The fabled rumor that to become a member here you have to show evidence from ancestory.com that your kin were passengers on the Mayflower has not been proven, but I will say that you must bring some old school experience of seaside golf to play this marvelous course effectively.  The links are configured in the shape of an hourglass and the clubhouse sits on the highest ground in the narrow waist of this layout.  Nine holes go eastward toward the Atlantic which is visible throughout the outward half.  The second nine meanders to the west and it is closely tied into Pleasant Bay.

The recent restoration of this course by Keith Foster brought back the openness of the playing areas and the amazing vistas of the Atlantic Ocean and Pleasant Bay.  This seaside proximity conspires with the wind and the extreme topography of the site to make the day a defensive struggle against par.  Whatever you know about club selection adjustment for uneven stances, elevation change, and wind effect will come into play as you must carefully choose on every shot to play safe or safer to protect your scorecard.

The challenge of the day is apparent standing on the first tee staring out at a prominent centerline bunker that is your target and certainly in play.  If you are on short grass for your approach you get the combination you will see all day of a severely elevated approach to a perched green complex with a dramatic false front.  Regardless of the day’s pin location you have to elevate approaches on this course a third of the way into the green to get them to stay on the putting surface.

The next two four pars have wide open driving areas but the segmentation of the landing areas and the sharp turn of the holes at the point of inflection require a very precise line of intent to give you a good look at the green complexes set above you.  As you can read in the linked hole-by-hole descriptive detail at the end of this posting, the second green has an inverted contour that favors a ground approach coming from the right.  The third green is a long narrow affair tucked hard up against scrub and O.B. on the right.  If you reach the fourth tee within one of par you are probably one up on the front nine bet.

For me the par threes are the most memorable holes of this course because the elevation changes combined with the seaside back drops make it extremely hard to focus on the shot precision required on each.  Though not very long the fourth is the wildest ride of the lot.  Only a short to medium iron, this long and narrow multi-tiered green is incredibly evasive to what should be a stock knock down shot into the prevailing breeze.  A 60-yard long affair this is really two greens bisected by a deep Biarritz type gully across the center. 

As you walk to the green from the cart path the green contour looks like the Villanova logo so putting from one sector to through the valley is a three-putt you are trying to avoid.  Take a moment to appreciate the stunning vista looking off the back of the green of an endless bay with pleasure boats bobbing in the distance.

The biggest challenge in the design of this course was the severity of the topography that needed to be negotiated.  William Fowler did a brilliant job in this regard and it is very evident in his routing from 5 through 9.  The holes go up and down severely hilly terrain but the placement of tees, landing areas, and green complexes make it very playable in spite of that challenge.  Given that the course was designed during an era where hickory clubs dictated play closer to the ground this makes playability he presented all the more of an accomplishment.

After a fairly rudimentary scoring opportunity on the Par 5 fifth, the sixth is the  number one handicap hole and may provide the most stirring shot making of the day.  From a splendid vista on high teeing ground this signature hole sweeps hard to the left between a couple tall hillsides, and a well struck tee shot aimed at the island in the distance tumbles down the hill toward the low point on the hole. 

The approach requires a towering middle iron to a small green complex perched up to the right with one nasty bunker flanking the right.  The surf is lapping 50 feet below the green on the left so there is really nowhere safe to hit it but on the green.  As scenic as this hole plays on the way from tee to green it is worth one more look back from the green to admire the view from where you came.

The eighth, which mirrors the first, gives you a wide landing area with a centerline bunker to aim at off the tee and a similar elevation to scale with a semi-blind short iron into the green. 

The finishing hole on the outward half is pure eye candy as it sneaks up on the clubhouse set on the hill.  From the proper drive position right center of the fairway you are likely standing on a plateau on level to a narrow green sandwiched by bunkers.  The green complex sits across a dip in the fairway, so you must elevate a longer club all the way to the green’s edge.

Grab a snack from the little room tucked in the side of the clubhouse next to the driving range because the inward nine will be just as demanding as what you just experienced.  You will need full sustenance and hydration to handle what lies ahead.

When you step on the tee box at the tenth it looks like an on level 175 yard shot but the devil is in the detail of the green complex.  It is an inverted hour glass set on a 7 to 1 angle that does not present you very much width to work with.  The front of the green is open but there is a decided pitch right-to-left once the ball is on the surface.  As with so many of these Fowler approaches you must enlist the ground to be your friend to control line and distance on the roll out of these shots.

