Ready for a road trip? Here are five out-of-the-way golf courses in RI you need to play

Posted by Admin July 22, 2024 Golf

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This headline is going to make some people laugh, but they don’t live here. They’re not like us.

If you’re from out of state and happen upon this, these golf courses are not out of the way. They’re actually all very convenient to get to compared to what you’re used to.

But if you’re from Rhode Island, the idea of playing one of these spots might give you a second thought. Only in the Ocean State is a spot that is not directly off the highway or takes more than 40 total minutes of driving considered “out of the way.” It’s a stereotype, but it’s a stereotype for a reason.

To come up with five golf courses that are worth going to, we had to take a few things into consideration. For one, if a course has already been featured, it’s not here — which is why Meadow Brook Golf Club and RIGA member Connecticut National aren’t on it.

More: Not up for a full round? Here are 5 9-hole golf courses in RI you should play this summer

The second thing is fulfilling the stereotype. It has to be in a spot that people would think twice about crossing the state to get to. If I can get there without a GPS, it doesn’t qualify (which is why I don’t consider North Kingstown Golf Course “out of the way”).

So who made the list? I’ve played all these courses at one point or another — including two recently — and can tell you, without a doubt these are the five courses that are worth the drive.

Crystal Lake Golf Club, Burrillville

Personally, this is a course that doesn’t qualify because it’s 18 minutes away from my front door. For the rest of the state, it might as well be in Guam.

If you haven’t played Crystal Lake, you’re missing out. The course is impressively playable with a terrific variety of holes. It’s on the short side — nearly 6,300 yards from the tips — but there are more than a few holes where trouble prevents you from truly taking advantage. If you can play disciplined target golf, you can score here. If you don’t, well, hit it straight.

The course has its quirks, exemplified best by the back-to-back par-5s on the front side. No. 5 is a 90-degree dogleg right that measures 494 yards. Forget driver. It’s a 200-yard shot, followed by a mid-iron, followed by another. By the green there is zero room to miss, so good luck.

What follows is a dogleg left par-5 that’s 452 yards. No need to cut the corner here — 225 up the middle, 225 to the green. Easier said than done (except last summer when I made eagle, NBD).

The par-3s are an adventure in elevation. My relationship with Nos. 2 and 11 is sketchy, but the eighth hole ranks among the best par-3s in the state. It’s 195 yards, uphill, with a bunker protecting the right side. Tough shot, especially when the wind blows, and I can’t remember a round with the pin safe on the left side.

More: Here are 5 of the best public golf courses in Rhode Island

As far as conditions go, Crystal Lake is among the best. The greens can be a little fuzzy — what public course isn’t? — but everything from tee to green is kept in terrific shape. The water features on the course add to the environment and, even on a busy day, you can get around in a reasonable amount of time.

It’s $45 to walk during the week, $60 with a cart. The price goes up $3 on Fridays, weekends and holidays so during prime time (7:30 a.m.-1 p.m.), it will cost you $60 to walk, $80 with a cart.

Exeter Country Club, Exeter

If you’ve been, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see Exeter on this list and it’s not the only one from the Hendrick-McCrory family that made it.

The course tips out at 6,900 yards — far too long for this guy — and still provides a challenge from the next set, which is at 6,400. Yes, there are shorter options as well.

Exeter brings it all to the table. It managed to be both playable and challenging, the conditions are impressive as always. It feels like a bombers’ paradise, but there are enough holes that require shot-shaping or placement that it makes you stop and think before ripping driver.

More: MetLinks Golf Course hasn’t replaced Metacomet Country Club – but it has kept its spirit alive

You have to play the course for the 13th hole. While I’d be OK with it being burned to the ground — my track record there isn’t great — it’s a tough short par-4. It’s a nervy shot over water and, after you travel through the covered bridge, you’ll need to hit a blind approach or just take your double and move to 14.

What I always enjoy about Exeter is the ability to get completely distracted from life for four hours. It’s in the middle of nowhere and the only signs of civilization are the golfers on the course. There’s usually a lot of them, but it provides one of the more relaxing 18 holes you’ll play all summer.

