Lake of Isles (South) - Connecticut - USA

Lake of Isles South, the private course, is virtually identical to the public course. If you played them both back to back the only differing memory would be the last hole. The par 3's which go into the lake are the same. The terrain is the same. The conditioning is very good and the same. They are both challenging for anyone. They can both play well over 7000 yards. The turf is normally pretty soft so they play to full distance. Overall if you are in the area these courses are quite nice and you should play. The North is usually mobbed, and candidly the South has much play too. Mostly VIP guests and their guests.

This is not Rees Jones’ best effort. Lake of Isles’ private course is characterized by far too many dull, flat putting surfaces. Nearly all feature bunker in front. At dinner back in 2013, Rees mentioned that increasing age and a wrist injury had made him more sympathetic to building greens that allowed running approaches. This course was designed 10 years earlier and it shows. (Though to be fair, there are some greens with small areas that do not require an aerial attack.) Missed opportunities abound. Number 4, a par three that plays 177 yards from the 6400 yard tees that most members use, is a perfect example. While the front of the green is entirely bunkered, there is a hill left and behind the green. It would have been easy to use the hill as a sideboard that would allow a ball to be played onto the green without having to carry the bunker. Number 13, a downhill par four that plays 375 yards from the back tees, would have been a more interesting hole as a shorter, driveable par four. And it wasn’t because Jones didn’t want a long distance from the 12th green. The course is virtually unwalkable with a mile and a half total distance from greens to the next tee. It seemed to me when I played in August 2015 that the members may not be enthusiastic about their course, either. Many approach areas were strewn with divots that could have been replaced but were not—dozens of them in some cases. Moreover, the cart I used was equipped with an ice bucket where the sand bucket should have been. There are a handful of fine holes here, including two short ones that bring the lake into play. Next to the first of these—number 11—an amusing buoy floats near the green. Instead of warning of speed limits or hazards to navigation as most do, the inscription on this one reads “Danger Golf Ahead.” Unfortunately, this was the highlight of my round.