Pros:
Extremely well groomed course.
Excellent tee pads with trash cans, brooms, ash trays, tables and seating at each.
Nice baskets, 2 on each hole.
Fair greens that can speed up at times.
Carefully designed, routes are fair, wide variety of shots.
Next tee markers on each basket. easy navigation.
Groomed paths between holes.
Incredible use of space.
Scorecards available
Practice basket
Good Parking
Port o Pot
Pro shop
Friendly Staff
Beautiful setting for a course
Cons:
Hills, lots of hills that don't take away from your game really, but damm, this course kicks your ass.
A swampy area to deal with, not really too too bad tho.
I'm thinking.....that last one was a stretch...man...did I mention it's a hike...
Other Thoughts:
Pulling up to 501 you already know your are in for a great round of golf. The place is polished from the parking lot to the pin.
It feels like you are pulling into a nice little ball golf course. The grass is mowed, the trees are trimmed, the boxes are mint, the baskets are great. The course will test your arm, no doubt, Going to need some distance if you plan to play the blue pins. But at the same time placement is going to be just as important through the round. The course has some tight lines, but are fair routes that open up giving you a chance to score. Greens give you good looks at the baskets, a few protected one, a few fast greens, a bunch of elevated, nice mixed bunch.
The thing that stood out to me about 501 is that for a course that is pretty much brand spanking new, it feels like it's been in play for years. The course feels broken in due to the time, and effort put into the design, building and upkeep.
This one is well worth a few hours drive.
Well worth making a day out of it.
501 is setting standards!
New England courses just got put on notice.