Review: Keney Park Golf Course (Part 1)

It's a familiar story. An old Golden Age golf course, open to the public, is poorly managed and not given enough money for maintenance. Features laid out carefully to test the golfer and make them think disappear. Greens shrink, bunkers are grassed over. Then the grass itself starts to die. As the course conditions get worse and worse, people are less inclined to visit, the budget shrinks to compensate, and the cycle begins again. It's a grim fate, and numerous golf courses have died through that process. Luckily, Keney Park Golf Course was not one of them.

Pictured above: A not-dead golf course.

The front nine at Keney Park was originally designed by Devereux Emmet, a noted golf course architect who frequently associated with C.B. Macdonald. The back nine was built by Robert Ross (no relation to Donald Ross) a few years later. Unlike many old municipal golf courses that were once private but bought up by the town, Keney Park was always a public course. Fast forward to the 2000s. The course is still owned by the city of Hartford but is managed by an outside company. That outside company did a terrible job, and naturally, the course suffered for it. Things got so bad that in 2013, the city stepped in, took control of the course entirely, and invested several million dollars in a full renovation, which was completed in 2016. This renovation changed the nature of the course completely, making it highly reminiscent of a C.B. Macdonald/Seth Raynor golf course, with a generous portion of replica holes scattered around the property. How did that work out? Let's find out.

The first hole at Keney Park does a good job of setting the tone for the round. It's a short par 4 that plays over rolling, but not excessively hilly, terrain. Keney Park is a absolutely walkable golf course, but it definitely isn't flat. The heaving fairway lends this hole a lot of interest. It was very wet when we played here, so shots wouldn't roll off the steep slopes as easily. That meant you could end up with some very interesting stances. I'm sure it would be more entertaining dry, but the hole, and the course in general, was still plenty good without roll. And the entertainment continued at the green. Keney Park has the most entertaining set of greens I've ever played, surpassing even P.B. Dye. This one has a deep swale cutting through the middle of the green. It's very reminiscent of a Biarritz swale, but this isn't the official Biarritz green at Keney Park. That will come later.

Also, I want to mention the tee of this hole, which is an extension of the putting green. Atlantic City Country Club did the same thing; I appreciated it then and I appreciate it now.

The first hole.

The first few holes have lots of these sorts of undulation.

The first green, with its not-quite Biarritz swale.

The second hole is a 510 yard par 5 that is, frankly, not very good. Despite being on the shorter side, this hole is a double dogleg, with both doglegs being of the 90 degree variety. The forest on the far side of the dogleg cuts drives off at about 260-270 yards. And you don't want to be pressed right up against the left side for your second, as that forest continues on for a decent length. Your second shot would almost have to aimed away from the hole. Trying to cut the dogleg by flirting with the right trees isn't a good idea either, as there is a stream cutting the hole in two right where such a drive would end up. A stream you can't see from the tee. Blind water hazards are, to be blunt, really annoying. Frankly, out of the three of us, it's a miracle no one lost a golf ball on the drive. You might be best off using an iron off the tee and advancing about 200 yards. The second shot, no matter where you are, must contend with the massive fairway bunker benched into the hillside in order to get the best angle into the green, which is tucked into a corner of the property, backed by forest and guarded right and long by a series of bunkers.  I have a feeling that this hole worked better in the 1930s when driving distances were shorter, and also, I don't really appreciate having to plod along on a short par 5. The proper way to play the hole is boring, and I'm not a fan of that.

Not much to see on the second tee.

Still not much to see, other than a large bunker.

It takes a while before you can see the second green.

The second green, tucked into the forest.

The third hole is a fairly short downhill par 3 that plays over a small stream to an elevated green. There are many places you don't want to be, most notably long or short right. The green is shallow and noticeably tilted from back to front. Go long and there's a very good chance your second shot will run right through the green. The reason for avoiding the bunker short right should be obvious from the picture. It isn't the deepest bunker at Keney Park, but it is the first encounter with a bunker of that type. This is a very "hit the green or you're in trouble" kind of hole.

The third hole.

A more clear picture of why you don't want to be in the bunker short right.

