As an aficionado of Nine hole courses, I have certain criteria in mine to judge my favorites. I want it to have a history. Many of these courses go back to the beginnings of golf in America, show me an appreciation of your heritage. I want a course to be walkable and playable. These courses are shorter and built in a time with no carts. The next tee is close to the green you just finished playing. The location should have character. Give me something to look at as I walk around. I want them to be simple and unpretentious. I’m a change my shoes in the parking lot guy, I’m not playing Augusta National.
Fenwick Golf Course is located in the Borough of Fenwick in the town of Old Saybrook in the state of Connecticut. The borough is amongst the wealthiest, in one of the wealthiest towns, in one of the wealthiest states. There is history; Fenwick was started in 1894 with the full nine completed in 1896. It is considered the oldest public course in the state.
At 2904 yards from the longest tees, it is playable, however when the wind comes up off the water the level of difficulty increases. It is easily walkable, on the day I played, there was not a cart in sight. The course is placed on a spit of land jutting out into Long Island sound, with water views and beautiful homes, the location is top notch
The course is owned by the borough and open to the public. Residents pay a reduced rate, everyone else pays $30 for nine. There are no amenities and you pay your green fees at the starter shack. About as unpretentious as you can get, especially in this affluent area.
Hole #1 is the longest par 4 on the course. The hole is relatively straight, though the green is tucked slightly to the right, and a clapboard chapel, St. Mary’s by the Sea, juts into the right side of the fairway. The pictures below may show some brown spots, but the conditions of the fairways and greens were excellent. I played in July during an extensive drought. The greens are small with a lot of undulation.
After finishing #1 you take a 300-yard walk down the street thru the neighborhood to the 2nd tee. Good thing my playing partners knew where to go or I would still be wandering. There are worse fates.
Hole #2 is one of the holes that can play very differently depending on whether you are playing the white(front) tees or the blue(tees). Played from 200 yards over the marsh to a green guarded by bunkers right and left, make this a strong par 3. Just pick the correct garage door to aim at.
To the right of #2 is a house that was owned by Fenwick’s most famous resident, the legendary actress, Katharine Hepburn. Her family owned the house for many years, and she spent many a summer playing on the Fenwick links. She was an avid and accomplished golfer. The picture on the below left, was after the family home was destroyed by the Hurricane of 1938. As you can see above, she rebuilt a new one in its place. For more stories about Hepburn’s relationship with Fenwick, including a visit by Howard Hughes, I highly recommend the book by Golf Historian, Anthony Pioppi, To the Nines. The book has chapters about some of the best nine-hole courses in the country, including one on Fenwick.
What follows is another par 3. Playing shorter at around 150 yards, hole #3 has a bunker to the left and grass mounds to the right. The hole is framed by South Cove in the background. The day I played, we had to wait on the tee as a group of sightseers in an RV crossed the road in front of us. That was a first.
The fourth hole is another that plays at different yardages depending on the front nine or back nine. On the front, it plays as a straight, medium-length par 4. But on the back, it lives up to its name, “Cove”, with the teebox jutting out into South Cove. The distance on the par 5 is short at 445 yards, but that is dependent on how much of the cove you’re willing to travel. Carry it more than 200 yards and you’re set up for an eagle chance or play it safe out to the left and leave yourself a longer shot in. It’s a true risk/reward golf hole.
Hole #5 is a wide-open straight-away par 4. A solid drive and a good wedge should provide a decent birdie opportunity. There are not very many surprises at Fenwick, everything is right in front of you.
On September 21, 1938, Katharine Hepburn made a hole-in-one on the par 3 sixth hole(then the ninth) to record an even par round of 31. Later that day the massive hurricane of 1938 would slam into the Connecticut shore and destroy her family home. The 6th plays to about 150 yards to a flat green protected by bunkers and a mound in front. At least part of the sixth green is original to the course, and is considered one of the oldest in the state of Connecticut.
Holes seven and eight are short par fours playing down and back. They both dogleg slightly to the left, with dogleg on seven guarded by a bunker and eight by a large tree. The earlier holes are definitely the harder ones, these are fairly easy. The 8th green has probably the most slope of any on the course.
The ninth hole is the longest on the course, playing at 545 yards from the back tee. A true three-shot par 5 except for the longest hitters. Two solid shots will leave an approach to a two-tiered green guarded by a bunker short left. Like all the holes at Fenwick, good shots will be rewarded, poor shots not so much.
I would like to give a shout-out to the site Always Time for 9. It has a nice write-up about Fenwick, as well as a number of other nine-hole courses throughout the country. It gave me the incentive to make the drive to Fenwick and for that I’m grateful.
Fenwick Golf Course ticks all the boxes for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it and would encourage anyone looking for a great golfing experience to give it a try. Stop at Liv’s Shack just down the street for a lobster roll, pretty much a perfect day.
Nine is Fine 