Great Golf in SW Rhode Island - Shelter Harbour Golf Club - All Holes Up

[John Foley]

After all of these years, GCA still amaze me. Who knew that little old Rhode Island is home to such a treasure of golf! From Newport National to Wannamoisett to Carnagie Abbey - how do you find such our smallest state with a wealth of great golf.

Located down in remote SW Rhode Island are the The Misquamicut Club & Shelter Harbor Golf Club. Two course a few miles apart and so very different. As I mentioned in the other thread, Misquamicut is the quaint, laid back summer breeze old money feel. Shelter Harbor on the hand is the new kid on the block, big &brawny,  shinny & polished with lots of new money feel. That is by no means a knock that one is better than the other, it’s just that the two places give off such a different vibe. The constant in both is how great the golf is and the members & staff made me feel welcomed as their guest.

The course at Shelter Harbor is a bold Hurdzan/Fry offering with wide FW’s, pretty diverse greens (some very large like 8 & 18 & some very tiny like 9). It has some great green movements, some of the best bunkering I have seen in a modern course, some great center line hazards and some very cool quirk (Indian burial grounds / stone walls in play & huge bolders). Very challenging (but fair) golf with lots of play-ability.

Onto to the course.

Here is the routing.



Hole 1 - 576 yard Par 5 (from the Blue tee’s @ 6695)

Pretty wide open tee shot that as you approach the green gives you lot the think about with bunkers center right & greenside.
From the tee



Looking back from behind the green



Hole 2 – Par 4 393 yard Par 4
Again wide FW off the tee and the interest escalates as you get close to the green.
From the tee



From the LZ



Things you dont see very often on a golf course - Indian burial ground to the right of the FW



Green (note the rock walls in play) has a tough diagonal ridge separating the green into two sections. Can’t believe there is a tougher pin placement than this one

Panorama of the green swale



View from behind



 Hole 3 – 454 yard Par 4

Tough!! Forced carry & played into the wind – could not get there in two.

Off the tee



Green is tough with bunkers front right and back left – pretty good left to right tilt also.



Panorama from behind the green



Hole  4 – 205 yards Par 3

Very Biaritz-ish – the swale is somewhat a diagonal with a pronounced bump on the left.  Very cool hole.
From the tee



Just short of the green



Panorama from the swale
 


Hole 5 – 370 yard Par 4

Dogleg left with ample landing room. The more you cut off the tougher the shot – better angle to a back pin. Green has a large mound short and right tied nicely into the green. Creates tons of ways to get the ball close to the back pin.

From the tee



Short of the green



Panorama of the green



Looking back from green



Hole 6 – 178 yard Par 3

Slightly uphill to a green with a bunker left & rock wall long.

From the tee



Short of the green



Panorama from behind the green



Hole 7 – 342 yard Par 4

Short drive & pitch to a tough narrow / well bunkered green. Plenty of room but the two centerline bunkers complexes make you really think.

From the tee



First bunker complex



From the LZ



Panorama of the green



Looking back from the green



Interesting to note, the green is new. It appears that the first design has a somewhat ordinary green little short in the hollow below the bunker. The redesign was made to put some toughness into the green site.

Old green aerial



New green aerial



Hole 8 – 404 yard Par 4

Slightly uphill – wide well bunkered hazard. Approach is significantly uphill.Green is tied into the 6th green, but not a double green. Very large.

From the tee



From the bunker short of the LZ



Looking back from the green



The 6th green next door



Hole 9 – 510 yard Par 5

Probably my favorite hole on the course. Hole is reachable, but the double dogleg is tricky one. Landing area is loaded with bunkers & boulders abound. Tee is TINY and well concealed in the ridge. There is a lot going on here, but it really works well.

From the tee.


From FW start


Bunker in the LZ – really well done.



Boulder guarding a not well thought layup.



Approach to the green from 100 yards.



Like how the clubhouse features prominently in the background.



Panorama of the tiny bell shaped green with a small back shelf.



Looking back from behind the green



I will get to the back nine shortly.

[Mark McKeever]

Great tour so far!  Can't wait to see the rest!

Mark

[Tim Gavrich]

Most fun 18 greens I've ever seen.  I could spend an hour hitting shots on and around each one.

Kind of a bummer that they changed the 7th green complex.  It used to be the smallest green on the course but was kind of a punchbowl green and the hole was drivable.  It looks decidedly less interesting now.

[Mike Sweeney]

John,

Either your pictures are very good or that course is very fun looking to play. I have not seen it.

I know that Jeff Bradley was used on this project for the bunkering and he certainly gives the course a "Coore and Crenshaw" look. Looking forward to the back 9. Thanks

[Anthony_Nysse]

Jeff Bradley of C&C did the bunker work there. Looks good

[Dale_McCallon]

Hurdzan certainly doesn't get the love that some do on this site, but this place looks really good.  I'm not the biggest fan of the "hairy" bunkers, but everything else about it looks really cool.  I really like the way 9 just snakes right up to the green.

Never heard of the place..looking forward to the back 9 as well.

