Woodstock Country Club – Played Summer 2025
- Rankings: None of my four lists
- Location: 76 South Street, Woodstock, Vermont
- Year: 1906
- Original Architect: William H Tucker
- Additional Work By: Wayne Stiles, Robert Trent Jones, & Roger Rulewich
- Course Access: Resort
- Walking Rules: Carts Available
Score Card Information:
- Blue: 6,052 yards, Par 70, 70.1 Rating/133 Slope
- White: 5,619 yards, Par 70, 68.3 Rating/129 Slope
- Combo: 5,376 yards, Par 70, 67.1 Rating/127 Slope
- Gold: 5,207 yards, Par 70, 66.1 Rating/125 Slope
- Red: 4,873 yards, Par 69/71, 69.4 Rating/123 Slope
- Combo: 4,434 yards, Par 69/71, 66.4 Rating/115 Slope
- Forward: 4,124 yards, Par 69/71, 64.9 Rating/110 Slope
Despite my yearly trips to New Hampshire, my Vermont golf resume is surprisingly thin. Many of the courses aren’t particularly close to where we stay but I am trying to make an effort to see more of them. In keeping with that, I put Woodstock Country Club on the agenda.
Woodstock Country Club is one of the oldest public golf courses in Vermont. The original layout opened in 1896 on a hillside cow pasture above the current course. Ten years later, William Tucker moved the holes down into the Kedron Valley which is where the current iteration is today.
Wayne Stiles increased the course to eighteen holes in 1925 before Laurance Rockefeller purchased the resort in 1961. With that purchase, Rockefeller brought in RTJ to spruce up the course. The layout today is mostly RTJ’s aside from the current 5th hole that retained one of the Stiles greens.
Let’s get into the tour.
Hole 1 – 507 yards – Par 5
The round at Woodstock starts with a gettable par five right next to the practice putting green. Keep your drive just to the left of the bunker and you should have a shot at getting home in two.
The green is a smaller target with a long club, but you can attack it with a wedge.
Hole 2 – 174 yards – Par 3
Nothing tricky about this hole other than the tree blocking a low draw. A good mid iron will land safely on this larger green and give you a chance for a deuce.
Hole 3 – 370 yards – Par 4
Precision is more important than distance on this dogleg left. A creek cuts across the fairway in the landing zone. Big hitters can carry it, but that distance increases the farther right you go.
The second shot is no picnic with a dramatically raised green. Make sure you don’t come up short!
Hole 4 – 403 yards – Par 4
The elevated tee shortens the playing yardage for this one. Draws work best off of the tee on our second consecutive dogleg left. You won’t want to tangle with the fairway bunkers on the right.
We’ve got another small green here with the hazard guarding it very closely.
Hole 5 – 151 yards – Par 3
Tucked right along the tree line, this hole demands an accurate tee shot or you’ll likely be reloading. Thankfully, it’s pretty short.
Hole 6 – 570 yards – Par 5
This hole is a beast playing through the chute. If you don’t hit a good drive, it will be hard to get past the trees to make the right turn to the green for your third shot.
Hole 7 – 162 yards – Par 3
You’ve got a cool problem to solve on this downhill par three. The distance must be adjusted correctly because short and long are no good. Bunkers on either side are the preferred misses, but are no bargains either.
Hole 8 – 369 yards – Par 4
The proximity of the trees make this feel like a tighter driving hole than it really is. If you avoid the bunkers on the left, the approach shot becomes pretty straightforward.
As you can see, short misses are not too bad here.
Hole 9 – 409 yards – Par 4
Trees and sand line this fairway, but it’s still bombs away with the driver. This one is as straight as they come.
The green is quite narrow with a good deal of slope in its front section.
Hole 10 – 465 yards – Par 5
Really just can’t miss to the left on this tee shot. There is a good deal of room to the right. With the length of this par five, you could even take less than driver. This hole, like the previous two, plays arrow straight.
As you’d expect on a short par five, the green is quite tiny. No free lunch here!
Hole 11 – 150 yards – Par 3
If you hit a draw, this can be an awkward tee shot with the trees on the right. This is worsened by the fact that left is dead. Sometimes in this game you just have to hit the shot.
Hole 12 – 400 yards – Par 4
We’ve got another hole with trouble on the left. This time it’s a dogleg left par four. A tight draw just inside the bunker plays very well here.
A good drive sets you up to attack a fairly unguarded green. The hazard is there but only for shots way to the right.
Hole 13 – 161 yards – Par 3
This is a demanding shot to a tricky little green. I’d imagine the bunkers see a lot of action. Missing short is much better than long. Either way, walking away with a three here is nothing to complain about.
Hole 14 – 313 yards – Par 4
When you see the yardage on the card you’re probably thinking birdie. I won’t dissuade you, but unless you’re a long hitter you have to be strategic. A hazard on the left and bunkers on the right are waiting for wayward tee shots. Two proper shots can set you up for success, but the heavily pitched green serves as a final test.
Hole 15 – 149 yards – Par 3
A creek fronts this green before continuing around to the right. You know where to miss in that case, but the green is a fairly generous target for this distance.
Hole 16 – 543 yards – Par 5
This is a three-shot hole for most players. It bends slightly left around the bunkers you can see below.
This approach is a green light special.
Hole 17 – 338 yards – Par 4
The bunkers on the left are in play, so be mindful on the tee. A good drive will set up a short shot to try and stick it close.
The driving range runs up to the back of this green so make shade towards short versus long.
Hole 18 – 418 yards – Par 4
The finishing hole at Woodstock asks you to hit two solid shots to reach the green. Take note of the distance to the bunker to calibrate your line off the tee.
If you’re in the fairway, the green is pretty open. It sits at an angle but is only guarded by the two bunkers seen below.
As you’ve seen, Woodstock Country Club is not a brawny modern course. Its defenses are tight corridors and meandering creeks. I’m sure people try to overpower it, but a measured attack might yield better results.