Louisquisset Golf Club is hidden in a neighborhood subdivision in North Providence, RI. Located only 5 miles from bustling downtown Providence, the atmosphere is calm, with no traffic, and the vibes are very chill. The course is woven between quiet neighborhood streets, and it feels like a typical Florida golf community.
Club Pro Anthony Loiselle and long-time member Ronny shared some of the history of the club with me. I learned that the course used to be a private 18-hole track, but real estate jumbled up the layout and houses were built where planned, so the course had to be reworked to fit. This makes it a little claustrophobic on most holes because you fear smashing someone’s window, but it did not take away from the character and creativity of the course.
1st hole looking back at clubhouse
When you pull up to the clubhouse you can’t see any of the course and you wouldn’t even know it was there, but on just the other side is a tricky layout with lush fairways and tight cut greens. Once you walk around the clubhouse to the pro shop you get your first glimpse of the first hole, and it is a memorable view. The clubhouse sits atop a steep hill, and down in the valley below you is the 1st tee. This was the most intimidating first hole I have played because you have a pond directly in front of the tee and houses line both sides of the fairway. I was told that a lot of players hit iron off this tee to try to keep the ball in play. If you do manage to keep it in play you have to be careful with your approach shot because the green has a steep slant from the back to the false front. Anything above the hole is going to be hard to stop, so if you can manage par you are in really good shape for the rest of the course.
The course has four sets of tees with the tips playing at 2675 yards with a par of 35. If you play 18 holes then the scorecard has combination suggestions for mixing up the tee boxes on each side. It has quirky holes and tricky sightlines off the tee, but overall the experience would challenge golfers of any skill level. You will use every club in your bag, with an emphasis on accuracy because it is a target golf layout.
Hole 1 is the toughest on the scorecard, but I also appreciated the challenge of Hole 3. It’s a 440-yard par5 that seems short but actually requires some strategy to score low. The fairway doglegs right, but there is a dead zone on that side of the fairway and there is a tight row of trees forty feet high blocking your view of the green. The smart play is to hit it around 200 yards on the left side of the fairway unless you can cut your driver high and around the trees. If you land at 200 then you will have about 210 to the green. You can lay up or hit a long iron to the large green. I went for the green and missed it just left, but luckily avoided one of the pot bunkers. A flop shot and two putts later and I walked away with a self-appreciating par.
3rd hole fairway
Every hole on the course has a strategic path to scoring low, so I think the more you play it the more chance you have to be successful. It may be tucked away in North Providence, but it’s worth setting your GPS to find Louisquisett and having a fun round.
