The Course at Yale

Awesome!

5.0 of 5 starsReviewed March 20, 2020

No, I'm not a Millennial. I graduated from Yale College in 1974. My biggest regret is that I didn't play the Course enough during my time there, though I played it a lot.

In the 70s Yale was considered among the elite, fell back some due to poor conditions (what, golf didn't matter?) but it has now risen, almost meteorically in the rankings of the world's best courses.

My view is consistent with many of those you can find online, from one-time players to those who seem (pretend?) to rank golf courses for a living.

The short and simple is that Yale has many features that would be interesting and entertaining for a tour event. A short par-4 (11) that is certainly reachable, but with a few small changes could be very penal. Pin placement on 9 might befuddle even the best of the pros. The same is true of 10, where hitting to a green elevated 40 ft. would make it hard to ensure that you end up on the right level of two (I actually count three), and if not, a two-putt means making one from a long ways away.

The course has vulnerabilities that I could exploit as an undergrad but only hope to do so as I move toward my 70s, and I'm not talking score. 16 is definitely the easiest hole on the course, a short 5 that as a kid I hit with a drive and a six-iron, though there is now a deeper tee. Still, any touring pro would be hitting an iron, some, perhaps, a short iron, to a plain vanilla green.

To compare the Course to how pros would play it may seem wrong to some. I agree it is not the only standard to use. Any accomplished player who visits Yale will have a day that is almost certainly unlike any other spent on a golf course. That is, Yale is unique, and in most ways that is a very good thing.

One point that I want to make is that Yale is a course on a grand scale in many ways, from the greens to the bunkers and other features. Having said that, Yale is not a "tight" course. Some descriptions refer to Yale's tree-lined fairways, but those fairways are more than ample, and the trees are still a ways off.

That isn't to say that you can't get into trouble if you miss a fairway. There are plenty of errant tee shots that carom off of mounds into very inhospitable places, which only adds to the fun, and the frustration.

Bottom line for me is, as I said at the outset, I should have played the course more. Having moved out of Connecticut last year, I remain dedicated to playing the Course again, certainly at my 50th reunion in four years, but likely before that, as well.