What follows is a shortish, funky five par with a bit of deception on each shot.  Driving area is slightly above the tee and it looks very generous, but the proper line is up the left to avoid the ball drifting right into a low area.  The second is a blind shot over a hill to a lay up zone about 75 yards from the table top green complex.  As detailed in the hole-by-hole link below, this is a very shallow green so some grip on the approach is needed to give you a scoring opportunity.

The short par four that is next is a fooler because it appears unduly wide from the tee to the green but you need to mind a line up the left to reach a flat area for the short iron approach to the green set to the right.  This green is an inverted bowl that will deflect balls in all directions. Even greenside recovery pitches are very hard to keep on this putting surface.

From the 14^th tee to the house is a run of the most quixotic holes you play all day. The blind “Elephant Hole”, a massive grass two-story crater down the left of the driving area, is a sure path to double or worse.  If you drive safely past this chasm the green sits below you with a resplendent backdrop of the bay in the distance. This green has another false front that requires your approach to land in the first third of the green to stay aboard.

The next one is the most photographed of the three pars on this course but I actually think that if you look through the eye candy it is the easiest of the lot.  The three tiered green sits on a bit of a concealed diagonal so shaping it into the wind to reach the proper tier is the task at hand.

You are basically playing the steep contour of the adjacent 14^th hole in reverse on the 16th so you can add a solid 20% for the hill and the prevailing wind to an already sizeable challenge.  The width of the hole on the left is helpful but like the approach into the 12^th you are probably facing a blind shot into this green.

Turning back to the club house for the last two the wind should be at your back.  It is important to play up the left side of the penultimate hole to avoid the grab of Cahoon’s Hollow on the right and give yourself a manageable lay up past the fierce Fowler Bunker which shadows the layup area just inside of 150 yards from the green. This approach into a tight green setting is one of the coolest shots you will hit all day.

With a helping wind the home hole provides you a chance to let the big dog eat and carry the ridge across the fairway that can throw your drive well down the hill another 50 yards.  As you have experienced all day the final approach is straight up the hill to a false fronted green complex at the foot of the clubhouse.  Even with wind aid it is a club and a half extra to reach and stay on the putting surface.

From the green take a moment to look to your left for one last jaw dropping shoreline view across the bay at the 5-Star Wequassett Resort in the distance.  

Chatham, Massachusetts

Architect:       William Herbert Fowler (1922) Keith Foster (2004)

.                      Par     Rating   Slope   Yardage

Black               71        72.8     142      6524

Blue                71        70.8     137      6159

Gold                71        69.4     133      5802

White            71        66.9     117      5323

Green           71        66.2     116      4710

If you would like a printable PDF of this posting including a yardage book quality hole-by-hole description of how to play the course hit the link below.

(Click to get the the printable text of this posting)

It is so rare to go to a renowned club with only a couple of hundred members who come from old money and still run the place with a thrifty attitude of “why just change things for changing sake”.  I was told the president of the club has been president for decades, that kind of says it all.  Why change things that don’t need changing?

Newport Country Club was founded in 1893 by a group of well heeled guys who just wanted a place to hang with friends, watch some polo, and play a little golf.  Under the guidance of Theodore Havenmeyer they went about acquiring the land for the course and hired Whitney Warren, a French trained architect, to build them a Louis the XIII style club house with all the bells and whistles they required.

Other than a brief spat with a hurricane in 1954 that required reconstruction of one wing, the palatial clubhouse on the hill looks like it has been there for 130 years with very few changes.  By today’s high end club standards this place is far from excessive, in fact spartan in its amenities but more then adequate to meet the needs of the members who only spend a few months a year in their Newport second homes.

To me the simplicity of this place is refreshing.  People come to play a round of golf, enjoy an after round libation or a snack, and sit around taking in the fabulous seaside scenery that falls below their feet looking out the bay windows.  There is an honesty in an attitude of wealthy people who do not need to be reminded of their wealth.

The golf operation reflects this same attitude.  This club was one of the original members of what was to become the United States Golf Association and it has held more then its share of major golfing events on this distinguished links.  Recently at Newport Tiger Woods won his second U.S. Amateur in 1995, Annika Sorenstam won a U.S. Open in 2006, and Richard Bland won the U.S. Senior Open in 2024.

The course plays hard and fast with a wind-blown links feel provided by stiff ocean breezes.  They do not water anything but the tees and greens so there is no emerald green Augusta look that you take for granted at high end places.  The fairways take on rock hard character all year round and no member is going to complain about inconsistent lies in the fairways or the rough.  Windswept greens putt fast and true but trying to hold a spinning approach shot near the flag may be a big ask.  What nature provides is what the course gets,  it is up to the player to deal with it and converse with old man par accordingly.

