A tale of two nines 

The course works its way over and across 148 acres, with gently rolling fairways playing through tall stands of mature maple, oak, sycamore, and Eastern White pine trees. TPC River Highlands is turfed throughout with Bentgrass surrounded by bluegrass fescue rough, with a number of lakes and ponds adding to the course’s beauty and challenge. 

The most difficult aspect of TPC River Highlands is its demands on approach shots and the player’s short game. It’s a course that’s notorious for its small greens and brutal tightly mown runoffs that surround them. 

The front-nine here is on the flatter ground but still has several standout holes.  

At 341 yards, the second hole is the shortest par-4 on the front and one of the best birdie opportunities on the course. The drive is a bit intimidating, as it runs straight uphill to a blind plateau. The fairway then turns left to a narrow green tucked behind a tree on the left with a deep bunker guarding that side. 

The first par-3 on the routing is the 223-yard fifth. It’s relatively straightforward but hitting the putting surface requires a well-struck long iron or metal wood, especially if the wind is up. There is a pair of deep bunkers that guard the sides each side. 

The back nine is phenomenal, and is much the superior side, with holes that are memorable and full of character. 

The only par-5 on the back is the 523-yard 13th, a superb risk/reward opportunity that yields and both eagles and doubles even for the PGA Tour pros. The hole begins with arguably the toughest tee shot on the course and requires a very accurate drive to find a sliver of fairway sandwiched between railroad tracks on the left and water to the right. Golfers are left with a tough decision to go for it in two as the green juts out behind yet another water hazard.  

TPC River Highlands boasts a tough finish from holes 15-18 that play around a four-acre lake. The quartet have garnered enough attention for Stewart Cink, who won the 2008 Travelers Championship to call the stretch, “four of the most exciting finishing holes in a group anywhere in the world.”  

The 15th is one of the most famous drivable par-4s on the PGA Tour, playing just 296 yards from an elevated tee box. The fairway dwindles into essentially nothing, with bunkers beginning on the left side at about 185 yards out and kicks balls to the right and into the water.  

At 444 yards, the closing hole runs back towards the clubhouse as a long, straight par-4. This is a fairly easy driving hole, as both sides of this fairway kick balls back towards the center, but a tree on the left side at about 190 yards can catch tee shots. The green runs diagonally left-to-right, with two deep bunkers on the right. 

A well-balanced mix of long and short holes, Bobby Weed and Pete Dye’s layout at TPC River Highlands is an appealing combination of contemporary strategy with throw-back aesthetics. It can be difficult but it’s fair; the course doesn’t overpower with length but asks players to think about each shot.  

TPC River Highlands is fully certified in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses (ACSP), which supports ecologically-sound land management and protecting wildlife habitats.  

It has been named “One of the Top 10 Golf Courses in Connecticut” by Golf Digest and the “Best Private Course” in the state by Connecticut Golfer Online for six straight years.