Vermont National (Gold)
6477 yards – 71 Rating – 130 Slope – 84 Score
Day 31; May 21st, 2017
Over the course of our trip we developed a few habits. One of which was me asking Melanie, somewhere around the 7th or 8th hole, what she thought of the course. There were lots of standard replies along the way; however, her response for Vermont National was a single word… “sexy.”
It wasn’t difficult to see how she came to this conclusion. It’s fair to say Vermont National has sleek lines and the course is (always, as I’m told) in tremendous shape tee to green. The course has just the right amount of bend to it, such that you can’t just blast away with a driver and grab for a wedge, and the bunkers are strategically placed just where you’d be inclined to hit the ball to properly manage the course.
Overall I found this track pleasantly challenging, especially given its relatively short length (6477 from the gold tees), while being delightfully scenic. That does not mean it has large sweeping vista’s or cool elevated tee boxes (in fact, it’s pretty flat). The attractiveness of this course lies in the details, everything is just where it needs to be, and is very well maintained. There is also a nice mix of fairly straightforward holes and those with a little more of a “target golf” feel. Just enough of each to allow you to use most of the clubs in your bag.
The first hole gives you a pretty good idea of what is in store for you as you make your way around Vermont National. A dogleg left with just a touch of elevation change in the middle it is certainly reachable with two mid irons (I hit a 176 yard 7 iron off the tee and a 152 9 iron into the green, leading to a two putt par). With a relatively short par 5 up next I tried to take the same approach; however, I found a bunker with my iron off the tee and had to struggle a bit to “save” a bogey.
The par 3’s may have (collectively) been my favorite part of this course. There are five of them ranging from 153 to 189 yards. With the exception of two that are essentially the same (177 and 178) though, they are evenly spaced out over that distance and require a variety of clubs to find the green. I used my 9, 8, 7 (twice) and 6 irons to find the putting surfaces and played all five holes to even par (I played the remaining 13 holes at 12 over… oops).
Everyone I met at the course from the clubhouse staff to the grounds crew was friendly and welcoming (not always the case at a private course when you are not a member). I had a lovely conversation with the starter before we tee’d off on the first hole (leaving me feeling like I had played the course before), which added to my experience as well.
Overall my visit to Vermont National was fantastic; it’s a great Nicklaus design that has been maintained very well. I was first out, so I can’t say I was slowed by anyone; and it appeared that the groups behind me were all coming in on time as well, so the pace of play seemed great to me. I’d certainly recommend playing here you get the chance.