Country Club of New Hampshire

I play here every week. Ti be honest, last year the course was in horrible shape. No way to sugar coat it. However, they have made a huge effort to turn things around. Greens are green and most are true. Fairways are coming in. They are working on the bunkers. The ones they have repaired are perfect. They do need to move this along however, as this is the most common complaint I hear. They cut a ton of trees for better airflow and it appears to be working. Now the staff. Really, you can't beat them. They are really the best. Honestly, if it wasn't for them, the course never would have made it through those tough times.

As of the date of this writing the course has improved 100% over last year and it appears that they are still working on it.

If I had one complaint it would be that there is virtually no on course drinking water. But they do have a cart girl.

Give this course a try.

Dan B

Course in great shape, good pace of play, friendly staff, and very loyal deer and horse flies! Bring bug spray if you play.

It had been a couple of years since I played at CCNH and what used to be a very nice experience turned out to be disappointing. The course is in need of a lot of maintenance. They were mowing the morning we played and the mower, unlike on other courses we've played during maintenance, failed to get out of our way on one hole. The worst of the holes in the front nine was a par 4 on which we couldn't even locate a fairway. It's a shame that there isn't more of an investment being made on course improvements and landscaping as CCNH is in a very nice location.

More grass on fairways, greens are greener. Staff's work, and warmer weather, evident.

Challenging, some long holes. Still show effect of winter ( patchy fairways, some rough greens).

Tough with no rain for a while but not worth $89 with a cart. Staff was very friendly bartender was awesome!

5 1/2 hour round with no evidence that there was any effort to speed up the pace of play. Unfortunately, fairways are burnt badly. I have played CCNH in August for 50+ years and will never again play there on the weekend.

The course is in very rough shape… I understand it is height of summer, but it was like playing in the Sahara desert

Staff, as always superb. But N.H. drought is ravaging this course's fairways. Greens fine! One advantage to dry, hard course- conditions supplemented distances on my drives. Hope it rains soon.

Range is nice. Course conditions are very rough. Felt a bit robbed playing this course for nearly 100 dollars, the layout could be good but lots of work needs to be done to revive the course.

At the Country Club of New Hampshire, the focus of interest is not as much on putting–which is still important–as it is on the long game. It’s the kind of golf, in this specific sense, that Ben Hogan would have favored. When I played it first back in the nineties, this track revealed its character immediately, and there was no underestimating this challenge, generated from its huge, sprawling bunkers on every hole, with much of it running through forestland, and with a good deal of up, down, and sidehill movement from nine through seventeen. The course slopes at 134 from the back tees, 126 from the blues–both indicators or how sternly it plays. The course bears the firm architectural imprints of both Wayne Stiles/John Van Kleek (1930) and William Mitchell, the latter of whom renovated the original nine and built nine more in 1963.

The front nine starts well but without drama, yet gathers momentum by holes three through six. There is not a clinker among these eighteen holes, which is most animated by a strong stretch that comes at eight through thirteen. These, along with a fine finishing trio highlighted by the picturesque and elegant eighteenth, are alone worth the price of admission. Mixed into the course’s defenses are some plateau greens, plenty of ground movement on the back nine, green complexes set on mounds or at the tops of hills on eight holes, water on four, doglegs on five. The water hazards, except for two ponds, are ancillary in nature. Still, the most impressive feature is the bunkers, all massive and some ginormous, like the one fronting green twelve, which appears to have a similar square footage to the green itself. Nowhere in New Hampshire have I encountered such an array of bunkers with dimensions of this magnitude. They generally guard the greens but the occasional fairway bunker defends the line of play. There is a nest of bunkers at eight, both in the fairway and near the green, all making the path to par difficult.

BEST HOLE: #3, Par-5, 490 yards (gold tees).

Starting with a commanding view from a high tee, the drive aimed at a broad, emerald fairway, lined by scattered trees on the right, woods left. From there the fairway’s second segment sweeps in a curve, banana-like, around a marshy pond guarding the left flank. Beyond the pond lies the last stretch of fairway, running up to a raised green protected by huge white sand traps, into which players should strike–precisely–short irons or wedges as third shots. The wide fairway, a keystone to the third, allows several options for strategic attack.

MOST INTERESTING HOLE: #5, Par-4, 380 yards

One bunker has made all the difference: on the fairway’s right side is a massive, bi-lobed bunker, but the fairway itself is offset from the tee. What this means is that it’s decision time–should the bunker be carried, or not? If you fly it, at what angle will that be? Fortunately, the architect(s) have made the fairway broad enough that you can pick the right angle based upon your average driving distance. Then you’ll play a wedge or short iron into a raised, two-tiered green. The design, then, is ingenious.

HARDEST HOLE: #10, par-4, 440 yards

The fairway takes you out to a wide landing zone, guarded by small bands of rough right and left, and further away by dense woods and a small stream. After that the hole sweeps up to a hilltop green, fronted by a gaping bunker and sloping back-to-front.

CONDITIONS:

Good overall. Only the greens showed some deficits, as about half of them need to recover from some form of malady, which makes them patchy in areas. About half of the putting surfaces, however, were excellent. Green-side areas ranged from good to excellent, fringes were excellent, tees mostly excellent, and roughs a bit varied but good overall.

CONCLUSIONS:

Many of the greens disappointed today, but considering my previous positive experiences here, I’m guessing this will turn out to be an anomaly as the greenkeeping staff restores their excellence fully.

This is a course whose broad fairways allow the employment of driver frequently, and tests everything else tee-to-green. The greens themselves offer just the right mix of slopes and enough undulation, while their size allows for a huge range of pin placements. The layout remains one of New Hampshire’s finest, and, combined with the setting and stunning backdrops around the eighteen, delivers much of what is best about New Hampshire golf. I plan to return soon, perhaps later this summer.

It was very apparent that at one time this golf course used to be a top-notch facility. The layout is by far the best thing this course has going for it. It is full of several interesting holes most of which include dog leg left or right. The greens were in decent shape and were very playable but other than that the conditions were lacking. I noticed several instances of large dry spots of missing grass on the fairway as well as the bunkers being extremely coarse sand with damaging rocks in them. The worst part about the course was the pace of play. Our foursome played our round in five hours, and there is really no reason that the golf course should be played in five hours other than overbooking. In general, I would recommend a first timer to play this course strictly due to the fact that the layout is good, but I personally consider it a one and done type course.

I had always heard about CCNH from guys who went away on golf package weekends back in the day, but I had never trekked up North to play. I gave it a go after the 4th of July. It still looks like the typical 1960's clubhouse, with very few modern updates. The layout is wonderful, winding around hills and wooded areas, with a little bit of water in play. There are back tees that would test long ball hitters. The downside is that the course conditions have fallen into the barely maintained category. Grass is patchy, with weeds and dirt often in play. The greens could use a lot more love and attention. This is of course is the trademark of the company that owns CCNH and a few other NH public courses. I think with some investment and caring this course could again attract golfers to Sutton. There is no chance that is going to happen though. I wish I could have experienced the course in its Kearsage hay day. I bet it was a golfing gem!

Spectacular mountain course with some really great holes. #8, 9 , 16 and 17 are memorable holes. Greens are flawless, couple bare spots in the fairways but can be expected with hot sun and drought conditions. Jim the ranger is a super cool guy. Stopped to talk and greet me. He’s an asset to this club. Can’t wait to get back

Although the reviews were great, when I arrived at the course it seemed at first glance to be a back forth layout. But it was nothing like that. It took me though a challenging well manicured layout. With individual holes that flowed and embraced the not too dramatic but mountainous terrain. It was walkable despite the terrain.