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Course Overview
“Just 15 minutes from the MA border, this former nine-holer designed by Wayne Stiles was expanded in 2000 to include 10 fresh holes from native son architect Steve Durkee; the blend of old and new has become increasingly seamless in the ensuing decade… the presence of an extensive practice range… make it a place to stop during a trip up north.” -- Zagat America’s Top Golf Courses
“The front nine…has some opportunities for scoring and is certainly more contemporary, while the return trip offers some memorable long par fours…. Despite their distinct characters, the two nines blend together well into a cohesive, 6,533-yard track that is eminently walkable…” --Tom Bedell, The Met Golfer
Somewhere near the present site of the Brattleboro Country Club a six-hole track was established in 1899, the Wantastiquet Golf Club, although golf was played earlier, in 1894, about five miles away in Dummerston by then-resident Rudyard Kipling and his guest from England, Arthur Conan Doyle.
If Kipling and Sherlock Holmes’ creator never played at Brattleboro Country Club, the 1913 U.S. Champion Francis Ouimet did. So did three-time U.S. Open runner-up Tom MacNamara, who designed the 2,754-yard nine-hole layout for the opening of the club on July 1, 1914.
The course as it exists today grew out of a 1930 do-over by Wayne Stiles, and a 2000 expansion and partial rerouting by Vermont native Steve Durkee. Eight classic Stiles’ holes remain (9-12, 15-18), with ten contemporary Durkee holes woven in (1-8, 13-14), with ample elevation, charming variety, and pleasing views at every turn.
The course measures 6,533 from the tips (71.1, 126 slope), 6,073 from the regular tees (69.1/122), 5,051 from the forward tees (64.2/112 for men; 69.8/114 for women).
A hole-by-hole guide follows, but it will be tough to pick a favorite. The challenging par-5 second, that heads up a hill, takes a right turn to a narrow strip of fairway only to head up another hill for the third shot? The drivable par-4 sixth? The risk-reward of the par-5 seventh? Or the long march of the par-4 eleventh? These are other questions are best answered by teeing it up for another round.
