Mount Washington (Blues)
6400 yards – 70.3 Rating – 122 Slope – 85 Score
Day 30; May 20th, 2017
We played Mount Washington early in the season (very early) and what was particularly impressive to me was the conditioning of the course. I had read in several reviews how well maintained this track was; however, playing there in the first couple weeks after the heaviest snowpack in ages finally melted away, my expectations were pretty low. Much to my surprise, the course really looked terrific. Yes there were some patches that were still under the spell of the winter, but even there you could see the meticulous care the course is given by its crew. I can’t imagine how stunning this course must be in full bloom.
The golf is good as well. Between the striking lodge and the omni-present forested mountain backdrop, there simply isn’t a bad view or vantage point on this course. Perhaps because of this, many of the holes play fairly straightforward without a lot of bend or hazards in play (although be careful on #9 there is water running through the fairway that you can’t really see from the tee boxes… I know because I was absolutely shocked when my – I thought – really nice tee shot created a splash in the middle of the fairway!). The first hole plays over a briskly running creek for your tee shot, and 18 comes back across the same creek (it runs in front of the green). Number 14 is a long par 3 over a bit of a canyon that can give you a little pause as well, but other than those holes nothing is overly daunting.
This should not be confused as me saying it plays easy, however. While certainly playable for all skill levels, Mount Washington is well constructed to provide challenge as well. There is not, for example, an overabundance of bunkers, but they are placed very well. Most of them are not the round’ish sand traps we are used to seeing float along the sides of fairways either; they tend to be fingers extending into the landing areas. Many a shot, that was in no way destined for the rough, or even miss-hit, could easily find its way into these fairway beaches.
Further, while the course isn’t overly long (6400 yards from the blues where I played), the par three’s will test your game. The shortest of them is 186 and the go as long as 204 (the afore mentioned 14th, playing over the ravine). The rest of the holes are on the shorter side, with the longest par 5 at 522 and only one par 4 as much as 400 yards. The rating of 70.3 and slope of 122 feel just about right as this course is challenging enough to make you feel like you played; but still rather scorable if you manage the par 3’s well.
The staff we met were more than delightful and – quite frankly – we had to pull ourselves away from a couple of conversations (there’s a great story about striking a submarine with a golf ball to be heard at this course) in order to keep out schedule and get to the next state on time. We felt very welcomed and really enjoyed this aspect of our visit as much as anywhere else we played.
Another aspect of the outing that could have been fun (but we ran out of time) would have been sitting on the back patio of the clubhouse, which is right off the 18th green, and watching other groups play into and through the hole. It seems like a fantastic way to cap off a morning round and I wish we had found the time to do so.
If you get the chance, I’d absolutely get up to New Hampshire and get a round in.