The original course was done by the head professional William Davis in 1893 and in 1921, after acquiring additional acreage on the other side of Harrison Avenue, they hired one of the great Golden Age architects of his day, A.W. Tillinghast, to redesign the course which included seven new holes.  What Tillie created was the splendid layout we play today.  Little has changed in the last 100 years because the members understand what they have, a classic playable links course overlooking the sea, a true rarity in the U.S.

The fairway bunkering is free form, plentiful, and seemingly arbitrary in its disbursement but that is to allow for changes in wind direction from day-to-day.   Driving is the key here, one must avoid the bunkers as well as get the best angle into the pin locations of the day.  The green complexes are very Tillinghast in nature, accessible from the front, plenty of collaring bunkers and lots of internal contour in the putting surfaces.  Originally constructed for much slower green speeds, with today’s agronomic improvements and dried out windblown surfaces staying below the hole on all approaches is essential.

One quirky thing I noticed is the sequential color of the tee markers from longest to shortest are Red, White, and Blue which is the opposite of what you would find at most places.  I wonder if this was an intentional jab in the ribs at the traditional clubs of the day.

From the foot of the clubhouse the first hole is a somewhat gentle handshake Par 5 that reminds you that just because it appears open you need to focus on particular lines of play based on the day’s wind and the day’s pin.   A bit of croquet to leave a proper angle into a green set on top of a chasm which will reject balls stuck without sufficient intent.

The next two medium length Par 4s give you the hopscotch pattern of avoiding fairway bunkers into green complexes surrounded by sand.  Which brings you to the first of the very difficult Par 3s which, if played into the ocean breezes, can be as much club as you have in your bag.  This one and the 14^th are definitely drivable Par 4s in such conditions as described in the Hole-By-Hole Analysis link below.

You now are faced with the number one handicap hole of the day, a long wandering four par strewn with fairway bunkers everywhere.  The approach is particularly enigmatic with a cross bunker encroaching from the right at about 75 yards.  This might require a layup to the left and an accurate pitch to have a chance at a par.

A bit of a breather, not dissimilar to the second leads you into a tough finish for the outward half.  A long meandering par 5 that plays similar to the fifth, followed by a tightly corseted medium length par three, and ending on the third handicap index hole, a long march back up the hill to the green set next to the majestic  clubhouse.  Stick your head into the bar to grab a snack and some hydration before heading out to the very difficult challenge ahead.

Back nine sequence of 5-4-5-3-3 is kitchy and will demand a blend of solid decision making and shot execution to maintain balance on the scorecard.  You will notice remnants of a rock quarry adorning the right on the Par 5 tenth and behind the green complex.  Once through the highly technical short eleventh the quarry skirts the left of the second par 5 in two holes.

This now brings you to the strangest sequence of two Par 3 holes you have ever seen.  From the doorstep of the green supervisor’s home you are staring up a billy goat hill to a green complex perched on a ridge adjacent to the clubhouse.  It is an equestrian leap over an array of bunkers into a green dramatically sloped toward you which requires two to three clubs extra depending if the wind adds insult to injury of the severe elevation change from tee to green.

This is followed by the evil sister of the fourth, another possibly two-shot Par 3 across an abyss into a green perched above a chasm and a seriously fierce bunker left and below the green.  If you get through these last two Par 3’s in eight shots you have gained ground on the field.

The second handicap index hole of the day is a sweeping dogear right Par 4 which can play a three shotter if the wind is in your face.  The green complex is particularly interesting set into the foot of a low hill to the right featuring a two levels and a steep false front to boot.

As you slowly turn your way back toward the clubhouse the 16^th is the first truly non-links hole you play all day.  A truncated short Par 4 this actually has a pond in play short and left of the green which you would never see on a links course in Scotland.  Next is a very long par four and a half with a canal on your left and plenty of bunker turbulence between tee and green.  Like many of the long ones it is possible that you need to lay up and then rely on a lawn dart pitch to save your par.

As you approach the final tee take a moment to notice the precipice above you and to the right which is the ceremonial back tee.  You would need a burro and a Sherpa guide just to ascend to this pulpit ground but it presents an imposing look especially looking back walking off the final green complex. 

Like the ninth the finishing hole on this side traverses the steep terrain to return to the clubhouse.  The views of the back of this majestic structure are a splendific as the front, it is quite an architectural statement in all directions.

.Newport, Rhode Island

Architect:       William Davis (1893)  A.W. Tillinghast (1921)

.                      Par     Rating   Slope   Yardage

Black               70        75.5     135      7085

Red                 72        72.5     128      6577

White              72        70.7     122      6194

Blue (L)          72        73.0     127      5601

If you would like a printable PDF of this posting including a yardage book quality hole-by-hole description of how to play the course hit the link below.

