|  Colonia
Country Club is a golf purist’s dream. It’s a 110-year-old
golf course where par is a sacred score, even on the calmest days.
There are no tricks, and no overabundance of anything—water,
trees, or sand—and for this reason, Colonia stands proudly
alongside the other dozen pre-1900 architectural masterpieces
in the state. It is a mighty mite—a formidable foe of just
6,380 yards. But what it lacks in length, it makes up for in intrigue.
“This golf course plays tougher than a lot of 7,000 yard
courses,” said 10-year Superintendent Lance Rogers. “Here,
a golfer needs to put the reins on their tee shots, and come at
the greens from a comfortable distance.” It is a walk back
through time, one of those rare places where golf simply feels
more like golf. Originally laid out as a nine-hole course by Scotsman
Thomas Bendelow in 1899, Colonia demands you have your wits about
you.
Since it is all wrapped in approximately 100 immaculately maintained
acres, landing areas are narrow, but it is the greens that are
the equalizers at Colonia. They average only 4,500 square feet
with mostly subtle undulations. The greens
weren’t built to roll at 11 on the stimpmeter, but that’s
the way they can play after they are double-cut each morning.
“There are places you’d rather be 25 feet below the
hole than four feet above the pin,” said Head Professional
Chris Mazzachetti. “We’ve seen more than a few four-
and five-putts out there.”
Highlights include No. 4, the toughest ranked hole, and a textbook
example of risk/reward. A par-5 of 528 yards, it plays to the
largest green on the course, which is guarded by a pond in front.
No. 13, its green sandwiched between two huge willows and fronted
by a wrap-around pond with a stone wall, might be the prettiest.
Elsewhere, Colonia is comprised of holes which force golfers to
work the ball both ways, and a tremendous mix of long and short
par-4s.
The second nine was added by Robert White in 1923, and the holes
were interspersed. Renovations were made by Hal Purdy in 1969,
and Frank Duane, an associate of Robert Trent Jones Sr., in 1970.
As for an old-world feature, golfers cross under New Dover Road
to reach holes 4-7, come back for 8-12, and go back over for No.
13. “Our members travel well, in fact they usually shoot
better scores elsewhere than they do here,” said Mazzachetti.
“They understand the intricacies of the golf course, especially
the greens, and have come to appreciate them.”
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