The fourth hole is a medium length par 4, and once again the golfer is confronted with the very rolling nature of the landscape. The fairway is pinched where a driver would go by a fairway bunker and the treeline left, so a wood or long iron is probably the best choice. The resulting wedge or short iron is to a green sweeping off of a large mound short and left. Any shots hit left will funnel down toward the flag. This is a good opportunity for a birdie.

The fourth hole.

Any shot hit left of the fourth green will bounce right.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is called Long (Yes, the holes all have names on the scorecard), but it's only the third longest par 4 at Keney Park. At 430 yards, it's no pushover though. It is very important to keep the tee shot on the right side of the fairway, as shots hit too far left will likely be blocked out by trees overhanging the fairway in between the landing area and the green. The second is over a valley filled with moguls and mounds, and it lends a fair amount of dramatic flair to the hole. The green has bunkers lurking left, but otherwise, it's is one of the tamer greens at Keney Park.

The fifth hole. You don't want to be where that cart is. Also note the top-shot bunker right in front of the tee.

The fifth green.

Hopefully this gives you some idea of the scale of the undulation in front of the green.

Looking back down the fifth fairway.

The sixth hole is a short par 3, and while it's called Short, it's not quite the classic Macdonald Short. Those have horseshoe-shaped ridges contained within their massive greens, which are surrounded with sand. That's not to take anything away from this green, which is plenty quirky enough on its own. It's big but not huge, and has plenty of humps and bumps. Except for a small section to the right, the green is fronted by deep bunkers. Basically, you want to hit this green. If you don't, well, have fun.

The sixth hole.

Plenty of things going on within the sixth green.

The seventh hole leaves the rolling section of the property for a smoother, flatter, more typical topography. This is a very long par 4, stretching 455 yards. The tee shot isn't difficult, but the fairway isn't particularly wide, and you really do want to be in the fairway. If not, you risk bringing the fairway bunker 50 yards short of the green into play. It's at the green that things get interesting. Traditionally, Biarritz holes are par 3s, but having a Biarritz green on a long par 4 achieves a similar effect. Much like the first, the swale runs diagonally across the green, which is something that I like. And obviously, you do not want to be on the wrong side of the swale. I wish I could tell you what it's like putting through it, but my brothers and I were very careful and kept ourselves on the correct side of the green.

The seventh hole.

This is not an easy second shot.

The seventh green.

Hopefully this gives you some idea of how big the Biarritz swale is.

Another view of the seventh green.

The eighth hole is a mid-length par 4, running parallel to the last hole. Once again, there are no fairway bunkers, but if you're smart, you won't miss right. The green might be relatively tame compared with some of the other greens this course has to offer, but I would not call it flat. Of course, it's not the green you have to worry about. To the right is the most elaborately shaped bunker I have ever seen. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Church Pew bunker at Oakmont, but the rows in that are contained within the bunker. With this, the sand sort of zigzags around the grass rows. Unlike the last hole, I did get to experience this hole's unique feature. Ultimately, I suppose it is just a bunker, but hey, it was a cool-looking bunker.

The eighth hole. There's another top-shot bunker.

Everything seems fairly normal from here.

But there is bunkering of a truly epic scale by the eighth green.

This is not an ideal place to be.

The ninth hole is, at 460 yards, the longest par 4 at Keney Park, slightly beating the seventh. The bunker you can see off the tee isn't in play, but there's a tiny pot bunker on the left side of the fairway that is a potential issue for the long hitters. Also an issue? Overhanging trees on the left side that really get in the way of drives hit down the left side. They should really be trimmed, because going down the left should be the better option, as it lets you avoid the hole's most obvious defense - its Road bunker. Obviously, you don't want to go in that, but if anything, bailing out left of the green is an even worse idea, as the green slopes from left to right. Miss left, and it's very possible you'll be hitting out of the Road bunker on your fourth shot. Right is actually the better miss, the Road bunker is small and easily avoided considering the amount of fairway right and the length of the green. Still, it's another tough par 4 to finish the front nine.

The ninth hole. The visible bunker isn't an issue.

Not a bad place to be on your drive. Notice the little Road bunker eating into the green.

The ninth green. Short right was a good miss.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.