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The best golf courses in Connecticut

By Derek Duncan and Stephen Hennessey
May 29, 2025
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Greenwich, Conn., is essentially an extension of Westchester County, N.Y., one of the country's richest concentrations of golf, physically and economically. Three of the state's top six courses are located there, including the perennial No. 1, The Stanwich Club.

The state is top-heavy in private golf (only two public-access courses make our ranking, including Keney Park near Hartford). Three of these privates have Seth Raynor design lineage: two are the Country Club of Fairfield, the No. 3 course located several communities east of Greenwich with holes touching Long Island Sound; and Tamarack Country Club (No. 4), designed by Raynor’s former associate Charles Banks and remodeled in 2024 by Brian Schneider (it finished fifth in our Best Renovation award).

The third is the sleeping giant, Yale, another Raynor design already ranked No. 2 even though it’s struggled historically with its conditioning. The course is currently in the midst of a major refurbishing by Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner that’s expected to give new life and veracity to some of the most profound versions of holes like the Alps, Biarritz, Road, Leven and Double Plateau.

What they do with the bizarre and fascinating par-5 18th remains to be seen, but it's a good bet that Yale will see a significant boost in future rankings once the work is complete.

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Below you'll find our 2025-'26 ranking of the Best Golf Courses in Connecticut.

Scroll on for the complete list of the best courses in Connecticut. Be sure to click through to each individual course page for bonus photography and reviews from our course panelists. We also encourage you to leave your own ratings … so you can make your case for (or against) any course that you've played.

