The U.S. Open takes center stage in Brookline, Mass. this summer, but the rest of the region’s golf courses are ready and waiting to welcome golfers to their layouts. Here are six of the best — one from each state in New England — to put on your list this year.
Connecticut — Yale Golf Course, New Haven
Until last year, you needed to know someone affiliated with Yale University in order to get on the Charles Blair Macdonald/Seth Raynor design. It recently held the NCAA regionals and is widely considered one of the top college courses in the country.
The ninth hole, “Biarritz,” ranges anywhere from 163 to 213 yards on the card, with an elevated tee shot over water, to a green that runs 60 yards deep with a swale bisecting the green in half.
Yale Golf Course, 200 Conrad Drive, New Haven, Conn., yalegolf.yale.edu
Maine — Sunday River Golf Club, Newry
Sunday River isn’t just for skiing, as Robert Trent Jones Jr. carved out 18 holes that drop and rise with the terrain. Golf Digest ranked it the top golf course in the state, while Golf Magazine has it as one of the “top 100 courses you can play.”
The par-72 layout maxes out at 7,130 yards and the No. 1 stroke hole, the 17th “Hole Cruz,” is a bear: A 496-yard, par-4 with a second shot to an elevated green guarded by a pair of bunkers.
Those with a season pass for next ski season are eligible for discounted greens fee this summer.
Sunday River Golf Club, 18 Championship Drive, Newry, Maine, www.sundayriver.com
New Hampshire — Mount Washington Resort Golf Club, Bretton Woods
When it comes to classic golf course design, Donald Ross often is seen as the gold standard. His layout at the base of Mount Washington is 7,004 yards and a par-72. While the Presidentials rise up behind it, the course itself is pretty flat; many of Bretton Woods’ cross-country ski trails crisscross the golf course.
Brian Silva helped reinvigorate the course with a renovation completed in 2008 based on Ross’ original plans.
There also is a nine-hole Mount Pleasant Course. This is the section that is visible from Route 302. The main entrance to the Omni Mount Washington cuts through.
Mount Washington Resort Golf Club, 210 Mount Washington Hotel Road, Bretton Woods, N.H., www.brettonwoods.com
Rhode Island — Triggs Memorial Golf Course, Providence
Ross’ name is stamped on many of the best courses in the Ocean State, including Rhode Island CC and Wannamoisett CC, but Triggs Memorial, in the Mount Pleasant section of the city, is where the public can get its chance to play (with weekend rates topping out at $50).
In 140 acres, Ross shoehorned 18 holes with the par-72 layout playing 6,588 yards from the tips. All four of the par-5s are less than 515 yards, and there are four par-4s that are 350 yards or shorter. But the opening three holes are all par-4s of at least 400 yards, with No. 3 at 457.
Triggs Memorial Golf Course, 1533 Chalkstone Ave, Providence, R.I., triggs.us
Vermont — Jay Peak Mountain Resort, Jay
It takes a bit of an effort to get to Jay, which sits about five miles south of the Canadian border, but it’s well worth the trip any time of the year with great views in any direction, whether from the golf course or at the 3,968-foot summit accessible by tram.
Graham Cooke designed the 6,908-yard, par-72 layout that was completed in 2007.
The 14th hole measures 220 yards from the tips and there is danger all around as the terrain falls away steeply on both sides, particularly just off the right side of the green. And the green is no picnic, especially when the pin is on the right side.
Jay Peak Mountain Resort, 830 Jay Peak Road, Jay, Vt., www.jaypeak.com
Massachusetts — Miacomet Golf Course, Nantucket
Miacomet is the only 18-hole public course on the island, and golfers get the full effect of the wind off the ocean resulting in needing to be creative with shot selection to contend with the breeze. It can be a beast from the tips at 6,890 yards but also can be as short as 5,145 (red) or 5,928 (white).
Miacomet was used for the stroke play qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur when it was on the island in 2021 along with Sankaty Head.
Miacomet Golf Course, 12 West Miacomet Road, Nantucket, Mass., www.miacometgolf.com
