many thanks.
clem

Wintonbury hills is sweet ! Not very expensive. I go there everytime I hit Hartford

http://www.wintonburyhills.com

Hittem Straight!

Ditto on Wintonbury, also try out Gillette Ridge which is a very nice track. Depending how far you want to drive there is Stanley in New Britain - I've not played there but others have liked it.

You may want to check out ctgolfer.com, it has listings, and if people have cared to, comments on the courses. God luck, hope you find a place you enjoy!

You could also check out www.ctfoodandgolf.com

It has course reviews and restaurant reviews...one stop shopping.

I would also recommend Stanley...great course, three 9 hole tracks, always in excellent shape and GPS in their carts...pretty good for a muni.

You might also check out Rockledge (www.golfrockledge.com). It is in West Hartford, but it's worth the drive.

It is a little bit south of Hartford in Milford, CT, but check out Great River Golf Club.

http://www.greatrivergolfclub.com/

As a Hartford area resident, I would rank our public courses as follows:

1. Wintonbury Hills in Bloomfield. Pete Dye did the design on this muni for something like $1 as a public service. Out of it, we got a very nice course at a reasonable rate. Very playable for people of all skill levels. Hackers will like the lack of forced carries and options for avoiding trouble. Strong players face a stern test with fun greens. By far my favorite. IMO - there are only a few problems. The driving range is a short car ride away, the first four holes on each nine are shockingly similar (but very fun holes), and there are ugly powerlines running over the course.

2. Stanley in New Britain - defnitely has a blue collar/muni feel (with the exception of GPS on carts), but it is an OK design.

3. Tunxis Plantation: with 45 holes available, you can always get on one of the courses. For as much play as they get, the conditioning is very good and the service good. In terms of design, all the courses are kind of "blah," but they are lot of fun if you want to get out without much muss or fuss. Rockledge in West Hartford offers a similar value/fun option. Neither are great courses by any stretch.

4. Gillette Ridge - this course is very controversial. Simply put, many people refuse to play the course because it is nearly impossible to complete a round without losing golf balls. With forced carries, deep bunkers, and tall fescue everywhere, it is the hardest public golf course in Connecticut - period. In competition with nearby Wintonbury Hills for golfers, I have heard it is losing badly. At Wintonbury, moving up a tee box or two makes the course playable for weaker players. At Gillette, moving up doesn't really help because you still have to deal with forced carries to the green on 6-7 holes. If you are single digit player, enjoy it. If not, Wintonbury will be much more enjoyable.

yale gc in new haven. one of the most fun and challenging courses anywhere

I believe Yale is still private....

You can always play TPC River Highlands where the Travelers (formerly the Greater Hartford Open) is played.

There is also Richter Park, Blackledge (2 courses), & Lyman Orchards (2 courses).

Here are pics I took of Wintonbury Hills a few summers ago. Great Course!

http://www.hetzelfamily.org/golf/wintonburyhills/

Watch out for their "big brother" golf carts!

That's a private course, so the odds of him knowing anyone who can get him on there are probably slim.\

Funny you should mention the Big Brother carts, we drove out during the T-storms hoping to go out after they cleared. When they cleared, we were the first group out (as a 2-some) and only noticed the GPS wasn't working when we were in the middle of the fairway (266 yards out/center cut - yea me). Next thing I knew, there was a guy driving out from the proshop to apologize (without us even asking) for the problem. He said he would have someone meet us on the 2nd tee with a new cart. How many muni courses have service like that?