Vermont

Williston Golf Club presents an interesting layout with an even more interesting history. Designed and built in 1927 by a local farmer, the club passed first to his son, who operated it into the 1960s, then to his granddaughter and her husband, an avid golfer who redesigned the course and added a second nine holes in the late 1960s. Today, the course is run by the original owner’s two grandsons who are making significant changes to solidify the course’s future. This was in evidence even ...
Read more: Williston Golf Club, Williston, VT

I love to play a golf course for the first time, although not as much as I do the second time. That first round is like a first date; you are a little nervous, some of the moments are a bit awkward, and the course doesn’t begin to reveal itself until another go-round. And if you make it to, say, a third round, you could be on the brink of falling in love. Kwiniaska Golf Club just south of Burlington, VT, doesn’t waste much time letting you get to know it. No blind tee shots, and the fact ...
Read more: Kwiniaska Golf Club, Shelburne, VT

The scorecard says a lot about what is in store for most golfers at Jay Peak, no matter their handicap or the tees they choose to play. Scratch golfers who play from the tips at just over 6,900 yards will face a 75.2 course rating that rivals some of the toughest layouts in the country. Bethpage Black on Long Island is generally acknowledged as close to the toughest public course layout in the country and has a rating of 77.5; yet that routing plays to a total of 7,465 yards, more than 500 ...
Read more: Jay Peak Golf Course, North Troy, VT

Opened in 1997, Green Mountain National holds the distinction of being the first municipal golf course in the state of Vermont. Designed by Gene Bates, who did most of his work on flatland courses in Florida and California, Green Mountain threads it way among the forests and hills of Killington, VT, home to one of the northeast’s prime ski resorts. Without much experience designing mountain tracks, Bates’ instincts kicked in quite handsomely at Green Mountain.The nearby Killington Resort ...
Read more: Green Mountain National Golf Club, Killington, VT

If I maintained a website called “Way Off the Beaten Cart Path,” Alburg Golf Links could be its poster child. Flanked by parts of Lake Champlain and just a few miles from the Canadian border, the golf course is about 45 minutes from Plattsburgh, NY, nearly an hour from Burlington, VT, and an hour from Montreal. (The clubhouse flies both the American and Canadian flags.) Between Alburg and those cities is pretty much nothing but lake and farmland, although another golf course, North Country ...
Read more: Alburg Golf Links, Alburg, VT

Play at Champlain Country Club in Swanton, VT, is an all-day event, but not because play is slow; after a half dozen rounds there over the years, I have never played in more than four hours.  You can spend the better part of a day at Champlain enjoying 18 holes of golf, which always tends to lead to a post-round libation or two which more than likely then leads into lunch or dinner.  The food is very good, and at dinner time you will share the dining room with locals in non-golfing ...
Read more: Champlain Country Club

Sometimes you stumble upon a golf experience that stuns you, whether it is the views, the incredible friendliness of the staff or the layout itself.  When you find all those qualities, especially in a course you had not previously known about, you can feel like Columbus discovering the New World. On a drive between Rutland and Manchester, VT, about a decade ago, when I was considering starting a publication about New England golf courses, I stumbled upon one such golf course, a hidden ...
Read more: Lake St. Catherine Country Club
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Here is what the experts are saying:

“The book is chocked full of information…applicable to anyone looking for a move to the Southeast regardless of whether they are looking for a golf community or not.” — John LaFoy, golf architect (Linville Ridge CC, CC of Charleston, The Neuse GC)

“Larry has done a tremendous amount of work and anyone — like me — who is looking to search for a golf home now or in a few years needs this book.” — Brad Chambers, golf blogger, ShootingYourAge.com

“Wow!  What a thorough piece of work…a must for anyone moving South. This book will help many people.” — Brett Miller, owner and founder of MMA, Inc, a golf industry consultancy

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GCR questionnaire
     Dreaming of a vacation home on a golf course?  How about a forever home a short walk to the first tee?  For 15 years, I have helped golfers find their perfect home on the course.  If you would like some recommendations that match your preferences for a golf home, please click here, fill out our Golf Home Questionnaire, and I will get back to you in a few days with some ideas.  By the way, it’s free.
Larry Gavrich,
Editor