Golf Course

Founded in 1924, the Country Club of Barre is considered one of the “must play” courses in central Vermont. Nestled in the rolling hills of Plainfield Vermont, the Country Club of Barre offers a unique and rewarding golf experience.

You will experience golf at its finest along with scenic views of the beautiful Vermont landscape.

Our course is designed with all players in mind, from the beginner to the experienced. Golfers at all levels of experience will find the course challenging and rewarding.

Our pro-shop is well stocked with all of the amenities you would expect. Our PGA Professional and staff are always ready to assist you and to make your experience enjoyable.

After your round, relax in our club house restaurant and take advantage of our menu and full beverage service. Join us on friday nights for a relaxed dinner. Reservations are not needed but are suggested. Also, in most cases, special requests can be honored with 24 hour prior notice. For dinner reservations call 802 476-7658 ext. 6.

Come play the one course that you will remember forever!

Hole-by-Hole Descriptions: 

Hole #1: A very inviting way to begin your round, this hole plays one or two clubs shorter than the actual yardage suggests. From an elevated tee, you hit to a generous, forgiving fairway that slopes gently downhill. If you can carry your drive to within 175 yards of the green you will clear a small ridge and likely get significant roll, leaving you with a short iron for your next shot. The green is guarded by a large bunker on the right and the fairway slopes more steeply downhill in the run-up to the green. Unless you can hit the putting surface with a high approach shot, or with some backspin, it may be best to land the ball well short of the green and let it roll on.

Hole #2: Rated the most difficult on the course, this hole, which is uphill and has a slight dogleg to the right, offers several challenges. The fairway slopes from right to left, so keep your drive on the right side. A drive down the middle may end up in the left rough, leaving you with a long and difficult uphill shot. If you go too far right, your tee shot may get tangled up in the pine trees or you may be blocked from going at the green by a large maple tree. The green has two tiers and offers its own challenges. If the pin is in front, you must avoid going too far past it, as it may be difficult to keep the return putt on the green. If the pin is in back, generally aim to the right side, as the green slopes runs from right to left. Long is better than short with a rear pin placement.

Hole #3:  The easiest par 4 on the front nine, this hole presents a classic risk-reward scenario for big hitters. Depending on where the tees are located, a drive of anywhere from 220 to 260 yards can reach the green – IF you avoid the maple tree on the left and the greenside bunker on the right. A more cautious approach allows you to dial in your preferred yardage for their second shot by hitting anything from driver to a short iron off the tee. The green features a false front and slopes back to front.

Hole #4:  This is a flat, relatively straightforward, and longish par 3. Except for a greenside bunker on the left and two mounds with heavy rough on the right, it presents no particular difficulties. The front-left part of the green slopes from right to left, so you’ll want to avoid going too far if the pin is in this location and having to make a chip or putt from the back of the green. The rest of the green is flat or slopes gently from back to front.

Hole #5:  This is the first of three par 5s. Big hitters can reach the green in two, if they can keep the ball within a relatively narrow fairway and avoid the trees and pond on the right and the hillside and forest on the left. Shorter hitters will find a more generous landing area. There are two bunkers on the right, slightly forward of the green. The green itself has two tiers and slopes from back to front – and with some pin placements more subtly from left to right.

Hole #6:  This fairway is perched on a ridge with steep slopes off both sides and is known to cause nightmares for anyone whose tee shot strays significantly right or left. A straight tee shot is essential to making par or birdie. In general, you should keep your approach shot toward the right side, as both the fairway and green run from right to left. A front-left pin placement is tricky, as an overly enthusiastic putt may run off the green, leaving you with a chip coming back.

Hole #7:  This par 3 is well guarded by two bunkers in front, another on the left, and a third just off the back edge of the green. A high shot to the middle of the green is safest. Shorter hitters may try to land short and run the ball up between the two front bunkers. A pin placement just behind the left-front bunker is the most difficult to access; a location at the back-right is the easiest.

Hole #8:  This is one of the most challenging, but rewarding driving holes. A straight drive down the middle is often rewarded with a long downhill roll, but the landing area is narrow. To the right are numerous trees and the bank bordering Hole #6. If you go left, your ball may be kicked off into the rough or even the fescue area that separates #8 and #9, which can make it difficult to reach the green unless you can hit a very high shot over the trees that guard the green from this angle. It may be difficult to keep your approach shot on the green, as the green is relatively small and the run-up to the green is visibly downhill. Your eyes may tell you that the green slopes from back to front, but don’t be deceived: it is flatter than it looks from back to front, and hence the conventional wisdom is “straight on eight.”

