Vermont National

Vermont National Country Club was founded in 1998, set inside four hundred acres of what was formerly a family-owned dairy farm in South Burlington, Chittenden County, with some of the region’s most spectacular views of both the Green and Adirondack Mountains.

The front nine has a more spacious feel where homesites are set back on the perimeter of the course, whereas the back nine wends its way through housing with a few neighborhoods flanking a number of fairways.

Jack Nicklaus and his son Jack Nicklaus II laid out the 18-hole layout, making it the first course the Golden Bear’s design company had had ever worked on in The Green Mountain State. The following edited extract is taken from Jack’s website:

“The Nicklaus team spent considerable time and effort to devise a course that offers eighteen distinct experiences. Throughout the course, you'll be rewarded with spectacular vistas of the towering Mansfield and Camel's Hump, the ancient Adirondacks and panoramic views of the glassy surface of Lake Champlain.

The Nicklaus Design treats Vermont National almost as if it were two courses. The front nine is more gentle and rolling, with the holes winding through green meadows and quiet valleys. The back nine, on the other hand, offers a more rugged atmosphere, with dramatic rock outcroppings and ledges creating a craggy backdrop to the stands of sugar maples, butternut and ash trees.”

“This very playable Nicklaus course features some nice golf around a couple of wetland areas,” commented Tom Doak in The Confidential Guide to Golf Courses. “The Cape-style 3rd and par three 4th and 13th holes are its best stuff.”