Hawk's Landing Country Club

Only having had time for nine holes today, I played the front at Hawk’s Landing, finding it to be an intriguing mix of a few tame holes, of several that surely up the ante yet remain quite playable, and of a couple that prove difficult. That’s about how it should be on most layouts. After all, who wants to play something as hard as a Robert Trent Jones course every day? Geoffrey Cornish, one of the outstanding New England architects of his era, designed this with partner Bill Robinson in 1967, and the track holds up quite well in 2022.

LAYOUT

On the front side, the watchword for Cornish and Robinson here appeared to be, as it frequently was in the courses they designed, ‘balance.’ Short holes (the 1st, 7th, and 8th) are balanced by longer ones (two, five and nine). The uphill holes at four and seven are offset by three holes–the first, fifth, and eighth–that play from high tees, which offer commanding views of their fairways. Some of these fairways felt narrow, or, at the very least, hemmed in by their hazards, and a few were clearly wider. Shot values are also consistently varied–a Cornish trademark. The few constants I noticed here were relatively large and mostly circular greens along with nearly all straightaway holes; the only real dogleg is six.

It’s important to choose your tees wisely here: from the blues, two holes–six and nine–require you to fly the ball some 200 yards off their tees. Water is used sparingly and wisely on this nine, and is especially dramatic at the demanding ninth hole, a 235-yarder from the blues. It seems that Cornish here was channeling his inner Robert Trent Jones, Sr., the architect whose work he thought to be most important and admirable in his era. The hole is a brute and a hard par. Also apparent, in more subtle fashion, is Jones’ influence at the eighth, where a genuine risk-reward opportunity is at hand: you may choose to drive (or get near) the well-protected green on this 265, steeply uphill four-par, but at your own peril. It’s a brilliant hole, one of the most impressive short par-4’s in Connecticut.

DEFENSES / HAZARDS

The best defense against par here are the mature, towering pines, which, whether they line the fairway or are grouped in stands, will often play havoc with tee shots (and some approaches) that fly off course. The pines add a soothing effect and great aesthetic appeal. The other major defense comes in the form of frequent bunkering, both in the fairways and around the greens. The aforementioned ponds and marshy areas are certainly a factor, too, but just to make life a little more difficult are a huge tree jutting into the eighth fairway, humps around most of the greens, and some grass bunkers here and there. The fairways themselves have mostly flat landing zones–this is not a course characterized by strong ground movement–and there are only a couple of cross hazards on the front side.

GREEN COMPLEXES

These are fairly typical of what Cornish tended to design in the sixties. They tend to rise only slightly above grade, and are well guarded on the sides and back, typically, and almost all open in front to allow the run-on shot from higher-handicap players. Only the sixth and ninth greens are like fortresses.

CONDITIONING

The only flies the ointment today were the aerated greens, which are not surprising at this time of year, and a few too many leaves around the course. But it is early springtime. Bunkers were decent and tees above average, but the fairways, roughs, and greens (despite the aeration) impressed.

BEST HOLE

For my money, the classic fifth is superb. Offering a terrific downhill vista from the tee, the fairway is properly proportioned for a long, downhill shot. A large stand of pines impinges somewhat on the fairway not far from the green, blocking the approach from the right rough, while most players will want to steer away from the more penal woods on the left. Translation: it pays doubly to hit the fairway of the fifth tee. A small brook snakes across the fairway, while green is both sided and backed by large, pesky humps.

INITIAL TAKEAWAYS

This was only my first time playing here, but I’m already thinking about coming back this summer, as I’d like to play the whole track. The course is short but challenging enough, with an 18-hole slope of 120 from the blues. Cornish and Robinson threw just enough wrenches into the works to keep each hole interesting, and a few are bearish. The experience of playing here was pleasant, and I was particularly impressed by the Head of Maintenance, a very congenial gentleman whom I met at the 9th while taking a picture of the hole.

The course was in great shape. The wind tested our club selection and on a couple holes our putting. All in all enjoyed the round and played well despite the 20 gusting to 30 MPH winds.

Always enjoy playing at Hawks, nice layout, well maintained

The course was in great condition for this early in the season. The greens were fast not very bumpy.

Today was worse than yesterday! They started on hole number #10.. the pace of play was so slow that the beverage lady was coming around the course twice before we could even off. It took three hours to finish the back nine.

