Ranking the Golf Courses I Reviewed in 2018

We've reached the end of another year, and it's been an interesting one. Lots of good things have happened, but wow, the weather was absolutely terrible the whole year. A late winter, seemingly endless deluges over the summer, and an early winter. All that made doing these golf course reviews way more stressful than I thought they'd ever be. But I completed my goal of doing one review a month. So, what better way to commemorate 2018 than by ranking all those courses I reviewed? You may recall that I did something similar last year, but in that, I limited myself to golf courses that I never played before, regardless if I had reviewed them yet or not. This year, I'm limiting myself to the 12 golf courses I reviewed in 2018. I may have played them before, and as you'll see, I may not have even played them this year. Sure, there will be some overlap, but I think this will make things more coherent in the future. But that's enough introduction, let's get to the list!

12. The Landings Golf Club

The sixteenth hole at the Landings.

I can't believe I'm writing even more words about this golf course. It's a pancake-flat executive golf course right next to a small airport. It is completely uninteresting, there are no holes that I would consider even remotely good or exciting, and to cap it all off, it isn't even that cheap. I would most definitely not recommend.

Read my review of the Landings here.

11. Glade Valley Golf Club

The sixteenth hole at Glade Valley.

The best thing about Glade Valley is the price. If you do things right and you play here at the right time, you can play a decently maintained, full-length golf course, with cart included, for under 20 dollars. Unfortunately, I think everyone knows that, so while the round is cheap, the golf will be slow. And this isn't an interesting enough golf course to warrant a 5 hour round. It's not bad, I guess, just bland. Lots of holes that play just like other holes.

Read my review of Glade Valley here.

10. Shenandoah Valley Golf Club

The first hole of the Blue nine at Shenandoah Valley. If only the rest of the course looked like this.

Trees. That's the most enduring thought I have about Shenandoah Valley when I look back at my round there. There are lots and lots of trees. Way too many of them. For one, this is bad because my brothers and I spent half our round looking for golf balls. That's no fun and it made the course tougher in an unenjoyable way. And secondly, this was a golf course with excellent terrain overlooking the northern end of Shenandoah National Park. And as you can see from the picture, it's quite an impressive view. But you barely get to see that landscape. You just get to see trees. If the course took out, say, half the trees, I'd move this course up the list. For now, it earns my "Most Disappointing" award.

The second hole on the Red nine.

Read my review of Shenandoah Valley here and here.

9. Flatbush Golf Course

The last hole at Flatbush.

Flatbush is not the most exciting course in the world. But it had a decent amount of variety, had some nice bits of elevation change, had some actually challenging holes, and it was very well priced. And while I can't guarantee you'll have an empty golf course, we certainly did. It's pretty user-friendly too, and I'd say it's a decent place to learn the game.

Read my review of Flatbush here and here.

8. Little Bennett Golf Course

The third hole at Little Bennett. Long is pretty dead.

Not every golf course can meander freely across the landscape. Sometimes, the terrain is so severe that routing options are limited, and even then, the end result can be disjointed and near impossible to walk. Little Bennett is one of those golf courses. Walking isn't even an option here. The course itself is a bit underwhelming. It's certainly got its interesting and quirky moments, but considering the ruggedness of the landscape, I was expecting a bit more. Not to mention that the place is not cheap to play.

There were some nice views at Little Bennett.

Read my review of Little Bennett here and here.

7. Wentworth Golf Club

The extremely difficult second hole at Wentworth. I like the hole, I just wish it came later in the round.

My younger brothers played here when they made a separate trip to Florida, based on my tepid recommendation and the fact that it was one of the few courses open during a day of bad weather. They were under the impression I thought it was the greatest course ever. It is not, and I never thought that. I thought it had some good points but it also had plenty of issues. My general assessment of the course remains the same though, it's tough and narrow, but I can appreciate that in moderation. The front nine, in my opinion, is by far the better of the two nines. The course itself looks great, I especially enjoyed the sandier look of the front nine. But there's too much water in general, and too much OB on the back. It was never my favorite golf course, and it doesn't even crack the top half of this list. Is that better?

The fourteenth hole at Wentworth.

Read my review of Wentworth here and here.

6. Westminster National Golf Club

The seventh hole at Westminster National is, to put it mildly, a bit strange.

Westminster National is an interesting proposition. Is it a good golf course? To be honest, it really isn't. It's not bad, but it's simply maintained, kind of bare bones, nothing fancy. However, much like Little Bennett, Westminster National is situated on a very rugged piece of property. That level of elevation change combined with a basic design lends itself to a certain level of quirkiness. And Westminster National has some extremely quirky holes. The king of strange has to be the seventh hole, which is a short par 5 that doglegs 90 degrees at around the 250 yard mark down a big hill, crosses a small stream, only to climb back up almost the same height in half the distance. But the quirkiness isn't limited to that one hole, there's enough weirdness to keep you going through the round. Westminster National constantly put a smile on my face, and that's why it's in the top half of my list.

