Shennecossett Golf Course - Groton, Conn.
- Info courtesy of the City of Groton Parks and Recreation page. www.shennygolf.com
The Shennecossett Golf Course continues to offer golfers of all
playing abilities a scenic and challenging place to play golf.
There are fantastic views of the Thames River and the Long Island
Sound looking from the 16th and 17th holes, and at any time, one
might see the U.S.S. Eagle or a nuclear submarine navigating the
waterways.
The course is extremely rich in history; founded in 1898, the
course was originally a four-hole layout. Over the next 18 years,
the course was enlarged to a six, nine, eleven, and eventually
eighteen-hole track. Then, in 1916, famed golf course architect
Donald Ross redesigned the course layout (one of only five courses
in the State of Connecticut that he designed), and in 1919, he
rerouted three of the holes to complete his work. The course
remained this way until 1997, in which a land swap with Pfizer gave
the course the property to build three holes overlooking the
water.
Over the years, many famous golfers have walked the fairways at
Shennecossett, including Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Tommy Armour,
Francis Ouimet, Babe Didrikson, Glenna Collett, and former club
professionals Alex Smith and Harry Cooper.
Since April 10, 1969, due to the purchase of the course by the Town
of Groton, Shennecossett has been open to the residents of Groton
and surrounding communities for public play (the only public Donald
Ross designed course in the state).
Shennecossett continues to host premier Connecticut golf events,
such as the Connecticut Senior Open, and furthers its reputation as
one of the best public golf courses in the state. In September of
2004 Shennecossett was featured in Golf Magazine as one of the
"Thrifty Fifty" (view article) in the United States; best public
access courses that one can play for under $50. More recently,
Shennecossett was featured in The Best of Northeast Golf 2007
Reader's Choices as one of the best overall conditioned courses and
best overall courses.