18 hole course was revised in recent years, providing a "campus tour." Encompasses water on two holes and lots of elevation change



+ First, the standout hole: #15 is a 300' par 3 with a long carry over a pond. It's a genuine Gold Level challenge (and therefore way out of character with the other 17 holes here). From the elevated tee, just about all you can see is water. You need ~250' from the tee to stay dry - although you can bail out with a layup to cut off about 100'. But the REAL challenge is that the trees on the far bank guard the basket, and you need to make a narrow opening to have any chance at birdie, or be confident that you can throw a high one with enough distance to crash down through the trees. Pucker up and throw.


+ Very good signage (though a few of the revised holes still have temp signs), carpeted tees, and a few tees play off the concrete sidewalks (look for red paint spots indicating teeing area). Excellent DisCatchers with red bands


+ Other than #15, there are just a few memorable holes. #9 is a 600' par 4, a long right dogleg with a steep downhill sloping to the left. It's ideal for a RHFH, and any RHBH as to turn over to avoid sailing way down the hill. Hole #12 deserves special mention. It's a 270' par 3 that's open most of the way with an alley at the end, but what you don't see is that the basket is perched on the side of a cliff made for rollaways

- First-time players will have any number of navigational challenges. The layout is on a fully built college campus, so there are existing structures that the course has been laid out around: buildings, sidewalks, power boxes and other obstacles. There are bricks at the base of most baskets indicating the general direction of the next tee, but the middle section of the course narrows like a figure 8, and it's easy to confuse which of the visible tees and baskets are next.


- Other than the standout water hole and several very good holes, a lot are just so-so. Elevation changes are the spice to much of the layout, and only a few holes really involve trees to navigate. The course is mostly straight shots where you have to consider the elevation change.

~ This is one hilly SOB.


~ This is one immaculately-kept campus.


~ There are wild turkeys walking around this campus (the fowl. I'm not casting aspersions about students or faculty)


~ I'm pretty sure there's a shortcut through the woods after #18 basket to bring you back to the parking lot by the first tee. Look for one - because it will save 10-15 minutes of walking



RECOMMENDED COMBINATIONS:

Fairfield U is worth playing, but not a destination in itself. Would pair up well with the heavily wooded Veterans Memorial Park nearby, or with the flat, windy Sherwood Island. Also close to the excellent wooded Cranbury Park.

This course plays around the campus of Fairfield University. The landscape features rolling hills, mature trees, and well kept lawns. The baskets are a mix of several different types, and though they are old with rusty chains, they seem completely functional. In general, the course is very well maintained and clean, mostly because the college campus wants to look pretty for prospective students. Just about every hole here is very well designed. There are a number of elevation changes, tight gaps, low ceilings, vegetal obstacles, and a number of easily definable out of bounds areas that are not expressly marked to make this a challenging course. Stand out holes include tight woods shots (6 &7), tight greens (8 & 16), and a crazy over the pond shot on 15. Don't be fooled by the total course distance on this page; this is a full length course and may actually be longer than many CT courses. Most of the course is open with only two shots going through thick woods making this course a nice change of pace from the typical CT deep woods courses. The 8th hole features an impressive view out to the Long Island Sound. There is ample parking, restrooms and running water are available inside the Business School building, and overall this is a very pleasant spot to get a round in.

The main issue here is navigation. The layout here is atrocious with many long walks between holes. The map is hard to follow and a full round here results in a very long walk around the campus. Tee signs are difficult to spot when they do exist making finding the next tee after a hole all the more challenging. There must have been a better way to lay this course out in order to minimize travel time between tees. That being said, once you've played here once or twice, you'll know your way around and navigation will be less of an issue. Better and more signage would make a round here much easier for a first timer.

The tees here are also disappointing. Most of them are grass, and it's tough to get a good run up in. Some tees are on the path, but often are too small to get a good run up as well and other grass tees are not well defined.

There could be a little more variety in the shots. Most of them are straight shots.

Foliage is rough in some spots, especially if you land off the fairway. The weeds by the left side of the pond are especially tough, which is a shame since it's the best spot to drop if you can't make the throw over the pond. The path back to the parking lot after the 18th hole also has a lot of thorns, brambles and prickers.

The other thing to consider is that this is a college campus, so when we played, there was a lacrosse game going on that had spectators all over the first fairway, making it unplayable. Even on a Saturday in the summer the course was not quiet.

This is a great alternative to the typical CT course in the thick woods. Hook up with a regular to make navigation easier and this will be a great course to up your confidence after getting clobbered by the trees in Bridgeport and Norwalk. I was bummed that some little kid probably ran off with one of my drives, though.

All tees now have a tee sign or number marking on the sidewalk or tee area. Tee signs have been updated and now make sense!! (long period of construction changes made it tough) Some signs are low to the ground due restrictions from Campus grounds. Use the Aerial Map!

A number of baskets need repair. I am working on it! I moved many tees to sidewalks - use them instead of old tees. (4, 6, 7 (concrete pad), 13, 14, 16 all are on concrete sidewalk or pad now).

Hope everyone likes the new 18 hole layout. Maybe my ratings will inch upward.
Note I only gave myself a 3, lots more to be done, but this is one of the prettiest courses in CT so come on down and enjoy!