Much like Wentworth, the second at Westminster National shows no mercy.

Read my review of Westminster National here and here.

5. Triggs Memorial Golf Course

I'm being a bit merciful and giving Triggs the benefit of the doubt. I had way more fun during my round at Westminster National than at Triggs, and I'm betting both of my brothers would say the same thing. The golf at Triggs was mediocre, and the only thing slower than the pace of play was the green speed. However... this is still a Donald Ross course we're talking about. A relatively untouched Donald Ross with lots of authentic New England charm and aesthetic. There was plenty of subtle strategy and challenge as well. If the greens had been appropriately paced, Triggs would be up one, maybe two, spots.

Read my review of Triggs Memorial here and here.

4. Dunedin Golf Club

The tenth hole at Dunedin, nestled among palms and live oaks.

We go from an old Donald Ross course to... an old Donald Ross course. But this one is in Florida! And the greens didn't feel like you were putting through Velcro! Otherwise, Triggs and Dunedin feel pretty similar. Obviously, Dunedin is flatter, but it's not as flat as you might expect from a Florida golf course. There's enough movement to be interesting. It's reasonably challenging for the good golfer, but because water only comes into play on a couple of holes, it's completely playable for the not-so-good golfer. It won't deliver extreme thrill, but it is relatively affordable and fun golf. I wish there were more courses like it.

The fourth hole. You couldn't ask for a better day to play golf.

Read my review of Dunedin here and here.

3. Royal Manchester Golf Links

I think it's pretty fair to say I have an affinity for older golf courses. All four of the Golden Age courses on my list are in the top five. However, as proof that I am not completely biased against modern golf courses, I present Royal Manchester. It has its faults, the ninth and eighteenth holes are fronted by water and feel out of place and there is a 400 yard walk to a tee so that you can play a hole that doubles back in the direction you just came from. Otherwise, Royal Manchester is a solid golf course with quite a few good strategic holes. It's very well maintained and also fairly cheap, making it extremely good value. I'd definitely make the hour and a half long drive to play there again.

Read my review of Royal Manchester here and here.

2. Keney Park Golf Course

The Redan at Keney Park. Definitely not your standard par 3.

The Church Pew bunker next to the eighth green. Definitely not your standard greenside bunker.

It is very difficult for the average golfer to experience Macdonald/Raynor replica holes. C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor worked almost exclusively for a extremely wealthy clientele, and as such, most of their courses are extremely private. There are a couple exceptions and there are some courses that pay homage to the style, but most of this group is expensive to play. Keney Park is an exception. If there's a cheaper way to experience Macdonald/Raynor replica holes, I don't know it. For $40, you can play a Redan, a Biarritz, a Short, a Road, among some other lesser known replicas and original holes. All in a location just a couple miles from the center of Hartford. Not only does Keney Park possess fun, rolling terrain and an endlessly entertaining set of greens, it's set in an almost unbelievably serene forest. You can't see the city, you can't hear the city, you feel isolated from the world. It's not easy, but it is relentlessly memorable, and I definitely recommend it if you're in Hartford.

The graveyard-adjacent twelfth.

The ninth green with its Road bunker.

Read my review of Keney Park here and here.

1. Shennecossett Golf Course

The sixteenth green at Shennecossett, overlooking the mouth of the Thames as it empties into Long Island Sound.

While my choice of Shennecossett as the best course I played in 2018 isn't quite as obvious as my choice of Atlantic City last year, if Keney Park didn't beat it, nothing would. It's very close between the two, and if you prefer Keney Park, I completely understand. It has a lot going for it. But so does Shennecossett. Shennecossett has history. And while the Donald Ross design has been changed and altered, a lot remains, and the new portions were woven in almost perfectly. And let's not forget that the course looks incredible. It's exactly how a seaside course should look, with plenty of wide open space and fescue at the peripheries, waving in the sea breeze. And it has what I would say is the finest view of any course I've ever played. The sixteenth hole is something I won't soon forget. Don't worry though, Shennecossett doesn't depend on the strength of its looks, there's plenty of substance and strategy here too. With about a hundred bunkers scattered around, you're almost guaranteed to have something to think about on every shot. Simply put, Shennecossett is everything you could want from a golf course, and for only $40 a round, it's great value too. I would definitely play here again if I was ever in the area.

The fourteenth hole.

The tenth hole.

The sixth hole, with the fourth in the background.

Looking back down the seventeenth hole toward the river.

Read my review of Shennecossett here and here.

And now, it's time to move on 2019! Once again, I plan on doing one course review a month, and I've already got reviews lined up through March. So stay tuned!