Manchester Country Club – Played July 2019
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 180 South River Road, Bedford, New Hampshire
- Year: 1923
- Original Architect: Donald Ross
- Additional Work By: Ron Forse
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Championship: 6,863 yards, Par 71, 73.0 Rating/136 Slope
- Blue: 6,516 yards, Par 71, 71.3 Rating/132 Slope
- White: 6,221 yards, Par 71, 70.0 Rating/128 Slope
- Green: 5,209 yards, Par 71, 66.9 Rating/120 Slope (Men’s), 72.6 Rating/132 Slope (Women’s)
- Yellow: 4,740 yards, Par 72, 63.0 Rating/108 Slope (Men’s), 69.3 Rating/123 Slope (Women’s)
For my final round of summer golf in New Hampshire, I visited Manchester Country Club for the second time. I had played here when I was in high school but I didn’t remember much about the course at all. That’s probably good because it has undergone quite a bit of work (more on that in a bit).
The course has a decorated history in New Hampshire golf. They have hosted the New Hampshire Amateur 13 times and are set to host again in 2023. They have also hosted multiple New England Amateurs, New Hampshire Opens, and New England Women’s Amateurs as well as many other state events.
Below is the entrance that comes upon you pretty quick in a relatively urban setting.
Below is a look at the large clubhouse. I only checked out the pro shop though. I can’t imagine all the other stuff in there.
Before, I mentioned the course had undergone some work. Like many courses of this era, Manchester Country Club had some tough times in the 1940s. During this time, many of the Donald Ross elements were lost. To combat this, the club began to revitalize the property by bringing in Ron Forse (a Ross expert).
Prior to 2019, the club removed 12,000 trees to increase airflow and widen playing corridors. They even used Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). This technology generated 3-D images of former bunkers to map where they needed to be added back. Work is ongoing and is scheduled to be completed by the club’s centennial in 2023.
Let’s move on to the course tour. I played the blue tees, so all the distances are from those tees.
Hole 1 – 426 yards – Par 4
No gentle handshake to open at Manchester Country Club. Two solid shots are needed on this flat hole. The real intrigue comes in play around the green.
I love the grassy covered mounds. They are on an old-school touch that reminded me a bit of Yeamans Hall. The slightly perched green is a small target with plenty of undulation.
Hole 2 – 451 yards – Par 5
After the difficult start, a birdie opportunity comes at you quickly. With the large hazard fronting the green, you still need to think about going for it or that birdie can turn into a bogey or worse.
As you can see below, the green is large. It helps that the back is angled toward the fairway to receive shots.
Hole 3 – 220 yards – Par 3
As part of the long-range plan, a forward tee was added here across the creek and the back tee was extended. Some bunker work was done as well. This hole is a beast from the blue tees.
Hole 4 – 364 yards – Par 4
You must think about club selection on this tee with hazards crisscrossing the fairway. I played short of the first and had a short club into the green.
With the slope of this green, there are not too many places to put the flag.
Hole 5 – 199 yards – Par 3
Talk about some tough par three holes! This raised green will deflect poor shots so you need to be on target. I could tell this was a Ross course for sure when I was standing on this tee.
Hole 6 – 338 yards – Par 4
This is another opportunity to strike. A good tee shot sets you up to attack the green that features a lot of contouring on the back section. I really liked this green complex.
Hole 7 – 385 yards – Par 4
This is a fun dogleg right with a wonderful stone wall behind the green. It doesn’t get more New England than this.
Hole 8 – 385 yards – Par 4
This is one of my favorite holes on the property. I loved the fairway movement and the gumdrop mounds surrounding the green. Everything about the look of the hole spoke to me.
Hole 9 – 523 yards – Par 5
Compared to what I saw on the rest of the front, nine was a bit of an anticlimactic finish. It’s a nondescript par five that bends to the right, finishing at the clubhouse.
Hole 10 – 380 yards – Par 4
This hole sits next to the first and plays very similarly. It is a bit shorter but otherwise tough to tell apart.
Hole 11 – 530 yards – Par 5
With a blind tee shot and a heaving fairway, this hole can be a bit wonky (but in a good way). I would definitely benefit from playing this hole again knowing where it goes.
Hole 12 – 390 yards – Par 4
I hit my tee shot up the left side here and never found it. Position is key as you play to the green surrounded by trees. I quite liked the setting down there.
Hole 13 – 153 yards – Par 3
This green is wild. Misses to the left are basically dead as everything funnels to the right. I enjoyed the challenge since it wasn’t overly long.
Hole 14 – 404 yards – Par 4
I vote for this as the toughest hole at Manchester Country Club. The tee shot is narrow and depending on where you are the approach shot is blind. If you make par, consider yourself a player!
Hole 15 – 300 yards – Par 4
I liked this hole a great deal. Long hitters can go for it but they can’t see the green and it is hard to hit. You also have the option of laying back to a comfortable distance. With the slope around the green that is probably the best plan of attack.
Hole 16 – 217 yards – Par 3
I’ll be real here. I don’t like this hole. It’s long and hard but doesn’t have the charm of the earlier long par three.
Hole 17 – 447 yards – Par 4
Be aware that there is a hazard that crosses the fairway. Most people can swing away with the driver though. It provides a nice penalty for the longer hitters to think about.
Hole 18 – 404 yards – Par 4
The tee shot is simple enough on this dogleg right. You can cut the corner but bunkers are waiting for you. Wait until we get to the green.
The slope of this green complex was crazy. You can have triple breaking putts galore. My uncle says he can’t stand this green but I liked the absurdity.
Manchester Country Club has put a lot of work into there course. I think it definitely shows! I can’t imagine how different the course must have been with 12,000 more trees. That was an awesome change.
While the greens aren’t Pinehurst #2 level of intensity, they definitely have that Ross soul. They were a joy to play as was the rest of the course. I would say the membership at Manchester Country Club has a course that they can be insanely proud of for years to come.
