On Tuesday Aug. 12, I played Shennecosset Golf Course in Groton Connecticut. It was a course I had pre-scouted based not so much on the quality of the course, but on its location. At the mouth of the Thames River near New London, CT, the course overlooks the entrance to a major submarine base. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see any submarines, but I saw some great views from the three holes that run along the river.
I was a bit disappointed with the course itself. It was dry and the greens were extremely hard and fast. You couldn’t hold a ball worth beans. Mind you, it really didn’t matter all that much based on the way I was playing anyway. Sleep deprived after 14 hours worth of driving the day before, I was definitely not on my A game; ‘G’ or an ‘H’, maybe!
The other thing I found disappointing was the price tag, for that quality of course. $56 total for fees with cart. I realize that is quickly becoming the standard, but two days later I would play on a far superior course for $39 with cart.
Overall, the course is decent but aside from the three holes along the water, it just didn’t hold my interest. There was nothing spectacular about it. Mind you, I’ll once again chalk some of that down to sleep deprivation. And I’ll put a bit more of the blame on myself for not playing within my potential and bowing to peer pressure. Well, there wasn’t really any pressure but the other three guys I was paired with were playing blues, so I felt compelled as well. I just can’t hit the ball far enough and I really found myself over-swinging and mis-hitting most of my drives, simply because I was trying to make up the extra yardage. Next time I know I have to be honest and simply play the tees I’m capable of playing.
All that being said, I did have an enjoyable outing. My three other companions were all very pleasant. I road the cart with a young lad fresh out of college and had a great ongoing conversation throughout the round. And could he ever pound the ball. I measured a couple that were well over 320 from the tees. He told me he had played on his high school team. Somebody taught him well.!
The other memorable event was that I reached the 30 state milestone on this round. On the downslope lie now!