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20. Keney Park Golf Course
Hartford, CT
3.9
4 Panelists
Previous rank: NR
If affordable and quality public golf is becoming increasingly harder to find, Keney Park in Hartford, Conn., stands out as an exception. With resident rates under $40 and non-resident rates around $50, it’s an excellent value for a course with classical architecture. Devereux Emmet designed the front nine in 1927 and Robert “Jack” Ross laid out the back in 1931. There are some template holes, including Redan and Road holes, as well as Church Pew bunkers. The property has plenty of elevation changes, and the greens are exciting with tumbling ridges allowing for creativity. The City of Hartford has invested close to $6 million into the course since 2016, when it underwent a renovation.
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19. Lake of Isles: North Course
North Stonington, CT
3.6
10 Panelists
Previous rank: 15
There are two Rees Jones-designed courses at Foxwoods Resort Casino—the South Course is a private members’ course, while the North is open for public play and is one of the best courses you can play in Connecticut. The 90-acre Lake of Isles property sits adjacent to the casino, making it a convenient option for resort guests. The North course is a stern test from the start, as the par-3 second hole plays downhill to an island green. The course winds through the Connecticut woods and has plenty of water hazards, putting a premium on solid ball-striking.
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18. The Patterson Club
Fairfield, CT
3.9
3 Panelists
Previous rank: NR
The Patterson Club dates to 1929, when General Electric Co. employees organized a Dining and Social Club with 20 charter members. The Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed course opened nearly 20 years later in 1947 on a new site in Fairfield, Conn. Today, the course is one of the best in the area, having hosted the state’s Open and Amateur, as well as numerous Metropolitan Golf Association events. The course makes captivating use of the elevation changes, including at the up-and-over finishing hole, where a speed slot can add 40 yards to a well-placed drive.
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17. The Country Club of Darien
Darien, CT
2.9
7 Panelists
Previous rank: NR
Sustained and dedicated effort has gone into making this quintessential country club course great. On ordinary terrain landlocked by an affluent suburb, it’s been a work in progress under the supervision of architect Michael Hurdzan for the better part of two decades. After all the routing adjustments, new tees, expanded greens, addition of fescue and improved drainage, the result is a championship course that has recently and ably hosted several of the area’s premier amateur and professional tournaments. There’s length where there wasn’t before, varied green complexes with collection areas that boost daily variety and a reputation for constant top-shelf conditions. – Max Adler
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16. Black Hall Club
Old Lyme, CT
3.7
6 Panelists
Previous rank: 13
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15. Woodway Country Club
Darien, CT
3.3
4 Panelists
Previous rank: 11
Woodway is a 1916 Willie Park, Jr., design, who was an elite British player and architect who designed dozens of courses in the U.S., notably Maidstone on Long Island and the North Course at Olympia Fields outside Chicago, host of several major championships. His design at Woodway is highlighted by a seamless routing that fits the site's rolling wooded hills like a glove. Interestingly, each nine plays out the same way through the first eight holes with pars of 4-4-3-4-5-4-4-4, breaking only where the first nine culminates with a par-3 over water and the second with a finishing par-4 playing back up toward the clubhouse. Bruce Hepner's recent renovation work thinning trees and reestablishing playing corridors and green sizes has helped accentuate the original ideas Park first laid out.
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14. Great River Golf Club
Milford, CT
3.8
7 Panelists
Previous rank: NR
Great River Golf Club is one of the best courses in Connecticut. Discover our experts' reviews and tee time information
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13. Brooklawn Country Club
Fairfield, CT
Previous rank: 12
Brooklawn Country Club was built in 1895 with just $100 set aside for a nine-hole golf course. Just a year later, the course was one of 26 to join the newly formed USGA. In addition, Tom Morris, grandson of Old Tom Morris, was the first professional at Brooklawn, and the course has a history of hosting some of the USGA’s finest events. The course was one of the last of A.W. Tillinghast’s career, and it has been renovated more recently by Ron Forse. The greens are full of undulation, a stalwart of Tillinghast's designs, and the putting surface at the long par-4 fourth is one of his best in an area filled with his brilliance. Holes like the third and sixth are uphill without feeling like a hike, showcasing Tillinghast’s ability to work with a challenging site.
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12. Lake of Isles: South Course
North Stonington, CT
4
6 Panelists
Previous rank: 10
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11. Shorehaven Golf Club
Norwalk, CT
3.9
3 Panelists
Previous rank: NR
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10. The Hartford Golf Club: Red/Blue 9s
West Hartford, CT
3.8
8 Panelists
Previous rank: 8
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9. TPC River Highlands
Cromwell, CT
4.3
4 Panelists
Previous rank: 9
TPC River Highlands has a long history hosting the annual Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour, dating back to 1984, when Pete Dye redesigned nine of the existing holes (formerly Edgewood Country Club). Then one of Dye's former associates, Bobby Weed, returned in 1989 to not only renovate the existing course but add holes as part of a newly built home-development project, one of the first of its kind. Weed has continued to return to renovate the course over the years, including most recently a substantial bunker project in 2016.
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8. The Country Club of Waterbury
Waterbury, CT
4.6
5 Panelists
Previous rank: 14
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7. Bull's Bridge Golf Club
South Kent, CT
4.3
5 Panelists
Previous rank: 7