(Click to get the the printable text of this posting)

It is really cool when you walk into the bar area of a classic old course like this and see the names Brad Faxon, Billy Andrade, and Brett Quigly on the club championship plaques.  These are the favorite sons of the state who grew up playing there and later went on to a career on the PGA Tour.

This place has tradition seeping out of every pore and you cannot help but anticipate the experience of playing a course where players of this caliber honed their skill before making it on the big stage.

What is even more enticing is the informality of the place, nothing is overstated it all just feels comfortable in its own skin.  You might note that the logo features a muskrat, a critter that made its presence known as they were excavating the holes close to the shore line holes a century ago.  A visit to the golf shop will give you the opportunity to by a cute muskrat hat as a piece of memorabilia.

Donald Ross routed this track in 1911 and very little has changed since.  Like so many of his designs that populate this part of the country, Ross simply took what the ground was offering and found hole sequencing and strategic challenges there to be unveiled.  Green complexes are the jewels here, plenty of challenging bunkering to deal with, but, as was custom in the hickory club age of the time, access to most of the greens can be handled using the ground as your friend.

The course plays to a par 71 with only three par threes and two par fives so you have a large inventory of four pars to encounter along the way.  The low handicap holes are very long par fours that establish the challenge of the day but there are a number of short ones that require more tactical decisions and precise shot execution to help balance your scorecard.

The day begins with a simple downhill par four that introduces you to the first of two inverted bunkers on the course.  These are nothing but large turtle back bunkers that present you with a sand shot below your feet.  Both the one here and on the ninth are really not a factor in the playing strategy of the hole.  What you do get on the first is the typical corridor of bunkers leading up to an accessible green complex with plenty of contour.  This is a formula you will see throughout the day.

The next two holes start to define the character of this charming Ross creation.  Driving the ball in the fairway is a premium for playing aggressively into the green complexes.  The sloped ledged green setting on the second will challenge you keep your approach in the area of the day’s flag.  The uphill third has a domed green that repels balls in all directions so a sharp short game is needed here to make a par.

The fourth is the first harrowing visual statement you will encounter as the hole presents itself as a slippery downhill par four into a tiered green across a meandering creek.  This is where paying attention to landing areas off the tee makes a huge difference in getting playable approaches into the greens.  You will find full detail on a strategic approach to play in the printable Hole-by-Hole Analysis through the link at the bottom of the posting.

Two short, scoreable holes follow in a technical par three and a theoretically reachable par four.  One of the things I really like about this course is the opportunity to hit precise short irons into small sloped targets to help your scorecard.

The balance of the outward nine is a series of long holes where you just have to hitch up your pants and drive the ball solidly to have a prayer of reaching the greens in regulation.  Don’t be surprised if you are hitting a 60-yard pitch and a putt on the longer holes in an effort to save a par.

When you make the turn take a moment to visit the halfway house next to ten tee for a hearty snack before you attack the second nine.  Very old school looking structure with real character.

By now you have probably noticed that you have only played one par five and one par three so far.  The odd sequencing of the non-par fours continues on the back nine.  The tenth is a strong par three with a sweeping contoured putting surface that requires precision with a longer fairway club to get a reasonable two-putt opportunity for par.

The last par five of the day is next,  a sweeping dogear left with a panoramic view of the clubhouse on the horizon.  Scoring on this one and the short twelfth is a must because there are a couple of hearty par fours that follow before you cross the road and head to the four bayside holes that define the challenging finish.

As you cross the road to the fifteenth you cannot help but be a bit overwhelmed by the site of the lighthouse and the bay that will overlook your play on the last four.  The wind now becomes a major factor in club selection and line so there is a strategy change at hand to control trajectory and mitigate wind effect from here to the house.

The short three par 17^th is a Kodak moment for sure and probably the place where the muskrats made their last stand before becoming part of the lore of this place.  A beautiful and challenging finishing hole with a green majestically set into a hill behind presents a tantalizing finish to this classic old course.

.Barrington, Rhode Island

Architect:       Donald Ross (1911)

.                      Par     Rating   Slope   Yardage

Blue                71        71.1     130      6396

White              71        70.1     127      6117

Red (L)           71        68.6     124      5786

Gold               71        65.5     116      5259

If you would like a printable PDF of this posting including a yardage book quality hole-by-hole description of how to play the course hit the link below.

(Click to get the the printable text of this posting)