Tips and Tricks
Hole 1
301/261/223 A short par four through a chute of trees…long hitters go for the green; the average golfer will need a short iron and will want to stay below the hole [as you will want to be on all the greens at Veteran’s…just about every green slopes from back to front. Balls above the pin WILL roll out]
Hole 2
376/341/277 A tee ball up the left center of the fairway will set up the best approach to this green which is wide but not very deep. If you go long, it’s a difficult downhill chip to a green which slopes away from you.
Hole 3
474/431/351 For the long hitters, a tee ball up the left-hand side will allow for a crack at the green in two on this par five. The average hitter will have a short iron to this large green, setting up a birdie bid.
Hole 4
365/331/274 Deceptively uphill, you need a fairway finisher for a mid-iron into this green. Gnarly rough and bunkers will catch errant tee balls
Hole 5
239/194/139 One of the longer & more difficult par threes in Western Mass. Not only do you have to hit a perfect shot to reach this green but holding this turtle shell green is a challenge. Chipping around this green will test your skills
Hole 6
414/343/307 If a long draw is the way you shape a shot, then this hole will be a snap for you. Others find this to be a difficult two shot hole with a stand of pines guarding the right side, with a bunker front and woods close to the left side.
Hole 7
164/145/127 Water…what water? Keep repeating to yourself, it’s just a mid-iron to two tiered green and you can avoid the dunk tank.
Hole 8
299/273/216 A very short par four that can be driven by the long knockers and conquered by the average hitter with a driver/wedge combination. Once again, a severely sloping green dictates keeping the ball below the hole.
Hole 9
511/485/433 A good three shot par five rounds out the outward nine and that pond you had to ignore on the seventh hole…well channel that thought process for your third shot here. The second shot is a layup that needs to find the fairway and leaves you with a mid-iron to a generous green.
Hole 10
383/362/292 This begins one of the most difficult five hole stretches of any Western Mass course. A long tee shot up the left side affords the best angle to approach this slippery green with a mid-iron. Three putts on this steep green are common.
Hole 11
434/405/257 Once again long & left avoids the woods on the right but still remaining is a long approach to a green protected by bunkers and woods surrounding the green.
Hole 12
532/498/399 Three crisp shots which remain in the fairway could yield a birdie opportunity. Off line strikes will easily find trees left and wetlands right.
Hole 13
374/345/287 A dogleg right with traps at the corner. The woods on the left creep up fast and the green is protected by bunkers. A birdie is well earned here.
Hole 14
514/472/412 The iconic oak which swallowed many tee balls hit up the left side is gone [a victim of the 2011 tornado which changed the landscape of the next three holes] but you still need to hit the fairway and avoid the pines on the right since the ground pitches in that direction. A good second shot can set you up for a pitch shot and a possible birdie.
Hole 15
186/166/151 A long but downhill par three, it’s protective band of trees-also felled by the 2011 tornado is only defended now by several traps.
Hole 16
314/288/251 A short par four running through a chute of trees rewards a found-the-fairway tee ball with a flip wedge and possible birdie.
Hole 17
346/324/269 A dogleg left this time with a bunker that needs to be carried at the corner. For those daring enough to try the left side, it will only require a short iron to reach in regulation and guess what? Another sloping green.
Hole 18
207/157/145 If you felt tested by the difficulties of Veteran’s 5th hole then you will be equally put through the paces on this very difficult closing hole. It’s not only a long tee shot but the green is so slick and undulating that three putts [or more] are a distinct possibility.