Chicopee Country Club in Chicopee, Massachusetts, with its rolling terrain, tree-lined fairways, and fast, sloping greens, is generally regarded as a championship course by golfers.
“Players continue to come out in big numbers as conditions continue to improve each year,” said Director of Golf, Mike O’Neill. “We now have great conditions, a central location, great food, and a friendly staff. We have always gotten golfers from western Massachusetts, but in recent years, we’re seeing groups from central Massachusetts as well as Connecticut.”
Through the years, the picturesque golf course has received accolades from publications such as Golf Digest, USA Today, the New England Journal of Golf, and Golfing Magazine. It has been touted as being among the best public courses in Massachusetts, and has been named one of New England’s top 100 golf courses. It has also been credited with providing the best value in Massachusetts.
The course recently hosted an American Junior Golf Association event for the fourth consecutive year, and also hosted a Massachusetts Public Links qualifier in June. O’Neill mentioned a great twilight fee of $43 after 2 p.m. for golf and cart.
Chicopee plays a very manageable 6,422 yards from the back tees, and plays to a par of 71. The “member” tees one step down from the championship markers measure 5,986 yards. The next tee down plays 5,508 yards, and the forward markers play 5,159 yards.
There is a pleasing mix of holes in the course routing; short par-fours, including the drivable 292-yard ninth hole, reachable-in-two par-fives, such as the 485-yard second and 476-yard 15th, and long par threes like the third, eighth, 11th and 12th. Note the unusual back to back par-threes, both of which play almost 190 yards from the championship makers. The eighth hole plays over 200 yards from the back tees.
The starter is a 400-yard par-four that is pretty straightforward. The green is somewhat oblong and there is a bunker on the left that could come into play on the approach shot.
The second hole is the 485-yard par-five that can be attacked in two shots, depending upon if one hits the ball into good position at the bend of this dogleg. The fifth is a strong par-four, measuring 408 yards from the tips. The eighth is a 206-yard par-three and the final hole on the front nine is a 290-yard par-four that is reachable for the log hitters.
The 11th and 12th holes are par-threes, while the 13th is another relatively short par-four, measuring 340 yards. The 13th is s slight dogleg left. The 14th is another tough par-four, playing over 400 yards from the back markers followed by a fairly straightaway 476-yard par-five that has a green guarded by bunkers left and right at the front.
The 16th is another par-three slightly over 200 yards, and the 17th is an interesting par-five that measures 570 yards from the back. You must steer clear of a pond at a point where the hole bends sharply to the left to set up a second shot on this three-shots-to-the-green hole. The round finishes with a 395-yard par-four.
There are several water hazards on the course and enough sand bunkers to keep you on your toes on approaches to the medium-sized putting surfaces.
O’Neill considers the 17th one of the prettiest holes on the course along with the first hole. “Both are very demanding,” he observed.
Chicopee Country Club
Chicopee, Massachusetts
413-594-9295
