work is needed on a few holes off the greens but the greens were in good shape although a little bit slow. Bunkers were in good shape.

This is a very interesting course due to the terrain, since it was built around an old quarry. Hence it rewards accuracy. You earn your pars here. You hit up, you hit down, your cart gets a workout; don't even try to walk it. The course is in good condition and very scenic. although golfers could more frequently repair their divots and ball marks on the greens. The clubhouse looked good and the staff were courteous. For something different, I highly recommend this course.