Green Woods Country Club

We moved north recently to be with the grandkids, lived on a fantastic RTJ course in a resort community down in Georgia. Very blessed once again to be living near family and have this wonderful course to shared great times.

Note to readers: I have reviewed this course at length in 2021/22. Here is a shorter version, adding some new thoughts:

Layout:

Green Woods offers an array of ten (I wrote that correctly) very good and sometimes great holes. The tenth hole in this collection is a par-5 starting from the same teeing area as hole five; it is to be played on a second go-around of the course. Particularly impressive are the par-3 eighth, one of the best one-shotters in the state by virtue of its green complex, and the dogleg-right sixth, which features a great approach shot, downhill, that should end on a narrow, long, and raised green that is very cleverly designed. Six, a superb par-4, is also part of the toughest trio of holes on the course, as it is preceded by two more longish par-4s, both doglegs.

The course may feel somewhat tight because of the presence of large, mature trees everywhere, but in actuality most fairways fall on the side of broad; it shouldn’t seem narrow unless you’re spraying the ball via hooks or slices–in those cases your ball will likely find the woods (or even the road) on many holes.

The greens play a starring role here. They are extremely smooth, running beautifully and fast. Some undulate only modestly: the second, the fourth, the seventh. But the rest will range from moderate to very difficult; they demand sharp putting if you expect to effectively manage their slopes. Around the greens are large falloffs, along with various and sundry smaller slopes, all coordinated to make chipping and pitching both interesting and demanding.

Greenside bunkering, as well, will favor those players with accomplished sand games. Only one fairway bunker–a huge one on the left side of the driving zone at the second–appears on the course, yet the primary challenges of fairway slopes and their doglegs should be enough to satisfy the vast majority of players.

GWCC’s proximity to Route 8 means it’s accessible to the downtown areas of nearby Winsted and Torrington; it is situated some 25 highway miles from Waterbury.

Walking the course means scaling some moderate hills, but nothing too taxing. Many players opt to take carts.

Conditions:

Again, first-rate, and an improvement (if that seems possible) on what I encountered two and three years back. Its well-groomed tees, fairways, greens, and bunkers doubtless place it among the very best public-access courses in Connecticut.

Some Conclusions:

Although this is a challenging course (the slope is an above-average 125 for men; a high 129 for women), and is therefore a strong choice for golfing enthusiasts, I would also call it playable for average or recreational golfers, mainly because the fairways are generous enough and there are no overly tight or inherently punishing golf holes–though some may say the tenth is an exception.

Beyond this, expert conditioning and course presentation help bring out the full quality of this layout. Just as green diamonds are quite rare to encounter, I feel like I’m experiencing something special at this nine hole gem–maybe the finest in the state.

Interesting New England traditional layout. Lots of trees, small greens, bunkers made sense. No drinking water on the course. Fun track, and not very long. Solid condition, but…

Really put off by the staff. Got me out on time, put me ahead of 2 foursomes, so we were off to a great start.

We got a pop up thundershower part way through the round. Storm was pretty mild, and lasted 10 minutes. The guy running the counter decided to close the course and not reopen—no rain check. I get the no check…I was through 14 when they blew the horn. But the radar was pretty clear that this was a quick moving cell. No standing water, no course damage. He just wanted to go home, and didn’t care that he was hosing paying customers. 5:30 on a Sunday—he just didn’t want to be there. FYI, I was walking, so nobody would have had to wait for a cart or anything.

The course is worth playing, but expect to be treated in whatever way is most convenient for the employees, not what’s best for you.

Fairways nice, greens excellent, bunkers very playable, but lots of roots & rock in outer edges of rough. Very nice worker in pro shop got me set up & on tee right on time!

This course has a nice layout. The holes are challenging and the greens are quick. My only knock is there was no ranger. The group in front of us didn’t have a clue about pace of play. A ranger would have had them pick up the pace. They have a nice little bar and restaurant and the drink prices were reasonable. Overall I’d play this course again!

The course was in great condition. Greens rolled true, with many challenging pin positions. Bunkers were plentiful throughout, with good texture. Course layout was unique, and caters to a course management type of play. Spoke with the super and front attendant whom both were friendly and helpful. Used almost every club in the bag. Will gladly play here again.

