Review: Butter Brook Golf Club (Part 2)

It's time to see the back nine at Butter Brook, go here to see the front.

After a very long walk from the clubhouse, the tenth hole is a 380 yard par 4, or so the scorecard claims. This happened a few times during the round where the hole seemed a lot longer from the back tees then the scorecard indicated. I hit a good drive here, and I got stuck on the upslope of that crossbunker on the left side, which is 150 yards from the green. I'm not as long as I used to be, but I can hit a driver more than 230 yards. Anyway, there's really no reason to challenge that bunker as I did, since the green is bunkerless and, save for a slightly shorter shot, you don't gain a better angle by going left. If I were to play here again, I wouldn't be fooled into trying to carry the fairway bunker.

The tenth hole.

Approaching the tenth green.

The tenth green.

The eleventh hole is 250 yards. Now take a guess, is it a par 3 or a par 4? Unfortunately, it's a par 3, but that length is really the only thing this hole has going for it. There's a single small bunker left of the green, but otherwise the green is wide open, meaning you can run a shot up without issue, or you can lay up and try to get up and down for par. That's honestly not a bad strategy, especially when it's the second hole of the day and you didn't warm up much. The green itself has some interesting movement though, and it's one of the best greens on the course.

The eleventh hole.

The eleventh green.

The twelfth hole emerges from the forest into an open plain of sorts. For the next few holes, the course will meander back and forth through this treeless area, with plenty of waste bunkering framing the holes. This hole is 520 yards, which can make it reachable if you're not going straight into the wind. You're better off going down the right side, flirting with O.B. and the waste area. From there, you can go for the green with a wood or long iron, or continue down the right side with a lay-up. The green is protected by a standard bunker short left, so you'll want to hit a draw at the green, or lay up down the right, to give yourself the best shot at the flag.

The twelfth hole.

Approaching the twelfth green.

The twelfth green.

The thirteenth hole is a short par 4 at only 320 yards. Much like the second hole though, it's not exactly reachable from the tee. There's not a lot of hole visible from the tee, there's a bit of fairway, a big bunker, and that's it. The ideal line is actually over that shed in the crook of the dogleg. Even a long iron is enough to carry, so don't worry about that. After a good long iron, the second shot will be a wedge to a green that's well defended with sand. I like the inclusion of the shed in the design of the hole, it's not something you see every day. And yes, I said the same thing about Galen Hall and the barn last month, but trust me, most golf courses don't incorporate old buildings.

The thirteenth hole.

Approaching the thirteenth hole.

These two people keep following me everywhere make it stop.

The fourteenth hole is a fairly standard 200 yard par 3, with a single bunker front right protecting the green. It looks like a small target, but there is more green than what you can see from the tee. 

The fourteenth hole.

The fifteenth hole is the longest par 4 at Butter Brook, playing nearly 450 yards straight into the wind. If you go down the right side, you'll shorten the second shot, but you also risk running out of fairway and going into the pond. Going left lengthens the hole, but you avoid the water and you give yourself a better angle into the green. Even so, it's a tough second shot. Mid irons are tough, especially when the water is lurking right. There is room to bail out left if you're not feeling confident, which is nice.

The fifteenth hole.

Approaching the fifteenth green.Add caption

The fifteenth green.

The sixteenth hole is the final par 5 at Butter Brook, playing parallel to the twelfth but in the opposite direction. It's the same length as the twelfth hole too, so if you can't go for one green because of the wind, you can go for the other. You have to carry the pond on the tee shot, but that's not a big challenge. Of greater concern is the fairway bunker left, exactly where you'd want a drive to finish. If the hole is playing downwind, you can go at the green with a wood or long iron; the green is in a saddle of sorts with a bunker left. If you're laying up, there's a bunker about 75 yards short on the right side of the fairway that you'll want to get close to in order to give the best angle into the green.

The sixteenth hole.

Approaching the sixteenth green.

The sixteenth green.

The seventeenth hole is quite a hole. It's 420 yards, and if you play it from the back tees, you're basically looking at some trees with a small sliver of fairway visible to the right. Needless to say, I did not play this hole from all the way back. But even from the next tee up, this is a very tough hole. To the right is a line of trees, and to the left is a marsh. The fairway in between is quite narrow, and it pinches in further where a driver would end up. So it's a lay-up off of the tee, which means you'll have a very long second shot, probably around 200 yards. It's a tough mid to long iron too, since the green is small and flanked by sand. Par is a very good score.

The seventeenth hole.

The seventeenth green.

The last hole finishes things off in a mellow yet still challenging fashion. It's a fairly short par 4, playing just 355 yards. The hole is fairly wide if you use a wood or long iron, but narrows if you want to use a driver, as a marsh encroaches from the left. Since the hole is short, you don't need a driver though. If you've hit a good drive, all you have is a wedge or short iron into the green. But with the marsh and a bunker short and a pond long right, it's not the easiest second shot. This is a hole that rewards precision instead of brute force, which is nice to see in a closing hole.

The eighteenth hole.

You generally want to get closer to the final green off the tee than I did.

The eighteenth green.

I'll be completely honest, Butter Brook is not my cup of tea. You'd be hard pressed to find a more inaccurate golfer than me, and most of the holes at Butter Brook are lined with tall trees that are next to impossible to go over or around. Yes, the hole corridors are wide, but not wide enough for me. I felt very claustrophobic throughout most of the round.

However, I can be mature enough to not let my personal taste detract from what is absolutely a good golf course. There are solid strategic options throughout, the greens are interesting, the course is walkable, and for most people who aren't me, the fairways are pretty wide. It was $60 to play on a weekday morning, which isn't great value, but for what you get, it's not terrible. It's a newer course, and from my experience newer courses are more expensive. All in all, I'd describe Butter Brook as being solid if unspectacular, and a good place to begin our tour of eastern New England.