[Kalen Braley]

John,

Looks excellent...some really good stuff out there.

Look forward to seeing the back 9.

[David_Tepper]

John Foley -

Thanks for another great set of pics.

Looking at the aerial view of the course, there appears to be plenty of open space between a number of the holes. Do you know if the master plan is to have homes built in these areas (if/when the economy recovers )?

DT

[Chris Munoz]

Great to see some pics of Shelter Harbor.  Brings back some memories when I did my 4 month internship there7 years ago.  Worked for then the golf course superintendent, the great one, Ed Walsh.  A true legend in the golf industry.  Worked very closey with landscaped unlimited, who should get a lot of credit for the golf course. They did a great job on a tough site.  a lot of permitting issues on that site.  half of hole 5 was the last to be grass and finished shape, because of permitting issues. 

The Velvet greens were a true challenge to grow in, on sand based greens, straight sand.  that did not make too much sense.  Velvet bentgrass with straight sand based greens.  The bunkers were a nice contrat to the golf course. 

did u play the nine hole golf course they have there, another nice tough.  also the 20 acre plus practice facility. 

hopefully one day i will get a chance to play Shelter Harbor.

[John Foley]

David - Pretty sure that there will be no homes - just one very big property - 400 acres I recall - some may be wetlands.

Chris - I can imagine that site being tough - the rocks must have been brutal.

Did not play the par 3, but walked it and took some pics. The practice facility is huge!!

I really think that the routing if first class.

Hope to get some more pics up shortly.

[John Foley]

Onto the rest


Hole 10 – 465 yard par 4

Another tough long 4 that gives you a wide inviting fw. Carry to the FW is easier than it looks. The bunker left side will keep you very honest. Green is grade level with trouble left and lots of short grass right.

From the tee



From the FW (bunker right is 80 yards short of the green – great illusion)



Leftside of the green.



Hole 11 – 133 yard par 3

Plays up hill to a very wide green. Pin cut right brings the 5 Ugly Sisters into play!! Lots of room to bail left.



Hole 12 – 543 yard par 5 

Absolutly massive FW (though not quite wide enough for my pushed drive!) with some great centerline hazards.



Neat exposed rock hazard in the FW



Tough bunker short & left will guard against a less than stellar approach.



Green is small at grade with some movement in the rear

Panorama view from behind



Hole 13 – 348 yard par 4

Very big carry over the native area to a dogleg left FW that is well bunkered. Green in benched nicely into the hill. Really liked this hole.

From the Tee



From start of the FW



From just short of the green



Panorama of the green site



Hole 14 – 437 yard Par 4

As with the 13th, a very tough cary over the native area to a wide FW. Trees right can come into play and the bunker complex short & right is to be avoided at all costs

From the back tee – yes that is intimidating !



From the LZ in the rough



Panorama of the green



Hole 15 – 201 yard par 3

Slightly downhill to a green surrounded by hills. Wide open in front and the hills will kick the ball onto the green – fun hole.

From the tee



Panorama of the green



From behind



Panorama of the hole from the side



Hole 16 – 523 yard par 5

Long snaking par 5 with water all down the left side. Bunkers abound.

From the tee



Bunker short right of the green



Very nasty bunker at the green



Panorama of the hole looking back



Hole 17 – 178 yard par 3

Tough carry to a very sizeable well bunkered green that runs away diagonally

From the tee



Green from short right.



Hole 18 – 435 yard par 4

Again long forced carry to sizable fw. Hole plays uphill to a huge green that is open up front. Bunker short will make sure you hit that approach solid.

From the tee


From the fw



Form short of the green – nasty false front



From behind



Also on site (noted in orange on the routing) is a very fun Par 3 course. Holes run 100-175 yards and are well done with a very compact routing.



 































Here is the majestic clubhouse –again really well done.



Thoughts on the course.

Positives :
The routing. Meandering around the front nine and coming back right in front of the clubhouse to that ridge – with all the land movement was a great journey. This is a BIG course with large FW and it routed very well.

The greens – love the mix of large & small – flat sand subtle then big with dramatic swales

The bunkers – More than most courses I have played – these we’re very well thought out how their location effected the holes strategy. Very much made me play out away from them – a true hazard.

The feel / the quirk / the vibe  – This course has got great intangibles - great soul

I am a HUGE fan of the par 3 course in general and this one is done right – all short – very close together – I bet there are some FUN games out there late on a summer’s evening.

Negatives:

Only thing I can think of was not a fan of the water on 16 & 17. Personal bias, I HATE water in play on a golf course. Pretty sure there is not a lot of options as those wetlands we’re going to be in play at some point.

Shelter Harbor mixes width, toughness, great greens & bunkers with just enough quirk to produce a fun, enjoyable and memorable course. Hurdzan & Fry should be commended for the result. Again one note to be missed.

[Brad Tufts]

Did they switch the 9s?  I thought the course ended on the current #9 when I played just after it opened.

LOVED 8 and 9...very cool holes...Shelter Harbor is under the radar and very good.