Nice, tight 9 holes course. Good challenge. Nice greens and fairways. Need better leaf cleanup. Huge piles left on a couple of holes

An unusual, vintage ten-hole golf course built in 1903, Green Woods offers some of the finest golf in the Litchfield Hills, a region populated by several outstanding layouts. The hilly property, with fairways that tumble up and down excellent terrain for the game, has nary a flat hole.

One of this course’s strongest features is its carefully-conceived balance. Seven doglegs swing right and left in almost alternating fashion, allowing accomplished players to both fade and draw the ball. Five of the holes feature multiple greenside traps; four have one; one is bunkerless. Three of the holes are woodsy, with trees on both sides of their fairways. But 4, 6, 7, and 9 have dense woods only on one side; on the other, each has scattered trees, allowing you to follow an errant drive with (most commonly) a punch-out and reasonable chance to advance the ball toward the green. One par-3, the third, plays steeply downhill, meaning you may need to judge the bounce carefully; the other–the eighth–moves a bit uphill from the tee, with the green set on a small plateau: so an aerial attack will succeed best. Two holes are set fairly hard by Torringford Street, leaving out-of-bounds a distinct possibility for severely pulled or hooked shots. And two water hazards, both ponds, might swallow up golf balls, but they won’t threaten greatly if you’re striking the ball well.

Green Woods presents, then, its share of threats, including the rolling, speedy, and sometimes severe greens, along with the woods and the bunkers, yet this is not the kind of Pete Dye-styled, hazard-strewn extravaganza that consumes golf balls as fast as Deep-Fried Oreos sell at State Fairs. The heart of the course is its trio of testy par-4s at four, five, and six, all presenting different challenges (especially driving the ball) that will keep you working for pars. The nine has also been recently strengthened by course superintendent Mike Luciano, who was working on extending some of the tees when I played here two months ago. The project now completed, it seems, there are notably deeper tees at six, seven and eight, making for longer approaches into their greens.

This course was again in outstanding condition, truly among the best I’ve experienced over the past two years across nine states (I play too much golf). The tees, fairways, and greens were all in superb shape.

Abundant challenge, strong shot values, and careful balance in an enticing Golden Age package: Green Woods is a worthwhile detour in the Litchfield Hills.

Great 10 hole course with immaculate conditions. Greens were very fast and ran true. Traps were soft and very playable. Awesome time with friends of ours. An hour away but would love to come back. Played 18 with a cart.

Course was in great shape, as always. Staff was super friendly and accommodating. Pace of play was great on a mid-day Friday round.

Set some two miles from the downtown area of Winsted and four from Torrington, Green Woods Country Club lies next to a quiet suburban neighborhood on Route 183. Flanking and facing 183 are the parking lot and the clubhouse, a good-looking building of post-modern design. The grounds here are immaculately kept, the pro shop pleasantly appointed and well-stocked. But nice as all of this is, it was not exactly what excited me here today. What did was the first-rate golf course at Green Woods, a hidden green gem in the Berkshire Hills of Connecticut.

Spectacular, an often overused word when applied to golf courses, is not an ideal word to describe these serene and natural-looking course environs. But the look of this ten-hole course (only one of three in America) is, in its own inimitable fashion, compellingly beautiful: a forested backdrop, mature trees lining fairways, glistening white bunkers guarding nearly every green, rolling terrain underlying each fairway, rising and falling rhythmically. Such are the features that comprise what most of the best New England golf courses are all about.

LAYOUT:

Every hole here offers some form of challenge; none are dull or tame. The opener and finisher, two holes falling toward the friendly side, still require careful play. And all in between them will demand your best golf.

At the first hole, the driving area is receptive, but only a precise short iron/wedge will find the green one. Mounds, greenside slopes, and a pair of gaping bunkers complicate how you play this second shot, not to mention a pitched and strongly contoured green. The second, an uphill par-5 of 515, is endangered by the road on the left and OOB (as marked on the tree-line) down the right. The hole keeps you off balance again on the second shot, where the fairway’s second landing zone is essentially blind, as is the green.

