Pomperaug Golf Club

Pace of play was slow. Took over 4 to golf 18 holes. Fairly flat course for Connecticut so easy to walk it.

Only my 3rd time playing this course, a member of the staff remembered me, introduced himself, and let us take a cart at a discount for the 2nd 9 because we were frequent customers. Very friendly! Also numerous, clean port-a-johns on the course.

Fairways and greens are pretty good 95 percent of the time. Tee boxes are the best in town. We got stuck behind a foursome 2 groups up but that’s not the courses fault. Definitely a good 9 holes to play at a reasonable price

Very well-kept nine hole course. Staff very friendly and helpful

Spent hr driving to play course. Got there and sign on 1st tee closed grant you it did rain a lot but I had this tee time for a week. Should have been notified?

Pomperaug, a flat but watery course, is about as hilly as such U.S. icons as Doral (quite flat), or Hilton Head in South Carolina, where there is no more than a 6 foot variance in elevation over the entire layout, or many of the British seaside links--e.g., St. Andrews. Flatness, in and of itself, is no sin for a golf course. And other factors may well compensate for ‘bland’ topography in golf design: quality of routing, good green complexes, bunkering, balance, variety, strategic focus and shot values, capable use of hazards and other, mostly natural, elements. In each of these aspects, as I’ve cited in previous reviews, Pomperaug is just fine.

The focus of interest here is not necessarily on some of the large water hazards here, which are indeed prominent, but instead the options the player has in avoiding them. For instance, at the difficult and excellent 7th, a par-4, you may fade the tee shot, which is the ideal play, or simply give a wide berth to the pond by hitting away from it, down the left side, where a bail-out area should help if you miss to the left. Several of the driving zones are set up this way, and playing the angles is beneficial. Another thoughtful design feature concerns how mature trees intrude at the margins of the fairways. Witness the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 7th., where large trees are used deliberately to either discourage an over-aggressive line of play or simply as key hazards to be respected.

The complexity of hole design at Pomperaug tends toward the subtle rather than obvious. At the 3rd--as one example--the tee shot for most players should be hit to the crook of the dogleg, thus opening up the green for a simple wedge. Bolder players may want to risk hitting farther: down to the small neck, which sets up a short pitch. This option, however, brings the pond fully into play from the tee. The aggressive and long-hitting player might even take a crack at hitting the green from the tee, but the shot must be shaped almost perfectly. These risk-reward options are reminiscent of the Robert Trent Jones, Sr. style; no surprise architect Ted Manning was a Jones protege.

Both of the par-3’s at Pomperaug play on the long side from the blues, as do the sixth and seventh holes as par-4’s. This is still a short course overall, especially given the par-5’s. And so what? The plus side is that you might card a personal-best score if you play carefully enough and hit it straight here. It’s still notable that every par-4 presents a different and real challenge, almost all encouraging a specific shot shape for either safe or optimal play, or both.

The ninth hole, a suspenseful closer, puts emphasis on the approach. All that’s required off the tee is a hybrid or midiron, hit straight and as far down the fairway as you dare. Then comes a wedge over the river (here the one genuine forced carry on the course). The margin for error is small and missing the green significantly spells trouble.

Service and Playing Experience:

Pro Dave Cook was, as always, friendly and polite. He paired me with a couple of capable and sociable young players, Marc and Jimmy (see photo, hole 6), who currently attend northeastern colleges. Playing the nine was all the more enjoyable in their company.

Conditions:

In good condition. But Pomperaug’s greens and green complexes, including the bunkers, are excellent. Tees were very good, fairways good except a couple, which are still recovering from last year’s drought. Overall, not at the level I recall when, long ago, Pomperaug was private. Still, I noticed a vast improvement at holes four and seven.

Some Conclusions:

Strong, strategic design sets this course apart from most of the herd of nine-holers. Conceived as a resort-style course, it wasn’t designed to play like Oakmont or Pine Valley, but that hardly matters. I never tire of playing it.

The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Course fairways and rough well maintained. Greens were fair and a little slow but this was expected after heavy rains had just passed. Course had its challenges between tree placements on doglegs, water hazards that needed to be carried, and pin placements that challenged approach shots.

Very enjoyable

nice 9 hole muni . good to walk and a real 9 hole course not par 3 . recommend the try.

Caught some slower players after a few holes. Didn’t pick up after that but the course was in great shape.