Winnapaug Country Club is located in the coastal town of Westerly, RI. A classic Donald Ross design, it still features the characteristics he built into the course over a century ago. It is a par 72 that plays around 6400 from the back tees. The unique layout and scenery will certainly impress you, but also challenge you with the shape of the holes. Every hole is different and there’s never a time you say “this is a boring layout.”
That variety starts right away. Hole 1 is a real tester to start your round. It is a par 4 with a fairway that starts wide but narrows as it gets closer to the green. You then have to hit an uphill approach to a true Ross green that slopes back to front and has a steep false front. If you are short the ball will roll back about 30 yards.
Hole 3
Once you get a few holes in, the character of the front nine really shows. The front 9 plays like a parkland course with elevation changes, some blind shots, and heavy tree cover on the edges. The greens were the standout for me as they offered the most excitement throughout. The undulations and tiny margin for error on each approach shot made it fun to see how well you could hit your wedges or irons. If you have never played there before then you definitely need to utilize the GPS in the cart to see which direction you want to aim. The GPS also has slope factored into the distance and the green map will show you the direction and speed of the slopes.
The varying hole layouts makes it fun for any golfer. A few holes stood out for how much fun they added to the round. The fifth is a short uphill par 4 that will tempt you to drive the green. Just a couple holes later, you reach an elevated tee with a huge drop into the fairway where you need to hit it 260+ to be able to see the green on your next shot. Hole 9 is a long winding dogleg right that requires two elite shots to reach it for an eagle putt.
The back nine brings a totally different feel, especially once you hit the stretch along the ocean. Holes 10-13 are on the Atlantic Ocean side of the course and are true links-style holes. They have tall fescue and no trees. There is always the danger of the ocean breeze affecting your shots as well. These holes take me back in time to when Ross designed the course and used the lay of the land to provide the danger.
Hole 12 green
A dead-straight par 4 at 11 comes with danger: a row of houses hugging the right side that are just a quick sliced drive away from broken windows. The signature hole for me was the 12th, which is a short par 3 facing the water and it is just a stunning background with boats, docks, and buoys in view. Hole 18 forces you to carry some heavy fescue from the elevated tee to reach the fairway. It is a great finishing green with a steep false front and it is shaped like a thin egg so there is little margin for error.
Hole 11 fairway approach
Off the course, Winnapaug keeps the experience going. After the round or when you make your way by the parking lot there is a BBQ grill churning out some delicious burgers and dogs. Our group opted to try each, and were pleasantly surprised by the great seasoning on the burgers. And the hot dogs were jumbo sized and grilled just right.
Beyond the grill, the club’s amenities are worth noting. The club has excellent club car carts and also has the e-bike solo carts that looked awesome (next time I’m using one of those, but my wife was too scared to try it). The free app includes GPS, weather, tee times, deals, and loyalty rewards. The pricing is dynamic so it is great to have the app to find the best deal for when you want to play.
Winnapaug is a throwback course in great shape that delivers a challenging but entertaining round for all skills of golfers. It’s a memorable round that blends classic design with coastal scenery and just enough personality to make you want to come back.
