Richter Park - Connecticut - USA

In the early 1980's Golf Digest rated Richter Park among the best public courses in the United States. I remember my first round at the course not long after being posted in the magazine. The course does provide an above average experience but the positioning among the very best in America was a clear overreach even then. That gap has grown much, much wider when daily fee golf exploded with the massive numbers of golf course development in the United States during the 1990's.

Richter Park is located on rolling terrain and the holes are a mixture but there's nothing that cries out "compelling architecture."

In fact, the depth of quality public facilities just in the greater New York metro area -- which Richter is a part of -- has clearly surpassed what one finds here. That was even true when Richter was rated.

I've been back to Richter a number of times over the years and the course is a pleasant experience -- but the bar set by Digest years ago created an unreasonable assessment more likely tied to faulty field work carried out by the publication.

Richter Park would benefit immensely from a makeover -- getting a seasoned architect to go over what the layout has become since it opened in 1972. Such a review is not out of the ordinary for courses -- even public ones -- because the style and nature of what was created would certainly benefit from such an update.

A number of the bunkers and greens at Richter Park are simply pedestrian quality. Bunkers should have a clear role -- not in terms of quantity per se -- but in terms of positioning. The same holds true for putting greens -- giving them appropriate contours that add to the shotmaking when playing.

The terrain the course occupies is a wonderful asset and if a makeover is smartly done the overall improvement can be noticeable. But, when the course was rated as being among the very best in America it created an unfair expectation. I know that when I finished my first round at the course many years ago. Richter provides a clear recreational outlet and the citizens of Danbury should be proud to have such a golf component for their recreation. Those who head to play Richter should realize what it does provide -- and what it doesn't.

by M. James Ward