Rates are on par with the rest of the state. During the week it’s $45 to walk, $65 to ride, with a $2 increase on Fridays. Prices don’t get sky-high on weekends either — $53 to walk, $75 to ride, with those prices decreasing after 2 p.m.

Green Valley Country Club, Portsmouth

Don’t let worries about bridge traffic scare you off — this course is worth it.

When I wrote my original “Five Courses to Play This Summer” column, there was plenty of reaction in my email box, DMs and on social media about not including Green Valley.

I get it now.

Of all the days I could have played the course, I picked the worst. It was 90, it was humid and, in one of the more brain-dead decisions I’ve made, I walked. It was all worth it.

Just about every golf course in the state has a truly stupid hole in its layout. Green Valley doesn’t. It’s 18 holes of straight-up enjoyable golf.

The scorecard terrified me. The tips were 6,800-plus but the white tees were at a scary 6,600 — just a touch outside of my comfort zone. Green Valley balanced the yardage beautifully, giving you holes where the pop was needed but providing others where something shorter off the tee was OK.

My favorite part of the course, without a doubt, were the par-3s. All four were much different shots — although with a front pin on No. 8, I was able to hit the same club I did on No. 5. No. 11 was a brute at 220 yards, then immediately followed by the 125-yard par-3 12^th, a soft wedge over some water.

If you use all of your clubs, it’s traditionally the mark of a great golf course. Green Valley made me dirty them all up and I can’t wait to do it again.

Green Valley charges $50 to walk (and is one of the easiest walks in RI) during the week, $76 with a cart; it’s $60 to walk on the weekends and $86 with a cart.

Believe the hype — Green Valley Country Club is worth your time.

Richmond Country Club, Richmond

After not playing the course for well over a decade, regret hit instantly when my round was over because Richmond Country Club might very well be the most underrated course in Rhode Island.

While most South County golfers are familiar with it, I feel like the rest of Rhody doesn’t play Richmond because the mindset is if you’re going to make the drive, you might as well play Meadow Brook.

Richmond is intimidating, with a reputation built on narrow fairways and overall length. While I passed on the tips — 6,817 yards — the whites were a little on the short side. Normally that’s a good decision, but Richmond is a target golf course. I hit plenty of hybrids off tees, but routinely blew them through fairways and into tree lines.

The fairways look tight, but the rough isn’t tough to manage. There’s room to work, but this isn’t like your stereotypical Rhode Island course where you can sometimes play from a fairway over. Play responsible, be mindful of angles and you’ll play well.

My favorite part of the layout was Nos. 8 and 9, two short par-4s that are easy to score on. They were perfectly placed because, after getting your teeth kicked in for seven holes, they give you a confidence boost heading to the back — and you’ll need it.

Bang for your buck, it doesn’t get better than Richmond. It’s $44 to walk during the week, $59 to ride. On weekends, it’s $49 to walk, $64 to ride.

Winnipaug Golf Course, Westerly

Full disclosure: the last time I played Winnipaug was during a drought and the last time I was on the course was in 2022, when I was covering the Rhode Island Junior Amateur.

That said, this course gets on this list for two obvious reasons.

For one, it’s a Donald Ross design. If you’re a golf nerd, you play a Ross course whenever you get the chance. You know you’re going to be forced to think and figure out how the course is trying to trick you. You know the greens are going to be devious. You know for every punch you throw, it’ll throw one back.

Second, there aren’t many public courses that are as aesthetically pleasing as Winnipaug. There’s something about native grass in the summer that’s wildly enjoyable, and combined with some of the ocean views, it’s a summer golf experience that’s tough to get on other public courses.

Winnipaug is one of the places you need to play because it’s offering something no other course can.

The greens are equal to what you’ll find around the state, the tee boxes are great and the fairways are fairways in spots. Winnipaug is one of the few courses where a little brown helps, but in the past it’s leaned closer to completely burned out. The wet spring should have helped it get back to where it needs to be.

There is one other thing that Winnipaug offers — the best golf course logo in the state, public or private. The flying windsock emblem is elite and if you play a round and don’t grab some merch, you didn’t do Winnipaug right.

What does it cost to play? Good question. Their website says they use “dynamic pricing” with rates based on a “variety of factors.” Looking at tee times, you’re looking at prices similar to those at others around the state.

Just play it now while you can.