Situated in the hills of scenic Litchfield County in northwestern Connecticut, Bull’s Bridge is a Tom Fazio design named after a nearby historic wooden covered bridge. With terrific views of the surrounding Berkshire foothills, it’s no wonder this private club is a popular escape for New York City residents. The first two holes are an indication of what’s to come: significantly downhill tee shots that showcase the tumbling terrain and expansive backdrop. Given the setting, Bull’s Bridge is best enjoyed in the fall, when the leaves are changing colors. The clubhouse sits on a high point of the property, with each nine playing down the sides of hills before meandering back up. There’s quite a bit of elevation change throughout, making it a strenuous walk and often leaving the player with uneven lies.
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6. Round Hill Club
Greenwich, CT
4.2
3 Panelists
Previous rank: 6
Round Hill is a challenging test of golf despite being just 6,525 yards. Routed in 1922 by Walter Travis and worked on by Robert Trent Jones in the mid '60s, the course’s main defenses are its sweeping green complexes and thick rough. Round Hill’s signature hole is its par-3 11th. The hole is 178 yards long, with the brunt of it being a carry over a pond. As picturesque as it is difficult, the hole is the highlight of Trent Jones’ work at the club. The club’s topography is quite varied as well, leading to each hole providing intrigue to all who play it.
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5. Wee Burn Country Club
Darien, CT
4
2 Panelists
Previous rank: 4
Wee Burn Country Club got its name from Andrew Carnegie, of all people, who suggested the stony brook that weaves throughout the course should merit the name Wee Burn, as it would've been called in Scotland. The name stuck, and Devereux Emmet routed the course artfully around that burn. Wee Burn has removed a significant number of trees in recent years, amplifying its already pristine conditioning and allowing the course to play closer to its original intent. Wee Burn presents golfers with plenty of scoring opportunities if they execute their shots correctly, providing for a difficult, yet enjoyable challenge.
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4. Tamarack Country Club
Greenwich, CT
4.3
18 Panelists
Previous rank: 5
Situated within a mecca of great golf courses, Tamarack Country Club stands out as one of the finest. Built by Charles Banks in 1929, the course includes many template holes that were the trademark of Banks’ mentors, Seth Raynor and C.B. Macdonald, and a few great original holes on the back nine. The course is memorable for its massive scale throughout the property, often allowing players to recover from wayward misses. Though Tamarack delivers options where you can hit it, the brawny course makes it difficult to score if you’re not in the correct spots. A historical restoration by Brian Schneider, completed in 2023, focused on continued tree removal, reestablishing old fairway parameters, tying the green entrances into the approaches and returning the bunkering shapes and schemes to what was first developed by Banks but later modified through the decades.
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3. Country Club of Fairfield
Fairfield, CT
4.3
12 Panelists
Previous rank: 3
Country Club of Fairfield has a topsy-turvy design history. Seth Raynor did the original design, but the clubhouse was never built where Raynor intended it, nor was an island par-4 shown on his original plan. In the mid-1920s, A.W. Tillinghast visited the course and sketched out a new fourth through sixth holes around a lagoon, which were subsequently built. Robert Trent Jones was hired in 1960 to install a practice range. To accommodate it, Trent sacrificed the old par-4 18th. He also rearranged several other holes, all of which were built under the supervision of Trent’s friend, architect Geoffrey Cornish. Cornish made further alterations in the 1980s. In the early 2000s, Tom Doak was hired to re-establish Raynor greens and bunkering style, turning most of the work over to his restoration expert, Bruce Hepner. Now on his own, Hepner is the club’s current consulting architect, and he has done a noble job instilling the Raynor look and feel to a routing that’s hardly Raynor anymore.
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2. Yale Golf Course
New Haven, CT
4.2
14 Panelists
Previous rank: 2
Yale has always been something of a sleeping giant. For a variety of reasons, the course has rarely lived up to its full potential, either due to inconsistent conditioning or some ill-considered changes through the decades that moved the architecture off its brilliant 1926 C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor design. Given the handicaps, it's remarkable Yale has continued to be so breathtakingly profound. The Leviathan-sized golf course bulges with magisterial holes like the Road, Cape, Knoll and the world’s best Biarritz chiseled onto the rocky, tumbling site. Recently made public, it's one of the few places in the U.S. (notably alongside the Old White course at The Greenbrier) where the general public can experience true Macdonald/Raynor architecture. The sleeping giant is about to awaken as Gil Hanse and Jim Wagner are reestablishing the original hole concepts and upgrade turf and drainage in a massive project that started following the 2023 season. We're eagerly awaiting updates.
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1. The Stanwich Club
Greenwich, CT
4.3
17 Panelists
Previous rank: 1
A mainstay of Connecticut golf since the 1960s, Stanwich has undergone modifications over several years by Tom Fazio and his team, all based on the club's master plan that addresses the course’s tees, bunkers, greens and mowing lines. The latest project was the rebuilding of five green complexes and the creation of a completely new first hole. “The first hole saw a complete re-imagining,” explained Fazio design associate Tom Marzolf. “The old hole was a quick dogleg-left that had many trees blocking the path around the corner. We looked to improve the options off the tee and allow alternate ways to play the hole. Earthwork to cut the inside corner and open up views to the green have completely changed the feel of the tee shot.” More changes to Stanwich, both big and small, are still to come, but what won't change is the demanding nature of the architecture that requires strong, precise driving and unerring approaches into elevated greens that are heavily defended in front.
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