![]() ![]() As is typical for most public courses, fairways, tees, rough, and some of the greenside fringes lagged behind somewhat (these were good). (2) Conditioning here was most impressive on the greens, which were excellent. I’ve always thought that meeting new and interesting people this way is one of the greatest benefits of this game. We extended our conversation after the round. All were personable, friendly and fun, and they’re members at Melody Hill. (1) Today was a lucky one for me, as I was fortunate to join an excellent threesome over these nine: a wife and husband-Michelle and Ricky-and their friend Bob (see photo). For anyone living within an hour or so of Harmony, Rhode Island, it’s a must-try golf course. But this is still a fine layout in a gorgeous and serene natural setting. Misses are tolerated less on this green’s back side than the other three.Ī couple of holes are uninteresting here they could be improved-lending both playing strategy and defensibility on approach shots-by some added sand traps or perhaps some rolling, varied ground movement greenside. Your straight-downhill approach will likely have to be bounced into a large, rolling putting surface. With its fairway narrowing over the second half and awkward lies everywhere, this is the hole most likely to damage front-side scorecards. The rigorous downhill fifth is also spectacularly beautiful, with majestic trees and enveloping woods. HARDEST HOLE: Five: 426 yards, back tees par-4. The hole’s second half features a superb, lengthy vista beyond the green, a green that is slightly perched (see photo). Stay left of center, but you’ll need a near-perfect drive to thread the trees and land beyond them. Doglegging right, the landing area complicates things by throwing in, on each side, a couple of trees that may punish even slightly erring shots. ![]() How anyone could fail to appreciate the beauty and quality of this hole would be a mystery to me. ![]() The driving area is open enough, but beyond this, fun and challenge are introduced when dealing with the trees en route to the green.īEST HOLE: Three: 360 yards, back tees par-4 SEVENTH: Another long 4-par demanding a solid drive to its landing area, and an even better approach into a green-with a falloff in back-that is surrounded by woods.ĮIGHTH: A cool hole featuring a switchback fairway, best played with a fade off the tee and a draw if you hope to reach in two (the hole has two big, opposite curves). The putting surface is generous enough in proportions and relatively flat. SIXTH: Striking-looking, downhill three par tests your ability to hit a precise iron, which may have to narrowly miss the rightward woods-should the pin be set on the green’s right-hand side. A quick overview of some of key front-side holes should further delineate its quality:įIRST: A pleasant, uphill opener running uphill to an undulating putting surface, it offers the prospect of an opening par when carefully played. In fact, it was strongly recommended to me by a man I met today in Woodstock. Melody Hill seems to me a very worthwhile course, and I’m anxious now to come back and play the whole eighteen. Two of them at nine, both cleverly hidden, may make this short par-4 painful if you slice or push the tee ball. Four bunkers make an appearance on the front. Having been careless in calculating distances (I didn’t) on the second, I blew through the dogleg, and then had to recover by wedging over huge trees. Unless you can hit pronounced fades or draws, be careful with the latter set. This outward nine boasts a nice mix of straightaway holes, those with minor bends, and others with more severe doglegs. The course looks wholly natural and features ponds, some sweeping hills, and pleasant, longer vistas on occasion. What struck me most about Melody were its beautifully secluded hole settings and the accompanying views that these afforded. Greens tend to be moderately curving, and they run just short of average in speed unless you’re putting downhill, where suddenly they quicken more than I expected. The mature trees here are eye-catching, sometimes appearing on the edges of fairways or apart from woods. Only one fairway here-at five-narrows down to some 25 yards this mainly affects longer hitters. But the woods, thankfully, don’t impinge claustrophobically from tee to green. Though both are relatively short, Melody (6004, blues) has a bit more width to most of its fairways, and most of these (unlike Harrisville) are completely surrounded by imposing woods. Playing these layouts back-to-back meant changing gears. FRONT NINE REVIEW: This morning I played nine holes at Harrisville again, some 40 minutes away, and then came to Melody Hill Country Club. ![]()
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