We went to the first tee box and waited fifteen minutes before we could tee off. This people was so bad. they don't have no respect for the game or other people around them. One of the women had a cast on her foot and she's out there playing golf on a busy day, how crazy is that this game golf is hard enough when your healthy, how dare you show your face on a golf course on Sunday on a busy busy day. A golfer like you guys should know your place. You guys should should try playing the pot-pot instead. The pace of play is four hours not six. I will never book here ever again. This past weekend was the worse ever. This was my worse nightmare of my life. Never play here again!!!! The Ranger need to do his job. We didn't even see him all day they should give that job to the beverage lady, cause we saw her at least thirty to forty times today alone. I don't understand how those people could pay that kind of money you guys are charging to play there. I don't usually get mad about anything but today just put it above the boiling point. Six hours to finish 28 hole, come on guys. You wasted my whole weekend by booking a tee time at your course. I'm a Golfpass+ member and played all over and I never had a weekend like this!!!

We went out to have a great day at the golf course. Instead we end up playing behind a foursome that was so slow that it took us 5:23 minutes to finish our round.. our tee time was 10:00am and we didn't finish our round until 3:23 pm. The Ranger should of done a better job. You cannot have a foursome that have no respect for other golfers. The Ranger gotta make his round more often. We asked if we could play through and they just ignores us. There was nobody in front of them!!!!

IOther than that, we had a great time. Those golfers make other golfer wanna stop playing .this guys shouldn't be playing on a course like this. They should learn the golf rules, before they go out and play.

" This was really the Rangers fault"

This was a great course for our group's Oktoberfest today. The weather turned out to be beautiful and we had a wonderful day. Nick and his staff did an amazing job in organizing our event and stayed in constant communication. He was there to start us off on our shotgun and things could not have run smoother. The course, though short demands your attention on several holes.. but it was in great condition considering the dry weather we've had this year. The greens were some of the best we've seen in our travels. Our group stayed for refreshments after golf and both food and service were superb. Play there if you get a chance and enjoy a fun day of golf. Thanks Hawks Landing for a special day!

The course is in great shape. Beautiful greens. Unfortunately with lack of rain this summer the ponds have dried up. The 19th hole is always nice for a snack and cocktail after your round.

I like playing this course, this is the 2nd time so far this year, and I will be back for sure before the season is over.

From tee box to green in very good condition. Really nice deck to enjoy a beverage and lite meal after. Weekend is always a slower pace.

We play Hawks a great times a year and each time the conditions improve. Fairways and tee boxes were cut well and the greens were soft and receptive. The course plays short except for the par 3 7th that plays 260 uphill from the tips. Really ?? How many players can reach that ? Beyond that love the track. And a thumbs up for the 19th hole!!!

I understand fully we are all under the spell of Covid19!!!!!

My first time playing Hawks Landing was very disappointing. The layout is hard for us “amateurs” so why would they allow the rough throughout the entire course to be 2 to 3 inches. This is NOT the US Open! Example ... I had an awesome drive on a par 5. Nailed my approach. I get to the green and find my find 3 inches into the rough. I could barely see the ball. The driving fairways are tight on most holes. Trees everywhere. Water where you don’t expect if you are new to the course.

Pace of play was horrible. Actually had 3 groups on a par 3!! No Rangers all day.

The greens were in horrible shape. Many holes had our putts jumping and going offline.

Social distancing was not being observed on the bar deck that overlooks one of the green. Clearly 10 people were hooting and hollering all whilst sitting at the same tables. Very close

I still shot 89 with some awesome par saves.

I most likely will not return.

This is a very short course, 5944 yards from the tips, (5370 white, 4570 gold, 4015 red) but the tightness of the fairways, many water hazards, sand traps within driving distance off some of the tees and the small greens make it very challenging as did the first cut, which was at least 6-8 inches throughout the course. Most of the tee boxes were beat up and irregular. There were also a lot of old sand traps around the course that were filled in with grass making for more surprising problems. Traffic noise from the nearby interstate 84 was loud and annoying on 8 holes. There are a lot better courses nearby to play with better conditions and layout.

On the plus side, the staff was friendly and helpful in letting us bypass a women’s league that was starting just before our foursome. The 19th hole has very large, multi-level patio where bands play 4 nights and Sunday afternoon.