Hole five is superb, a long par-4 playing uphill from the tee and favoring a draw. Three sunken bunkers, one left and two right, await missed approach shots into the green; a sizable falloff lies at the back. The sixth, another fine four-par, doglegs right and plays downhill to the only bunkerless green on the course. If that sounds too easy, the narrow green is set upon a mini plateau, meaning that all less-than-excellent approaches will result in a pitch shot-to-follow, not a GIR.

The last two holes, both demanding careful play to score pars, deliver a fine finish to the nine. On eight, hazards abound, beginning with the large pond your tee shot must cross. The fortress-like, elevated green, which should take between a five and seven-iron to hit, will reject even a slightly weak approach, and in this case leaves a difficult pitch back up the steep six-foot rise to the putting surface. That surface tilts strongly back-to-front. The home hole, 320 yards but all uphill, may yield a birdie, but a score of three will be hard-earned: the bi-level green, which is higher on its right side, will typically make it tough to stop your approach close.

Mention here should be made of the “tenth” hole, which is really played as number fourteen on the back side. The separate tee for fourteen, to the right of the fifth, leads to a divergent fairway that splits some 200 yards out: go left to play the fifth, right for fourteen. At that divergence, the fourteenth sweeps dramatically downhill at the first elbow of this “switchback hole” (it’s a double dogleg that first breaks right, and then left to the green). The drive, the key to playing the hole at least competently, has substantial shot value, as this is quite dangerous tee-to-green over its entire length and is almost entirely bordered by woods. Slice the tee shot and you’ll pay a visit to the dense woods; instead, favor the left side and hit it relatively straight to counteract the steep left-to-right tilt of the fairway. And the rest of the way is no picnic. A risk-taker’s hole? Yes, but playing aggressively here isn’t advisable, unless you happen to have a pro-like fades and draws in your arsenal of skills.

CONDITIONS:

The best conditioned course I’ve played in 2022. Fast and ultra-smooth greens with great consistency, along with excellent surrounds; outstandingly manicured fairways, very good roughs. Not only that, there is a definite look of excellence here, meaning someone is paying very close attention to course presentation. The bunkers look refined and the holes have a clear visual sense of order. As well, some use of contrasting grasses in the roughs (most notably at the closing hole) adds visual interest. Kudos to Course Superintendent Mike Luciano.

FRIENDLINESS:

Everyone I met here was accommodating and friendly.

COURSE ARCHITECTS:

Although the first architect of Green Woods (established in 1903) is unknown, Albert Zikorus was brought in to remodel the course in 1963. Although it is speculative to say how much he changed, his hand is visible in this design.

NOTES on Course Difficulty:

Shorter courses should never simply be equated with “easy” courses, a common misconception. Although this may not be a hard course for expert golfers according to the course rating, it surely imposes a firm challenge on nearly all typical golfers, as the slope is a formidable 128 from the blue/white tees, although it’s a quite a bit easier from the golds and reds. And consider this, too: if it were lengthened somewhat, its slope would exceed the TPC Hartford level of 131. Will it be lengthened? I noticed several extra deep tees, not yet in use, in place and being groomed.

SOME CONCLUSIONS:

Green Woods should be part of the discussion about best “nine-hole” public courses in the state–and really all courses, for that matter.

Over the last two years, I wrote about the merits of Hotchkiss School Golf Course (a Seth Raynor design) as a top Connecticut layout. To me, Green Woods–-a terrific layout itself, better conditioned than Hotchkiss and of comparable difficulty–is the one nine-holer that should be considered a Hotchkiss peer.

These two layouts, both built in the early 20th century, have commonailties, unsurprisingly. Some of these include aggressive green complexes, often with big falloffs, liberal use of greenside bunkering, plenty of ground flow–often you have to play the slopes–along with hilly terrain, and finally some perched/elevated greens. Perhaps coincidentally, each has an adventurous par-5, while its counterpart is somewhat less adventurous–though also a road hole. Both courses have only a single water hazard; their proliferation on golf courses is, after all, a modern preference.

Old-school golf has been making a comeback over the last several years. Yet another instance of this phenomenon was reflected in the wide player acclaim for The Country Club In Brookline, Mass., site of this year’s Open.

And that, too, is hardly a surprise. The Country Club is, you see, in New England.

GCC is always in pristine condition. The greens are fast and tough to read if you aren't a regular which provides a nice challenge. The staff is very friendly and as an added bonus the course offers reduced fees after 5PM.