Lake of Isles (North Course)- North Stonington, CT

The course that plays home to Foxwoods Resort Casino offers plenty of gambling opportunities without having chips on the table.  The 36 holes facility offers a North Course (Public) and a South Course (Private).  The courses are managed by Troon Golf who does an excellent job.  In the month of April you can play this course for $105, it's normally $175.

 

(Casino Entrance- This is similar to the one across from Lake of Isles Drive)

 

(Sign as you head of Lake of Isles Drive entering the golf course)

The North Course (Public)

I'm going to be straight forward with you, this course can be a beast.  It offers five (5) sets of tees, the longest of which play 7,252 yards.  We played from the Silver tees which play 6,304 yards.  Of the 18 holes, 9 of them have a forced carry off the tee box.  If you struggle off the tee you can lose a lot of balls.  I would like to add there are few blind shots and they do offer a free yardage guide which is VERY helpful, especially if you have not played there before. 

(Scorecard and Yardage Guide)

The Par 3's

The Par 3's on Lake of Isles North Course offer a challenge for all players.  Do not be fooled by the beauty and design, these holes are meant take strokes back from you.  There are four par 3's and of the four, 3 of them offer and elevation change.  Two of the four require a carry over water and one of them plays 185 yards and offers very little bailout, if any. 

(The par 3, 11th hole plays 154 yards from the Silver tees)

As you can see from the above picture, there is little room for error. 

 

(The Par 3, 166 yard, 16th hole- elevated tee box)

Yup, More Info

The service was great and this is a great facility.  The only part of the practice facility we used was the driving range.  We hit off state of the art mats but there is a grass area which I'm sure they use once the season begins, May 1st.

 

(Practice Facility was in great shape and is included in the cost of the round)

The course is layout is great.  You can play holes and not see anyone.  We didn't see anyone in front of us or behind us for a while and I didn't see any group held up.  They do have a beverage service on the course and they come around frequently enough.  There is a cooler on your cart to hold anything you want to keep cold in the meantime.  We were able to start a tab on our credit card too (thanks for treating Dosh).  The beers, soda and snacks were reasonably priced.

The proshop had everything you might need if you forgot something (including rental clubs) and a 50% off rack.  They offer a very clean locker room with carpeted changing area and I think I saw showers and towels. 

The tavern was reasonably priced and the servers were friendly.  We didn't eat there but from what I saw the food looked pretty good.  I also attended a wedding here and the food was good although I'm sure it was different food. 

Overall

If I had the money and lived closer I'd play here all the time.  This is a premier facility and you recognize this from the second you arrive and drive up to the clubhouse.  The service from the staff was outstanding and the course was in excellent shape.  The pace of play was great and as I mentioned if you can play in April, it's only $105...a great discount!

Location: North Stonington, CT (At Foxwoods Resort Casino)

Cost: $175 with Cart & practice facility ($105 in April... did I mention that?)

Slope/Rating: 71.5/135

Proshop: Yes and has everything you might need.

Range: Yes, included in cost of round

My Score:  95 (Had my first birdie of the year on the 3rd hole)

Play Again:  Absolutely (Check the website, listed below for packages)

Notes: There are plenty of hotels in the area if you don't want to pay to stay at Foxwoods.  They do have stay and play packages which might be worth looking into. 

Something unique, and pretty cool, on the website is the "Course Flyover".  Go to the site http://www.lakeofisles.com/golf.html and click it on the right side.  I hope more courses decide to do this. 

Played here before or have any questions I didn't answer?  Leave a comment or send me an e-mail!

 

Comments

[Ryan]

I've played here as well and what I remember the most is the par 3's. Accuracy was key on the Par 3's, especially with the water that was lurking all around the green. Being short, left or right often spelled disaster.

Also, leading off with a monster par 5 as the first hole is reason enough to get there early and take full advantage of the free practice range service.

[The Golf Nomad]

Ryan thanks for commenting and letting us know you've played there. I agree with the starting hole, it's intimidating!

I hope you enjoyed Lake of Isles and thank you for reading my blog.

[Kev]

I played there a few weeks ago and was dying for a hot dog at the turn. But the snack stand didn't open until May. I couldn't wait that long.

You should come down and play Lake Isle in Eastchester one day soon.

[The Golf Nomad]

Thanks for commenting and following Kev! You bring up a great point. The "Halfway House" was closed when we played and we were told it will not be open until May.

The beverage cart did get sandwiches for us and they did the trick. A hot dog would have gone great with the brews though!