Pomperaug Golf Club

This 9 hole course can be hard to find because it is behind a hotel but drive around the hotel to the right and it will be worth it for an inexpensive round. The greens were excellent, the fairways well maintained and the design provided a good test of every shot and every club.

As a Southbury resident, I play this course fairly frequently, when I want to get out for a quick nine and not have to drive a distance. On the good side, the owner/pro Dave Cook is a nice guy. But the course is poorly designed and maintained - people suggesting it’s one of the best nines in the state have lost there minds. Turf conditions are poor, there’s goose poop everywhere, and often pace of play is horrendous. It attracts the casual golfer due to price and being flat and easy to walk. There’s pond everywhere and shots often run off slopes into the pond because of poor grading.

At one point, Dave had the golf maintenance from the adjacent Heritage Hills course taking care of it. But they were too expensive, so the maintenance is done on a shoestring budget. If you play there, go with very low expectations.

Bad putting day on challenging greens,better luck next time.

It's flat with lots of water and somewhat short, but worth playing 9 holes. If you go around twice you will be rewarded with knowing what not to do!

I was reminded again today of how course architect Ted Manning created this coherent, disciplined layout, by and over the banks of the Pomperaug River. Drawing on the inspiration of Robert Trent Jones, the course is mostly centered on a pair of large ponds, the first coming into play on holes three, four and five, the second on seven and eight. With water—including the Pomperaug River—in play somewhere on every hole, this is a course about precision play, as a couple of my playing partners, both of whom play it regularly, commented today. Yet only on the seventh (and perhaps nine) does the water really intimidate; elsewhere it seems to hover on the margins. Manning also designed a near-perfect set of putting surfaces, most sloping more with subtlety, only a couple tumbling a bit more. This course is an exercise, then, in restraint, though it certainly challenges someplace on every hole. The par-3’s stand out as paragons, and Pro Dave Cook has ingeniously incorporated a third, to be played alternately on one nine at hole three, which may be the most scenic of these three-pars. And it’s nearly all carry—a beautiful tee shot—over the first big pond.

Pomperaug followed an ever-upward conditioning trend since I first played it three months ago, having suffered, like most Connecticut courses, the effects of a brutally dry summer. Now the fairways, the only remaining question mark, are all back to green and playable condition, though a few are still spotty in areas. The tees have recovered fully—they look great—and the green surrounds are very good as always. Today these always excellent greens were aerated, which certainly affected play, but they should be back in form shortly. I expect the conditioning to rebound fully by next spring. Given this, I would call it, then, a ‘five-star’ experience, especially on the merits of the genial and accommodating staff here, along with one of the best pure nine-hole layouts in the state. One example of staff accommodation today was how my son and I were quickly paired with a second twosome on our second go-around of these nine. We didn’t have to ‘wait in line’ and continued play seamlessly.

Speaking of that, we met four great playing partners today, both couples—one from nearby in Southbury, the other from Bethel. We all enjoyed interesting, engaging and cheerful conversation throughout each nine. There is a certain, indescribable charm that most Western Connecticut residents possess, almost making me wish that I lived back in this part of the state again. In four trips to this Southbury course, I’ve yet to encounter a rude or impatient person anywhere; to the contrary, everyone has been quite affable or simply friendly.

Mr. Brandon Tucker, Senior Managing Editor for Golf Advisor, wrote a fascinating piece on September 29, entitled “There’s No Golf Trip Like Going Home.” In it, he argues that the negative aura we’ve experienced in 2020 may make a golfing road trip, back to where we were brought up, just the antidote for our mild miseries. So he made the trip home to Michigan with his family. It turned out that Mr. Tucker, who has reviewed 600 golf courses now around the globe, found that playing the courses of his youth to be completely enjoyable.

Until this year, I had not played here, my old high school course, for 45 years. Each time I made the trip, I tried to figure out why I felt almost compelled to return to Southbury this year, and return four times, putting up with the one-hour journey, enduring the hassles of the I-84 Waterbury mixmaster. Was it nostalgia? Yes, perhaps a touch of this. Wanting to really see my old hometown? Not really—I had done that anyhow last year.

And then I read Mr. Tucker’s article.

The most friendly staff and players

One negative either there was a tournament or they overbooked so the pace of play was very slow

Greens are in good shape..... I think. But can't judge the entire course because I walked off after three holes. I waited for the group in front of me - a collection of 5 questionable golfers - to clear the first hole before I teed off. When I reached the third hope, they had stopped halfway down the hole and must have been on a beer or some other form of break, because no one was playing golf. After waiting 5 minutes, they proceeded to drive toward the green.

There are no rangers here to enforce rules, etiquette, or pace of play. The course has removed its dress code, and the staff embraces that decision. If you're serious about golf, and enjoy the structure around the game, be prepared.

With an 8:15 tee time, I expected to play my nine at a reasonable pace ahead of an 18 at another course I had booked for a 12:30 tee time. The tee time was more or less a confirmation of payment, as time apparently did not matter at the course. After checking in with the starter, we were basically put in a long line of golfers based on time of arrival and not tee time. Our group teed off at around 8:30.

The first three holes took an even hour to play. The foursome in front of us were giving first time lessons to two of the group - full instruction on the fairways, multiple balls played and an almost impressive amount of time chasing down bad shots and hunting for balls at the edges of the water. We all have to learn somewhere, but the first time a person holds a club may be best reserved for a driving range. Sadly, the groups in front of this group were not advancing ahead either. It was a full on traffic jam with lots of cross-fairway traffic throughout the round.

Second three holes took another hour, and we finished our nine at 11:15 - three hours after my “tee time” and 2:45 from our actual round start.

Course-wise, I could tell conditions had improved from a rough dry spell. There is water on multiple holes that doom a right-handed golfer with slicing tendencies. The staff and golfers I played with were very friendly, but the golf experience was below other comparable 9-hole options primarily because of the pace.

Should there be a three-group back up on the tee box of a par 5?

Should a 9 hole round take 2hr 40 minutes?

Should three groups tee off within 12 minutes?

If you answered no to any of these questions I think you should pass. Really one of the more frustrating rounds in recent memory - clearly overbooked.

Could be a fun course to play otherwise.

The staff was very friendly and loved the layout of the course. Very challenging ! Will definitely return again , Thanks!