Review: Stamford Valley Golf Course

Hang on a second, didn't we already do a golf course review this month? Well yes, but I have a spare 9 holes worth of pictures sitting around, and since there's five Wednesdays in October, I thought I'd throw this out there now.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, my brothers and I went to Kingsbury National because someone had to work a few hours on Sunday. But my other brother and I didn't sit around doing nothing, and since neither one of us has played golf in Vermont, we thought we'd find the nearest 9 hole course to Albany in the Green Mountain State. That turned out to be Stamford Valley Golf Course, tucked into a valley at the very southern tip of the state. Would this be like every other cheap little 9 holer I've played, or would there be some real interest around? Let's find out.

The first hole is about as gentle an opener as you'll ever find. A 250 yard par 4, dead straight, completely flat, no bunkers or hazards of any kind, wide open. And yet, it's not as boring as it looks, because the interior portion of the green is noticeably built up. Slightly inaccurate shots, regardless if they're a chip or a full 3 wood, will be shrugged away.

The first hole.

The first green.

The second hole runs parallel to the first, and while it's 85 yards longer than the first hole, it's not exactly a long hole. Also, it doesn't have a particularly interesting green, so this is an even simpler hole than what we just saw. The only things to avoid are a few trees and a greenside bunker on the left. Otherwise, this hole could not be more wide open.

The second hole.

Approaching the second green.

The second green.

The third hole is parallel to the first two holes, but it's longer than either at 355 yards. Still, a pretty short par 4. While the terrain is once again dead flat, the tee shot is made a bit more interesting by the presence of a cluster of bunkers left and a central bunker about 275 yards from the tee. Yes, dinky little Stamford Valley has an internal fairway bunker. If you can avoid all that, the second shot is pretty straightforward, just a wedge to an open green.

The third hole.

You don't see internal fairway bunkers too often.

The third green.

The fourth hole is the lone par 5 at Stamford Valley, though you wouldn't know it just looking at the yardage. It's only 430 yards, but you'll soon find out why it plays as a par 5. The tee shot is simple enough, though there are fairway bunkers on both sides of the fairway. A nice draw will do you well. But the second shot presents a more interesting challenge. The fourth is actually a double dogleg: It bends left at about a 30-40 degree angle at roughly 250 yards, and then it bends left again at nearly a 90 degree angle about 125 yards further on. To further emphasize the second dogleg, there are trees planted in the corner, so if you want to go for the green in two, you'd better be able to hoist your irons up high. This hole is also notable for being so close to the Massachusetts border. I'm fairly sure you could stand at the corner of the second dogleg and hit a wedge up over the trees into the next state.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green is an interesting proposition.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a short (medium length for this course) par 4, but one with plenty of choices. The most obvious feature is the pond sitting in the middle of the fairway. If you're very short, you can play around the pond, as at no point does it cut the whole way across the fairway. You can lay up short and hit a short iron on the second. Alternatively, you can hit driver and attempt to clear part or all of it, leaving only a pitch. The green is definitely one to remember, and if it was cut short at all, it would be completely unplayable. It's that severely canted from back to front. The green is tough enough as it is now. Putts from above the hole are nerve wracking, and putts from below are ridiculous.

The fifth hole.

A nice clean pond.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole is about the same length as the last one, but it plays very different. For one thing, the course gets to a point where there's actual elevation change, and this hole goes up the hill toward the mountains. The tee shot is very narrow, pinched between trees left and dense forest right. There's no need to hit driver, a wood or long iron is plenty. The second shot isn't long, but the narrow green is rather precariously perched above a very deep bunker and a long falloff to the left. Shots hit slightly right will bounce back onto the green, but the forest is close. This is a surprisingly tough 350 yard hole.

The sixth hole.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is the only par 3 at Stamford Valley, and it's a bit of a brute. Downhill, of course, but at 230 yards, it's only 20 yards shorter than the shortest par 4 on the course. And it's no easy target either; the green is very big, but it's dramatically sloped in a vaguely Redan sort of way, and there are four bunkers around the green. I don't imagine a whole lot of birdies or even that many pars are made here, as this is easily the toughest hole on the course.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole proves that holes don't have to play downhill to be scenic. The view on the tee is peak New England: a small pond in the foreground, with numerous mountain peaks covered in dense forest in the background. The hole itself is 400 yards, and it feels that way, since we're going straight up toward one of those mountains. The further you can get your drive, the better the odds you'll at least be able to see the flag. Once again, the green is severely tilted, this time from right to left.

The eighth hole provides quite a view.

The eighth green has some slope to it.

The ninth hole goes back down the hill the eighth just climbed up, and measures 150 yards shorter. Yes, it's the same length as the first, and it plays even shorter. A 4 iron got me to almost the front edge of the green. Other than some O.B. right, there's no bunkers or trouble and the green is on the tamer side, so this represents a fantastic opportunity to finish with a birdie or even an eagle.

The ninth hole.

Yes, I did almost hit the green with my tee shot, and yes, I did walk away with a bogey. Short game is literally without flaw.

The ninth green.

It's a shame Stamford Valley is all the way in Vermont, because I would love to have it down in Maryland. It's the sort of cheap casual course that I grew up on, but it's fun to walk and it's got some neat quirk to it. The stretch from 6 to 8 were honestly pretty good, and not in a comparative sense, in actuality, they're good, interesting holes. Honestly, the only really mediocre hole is the second, everything else has something going on.

The price was a little on the high side: $16 to walk 9 holes. I guess it was a Sunday morning, but that price doesn't change. Not a big deal, we're only talking about a couple dollars, but it's something I think I should mention. Other than that and the slow round (again, it was a very nice Sunday morning, everyone was out), Stamford Valley was a very pleasant experience.

UPDATE: My younger brother would like to add that he had a less than pleasant experience at Stamford Valley because his bag completely broke on the sixth hole. And the extra hour we had to spend getting a new one for him was not particularly fun. But the course was still fine.