Hole #9:  This par 4 is about the same length as Hole #8 but plays at least a half-shot longer, as the fairway slopes gently uphill and the prevailing wind is generally in your face. Only the big hitters can consistently reach in two. The long two-tiered green slopes from back to front, and has bunkers on both the right and the left. If you’re on the lower section and the pin is in back, you have to hit your putt much harder than you might expect or you’ll end up 15 feet short. If you’re on the upper section and the pin is in front, barely creep over the ridge and pray that your ball stays on the green. Par is a good score for low handicappers, and outstanding score for most players.

Hole #10:  The back nine starts with this long par 5, uphill all the way. The initial landing area is wide, but the fairway narrows down as you approach the green. The bunker that guards the front of the green on the right is usually not difficult to avoid. Although the green is reachable in three for most players, it is handy to carry a range-finder, because it is difficult to tell from the fairway how far back the pin is located. The green is wide at the base and very narrow at the top. It also features pronounced slopes from back to front and right to left, making all downhill putts difficult. Avoid going too far right because the fringe is narrow, the rough is deep, and the green runs away from you. Best strategy is to make sure
you have an uphill putt to the pin.

Hole #11:  You can see this entire hole from start to finish. The fairway is wide and forgiving with one fairway bunker on the right about 140-150 yards out from an elevated green. The problem is on your second shot: leave it short, and the ball will roll back down a steep hill, giving you a difficult pitch shot. Hit it long and you face a downhill putt, which may be difficult to stop near the hole. The most hair-raising pin placement is in the back-right, where anything except directly below the hole leaves you with a real possibility of a three- or even four-putt.

Hole #12:  Many good rounds have come to grief on this hole which, based on the yardage and the handicap rating, looks like it should be a piece of cake. From the back tees, you must hit a blind tee shot to an elevated fairway; the forward tees are much more forgiving, as you can see the entire fairway from the elevated tee box. Either way, the fairway ends and the rough begins about 90 yards from the middle of the green, and it is best to avoid running through the fairway. The right side is the preferred aiming point for the tee shot, although too far right could leave you on a sidehill with difficult rough. Aim your second shot toward the middle-right of the dramatically elevated green. Once again, you would be well advised to get your approach shot to stay below the hole, as a putt from above the hole can easily run well past the hole of even off the green.

Hole #13:  This is considered to be the most difficult of the four par 3s, because the green is significantly elevated, the tee shot is blind, and the hole plays one or two clubs longer than the yardage marker suggests. A steep bunker on the right gathers in many errant shots. A drive up the middle, even if short, will leave you with a very makeable up and down.

Hole #14: Take a moment to enjoy the magnificent views from the 14 th tee. It is the highest point on the golf course and in the fall, the fairway is lined with colorful maples. Then buckle down to the challenge of reaching the #2 handicap hole in two. A good, solid, straight drive should get some decent roll on this downhill fairway, although there is plenty of trouble on both sides. The green slopes uphill from front to back, as well as from left to right.

Hole #15:  The last of the par 5s, this very reachable, uphill hole has a slight dogleg to the left at the end. The key is to hit your drive into the wide fairway and then keep your second shot in the middle where the fairway narrows. There is a bunker short and left of the green that rarely comes into play, but the bunker at the dogleg at the end of the fairway can sometimes collect an optimistic attempt to get on in two. The slightly elevated green slopes from back to front and from left to right. If you can get on or near the green in three, you should be able to make par and maybe even birdie.

Hole #16:  This picturesque hole has long views towards Camel’s Hump and the spine of the Green Mountains. It is the shortest hole on the course, made shorter by the elevation change from tee to green. If your tee shot goes long, you may go over the back and down a steep hill for a difficult pitch – that is, IF you can find your ball! If you go short and you may get to experience the deep bunker that guards the front right of the green. A high shot to the middle of the green should get you your par, no matter where the pin placement is, and birdie is a real possibility here.

Hole #17:  Although rated as the easiest par 4 on the course, this hole can present a challenge for shorter hitters. Steep greenside bunkers on the right and left require you either to hit your approach shot straight down the middle or high enough, with sufficient backspin, to clear the front right bunker. Even then, it is often difficult to hold the green, which slopes from front to back as well as from right to left.

Hole #18:  This wonderful finishing hole has a completely rebuilt green offering many different pin placements. Try to keep your drive on the right side of the fairway, as even a center shot may be pulled over into a large fairway bunker on the left. The approach shot should also stay to the right, as a shot to the left may be kicked over into heavy rough, a hidden bunker or, worse yet, an unplayable hazard area. Even if you get on in regulation, making par is a challenge, as this new green has many subtle, almost unreadable breaks.

Hole #19:  Like most of the course, the distance from green to the next tee is short. Drop your clubs in the car, scramble up the hill, and enjoy the many options for food and drink at Fairways & Greens, the course bar and restaurant. And be sure to come again. The next round promises to get easier!