Course Review: The Shattuck - Jaffrey, NH
I normally wouldn't drive 2 hours to the middle of nowhere to go play golf on a weekday, but my buddy had a voucher for a free foursome at The Shattuck up in Jaffrey, NH. I had heard about The Shattuck for years, and in fact my college team played a tournament there (that I didn't play in), and heard it was a tough "target golf" type of course. Before heading up there I had Tweeted to a couple of my fellow "tweeps" who I know live in New Hampshire and asked if they had played it before. Neither had, but their responses were exactly the same. "No I haven't, but from what I hear... bring a lot of balls."
It was a long drive through many route changes and some back roads (we did get lost), and about 2 hours later there we were in Jaffrey, NH. The course is nestled in to the woods with Mount Monadnock playing as the backdrop, which would provide great views all day. There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot, it was a Wednesday afterall, and we figured we'd have the course to ourselves for the most part. Upon talking to the head pro in the pro-shop, we learned that Golf Digest ranked The Shattuck #43 on their "Top 50 Most Difficult Courses in the U.S." It would be a good thing that we stocked up on balls before the drive.
The pro was extremely helpful and gave us the lay of the land for the first few holes and provided some tips. Those would serve us well, along with the yardage book, which was a must.
The Shattuck is a thinking man's course where you have to play strategic golf and place your shots accordingly. If you went there and expected to blast your driver on every hole off the tee, good luck to you. Throughout the entire round I hit driver once, off the 18th tee. Otherwise it was a 3-hybrid or a variety of irons off the tee. From the blues it's not a long course by any means, measuring only 6,077 yards but it also carries a slope of 141.
Unfortunately the New England region hadn't seen any rain for over a week and the temperatures were consistently in the mid 90's that entire time, so the course was a little burnt out in areas. Which was to be expected, so that aspect didn't bother me at all. The greens were a little hairy, for lack of a better word, and were running very slow. It just took a little while to get used to them and account for that.
On the front 9 there are back to back par 5's, one serving as the #1 handicap hole, and both played very difficult. The 5th hole (#1 handicap) is a 551 yard par 5 where hitting an iron or hybrid as I did would be all you would need. With trouble all down the lefthand side and a tight fairway, a precise tee shot is a must. Luckily the way the right side sloped you could lay it out to the right a bit and even in the rough there, it will filter the ball down. I hit a beautiful 3-hybrid, playing the slope and was set up perfectly for an 8-iron layup to a very small area, which would then leave me with a wedge in. That was the plan at least, until I put my 8-iron in the only place you didn't want to on that shot, the swamp area to the left. I told you it was a precise shot! From there you have anywhere from a 9-iron to wedge to a well protected green with a stream running right in front.
The 6th hole only measures 508 yards and on most courses, golfers would be licking their chops at that distance and figuring they could get home in two. Certainly not the case here. There are two landing areas for your first two shots, almost like little islands between swamp/waste areas. So your first tee shot you only want to hit about 200 yards, but then on your layup, you need to hit a precise short iron to a small landing area which will then leave you with another short iron to yet another well protected green.
That's pretty much the theme for the entire course, along with some very challenging par 3's that make you carry the ball completely over water, swamp, or waste area. The views of the mountains are great throughout the entire course and you certainly know you are in New Hampshire. Having some prior course knowledge would do you very well here, as I can think of a handful of shots I would have played differently now that I've played the course. I look forward to heading back up, and would do so more often if it wasn't 2 hours away.
The Shattuck is currently running some great specials to golfers in the region. Monday-Friday, $60 for all you can play (includes cart, range balls, and lunch!). Also, FREE golf on Monday's (all you do is pay the cart fee). To learn more about The Shattuck, visit their website at: http://www.sterlinggolf.com/shattuck/
Jeff Palopoli is a frequent contributor New England Golf Monthly, and writes daily on his blog: www.goodwalkgolf.com
