17. Glen Ellen Country Club

Location: Millis (0:44 SW of Boston, 2:11 E of Pittsfield).

Architect: ??? , 1963. Renovation: 2001, Ron Pritchard.

Yardage: 6634 (blue) / 6237 (white) / 5148 (red).

Weekend Rates: $51. Cart +$17.

Best Deal: $25 (after 5pm, Fridays).

The 8th hole features a natural island green framed by willows.

The drive into Glen Ellen Country Club is what most stays with me a few weeks after playing the golf course. Weaving down Orchard Street for about a mile to the course was one of the most nerve-wracking driving experiences of my life, right up there with the twists and hairpin turns of Route 1 along the steep cliffs north of San Francisco. Lined by old rocky walls, and dotted with tree trunks virtually encroaching into the asphalt, Orchard Street seemed as narrow as Bethpage Black's first fairway to a middle-handicapper. My knuckles turned white more than once as pickup trucks barreled around corners almost forcing the Buick Century and I into ditches! But, I made it to Glen Ellen in one piece, and had a wonderful afternoon walking around with a longtime member named Bill.

Glen Ellen was renovated in the early 2000's by Ron Pritchard, and done so in "the style of Donald Ross." I've played a few courses renovated by Pritchard: Hanover Country Club up at Dartmouth College, and Jeffersonville Golf Course and Aronimink Golf Club in suburban Philadelphia. The three have classic roots, all being originally built between 1921 and 1931 during the golden age of golf architecture, and Pritchard's work has kept them feeling like old-school golf courses. As for Glen Ellen, although built later in 1963, Pritchard's renovation makes it look and play older than it is, with nicely framed doglegs and understated yet effective bunkering. I would like to go back to play Glen Ellen again, as I feel there may be more to learn about the golf course than can be gleaned from a single visit.

Glen Ellen starts with a bang, the first hole a 448-yard monster turning gently to the right around a nest of two bunkers. A swale fronts the slightly raised green, so getting to the green in regulation is a huge accomplishment for the first two swings of the day. If possible, the second hole is harder than the first, and plays longer than its 218 yards up a steep hill. I hit a great hybrid (normally a 230-yard shot for me) that barely climbed up to rest on the front left of the slanted green. From there, it was three putts uphill to find the hole. The third hole, though only 387 yards, plays very narrow through a chute of trees, and features a new green built by Pritchard across a valley. Guarded front left by bunkers, the real defense of the putting surface is its two tiers and the challenge of putting either up or down the slopes. I can imagine getting through the first three holes at bogey golf isn't a terrible way to start any round at Glen Ellen.

Trees and bunkers guard the short par four 4th.

The rest of the front nine isn't terribly challenging, but remains interesting. The fourth hole doglegs downhill to the right, and an aggressive player can take a rip at the green 322 yards away with a high fade. The fifth hole returns gracefully to the clubhouse (a feature I love to enable short loops of an hour of golf!), and the sixth plays back away and at 526 yards is a potentially reachable par 5. The only problem is a creek cutting in front of the green to catch any mishit long approaches. I decided to lay up, and shockingly made a birdie with a nice sand wedge and short putt. The 7th hole bends left hugging a creek along the left side - which is clearly the preferred side to approach the green guarded only by a lone bunker... on the right. A little risk challenging the water, a little reward with a simple shot up the throat of the green. The coolest hole on the course is the 8th hole; measuring 144 yards from the back tee, it is a decidedly short par three... but totally surrounded by water, a tough one! The green nestles naturally between a couple branches of a creek and is backed by marshy land - better hit a good short iron to find the convex surface! Any middling shots not hit flush with a bit of spin can easily bounce off the green and into a watery grave. The 490-yard ninth hole is a true birdie opportunity, provided you make it across the wide creek 50 yards in front of the green. After a mediocre drive, I still gave it a go, and carried the longer left side of the diagonal hazard by what seemed to be inches. A diagonal hazard like here on the ninth allows all levels of golfers to choose their challenge, and thus is great fun for duffers and scratch players alike.

Glen Ellen's back nine utilizes a ridge eating into the eastern edge of the property.

The back nine of Glen Ellen consists of a mix of excellent and mediocre golf holes, and is laid out on more open rolling land than the front. The 430-yard 11th hole is a challenging par four, the tee shot made difficult by what I can only assume is a new bunker encroaching into much of the fairway driving zone. If you safely carry or stay left of the intimidating hazard, the approach is to a pushed up and sharply back to front sloped green: better stay below the hole. The 12th hole is a long par three to a huge green sited comfortably at the base of a hill. The 13th hole is an excellent short par five that plays along and then up this hill. The dogleg right tee shot must either carry or fade around three bunkers, and then the exacting approach shot has to climb the hill while carrying two bunkers cut 30 yards short of the green. I missed the green pin-high left, which made for a very awkward uphill pitch to the elevated putting surface. I would guess it is not birdied as often as its sub-500 yard length would predict.

Across a creek and surrounded by pines, the 14th green's real defense is its sloping nature.

The 14th and 15th holes play down and up a sharp slope, before you arrive at the 16th, the most vexing hole on the course. Measuring 404 yards, the tee shot is played into a valley that then twists up to the left. Anything with a fade is guaranteed to bounce into the right rough, so only a precise draw will hold the canted left to right fairway and set up a realistic chance to reach the elevated green complex. My iron barely made the front of the extremely long green, which reminded me a bit of the 13th at Taconic GC, neatly benched into a hillside that falls sharply off to the right. However, different than Taconic's 13th green, Glen Ellen's 16th green almost appears to tilt into the hillside, meaning putts would break uphill. I knew this couldn't be the case, and I could tell the regular player Bill was enjoying my obvious confusion reading my 70 foot putt. Long story short, I played the ball almost straight and missed it a good 6-8 feet right of the hole, the ball breaking at least 12 feet right of where my eyes initially expected a putt aimed at the hole to end up. Yikes.

A sidehill lie is almost guaranteed at the 404-yard sixteenth hole.

The course ends weakly, with a narrow fairway and sharp dogleg left combining to punish anything but a perfect tee shot on the 411-yard 17th hole, and what can only be described as a bland 155-yard par three to finish.

In sum, Glen Ellen is a solid but unspectacular golf course. With a better finishing pair, Glen Ellen would be a course I would seek out regularly (even braving the rocks and trees of Orchard Street to get there). It has a nice mix of long and short holes, provides four reachable par fives for some birdie drama, and the total length of 6634 yards from the back tees is challenging but not overwhelming. I would say the green undulations at Glen Ellen are decent, but far from the engaging and complex surfaces found at truly classic golf clubs. Pritchard's work renovating the course added some great features like the greensite on number 3 and the cross bunker at number 11, and the recent hand of a single architect makes the course enjoy a good identity and flow. I am glad Glen Ellen has made it through a number of hurdles in the past few years, including the possible sale of its land to convert to housing lots, and the banking meltdown almost sending the course to auction this spring. Hopefully Glen Ellen will provide suburban Boston golfers a low-key destination for years to come.

Course Rating: 5 stars out of 10

Bang for your $51 bucks: 5 stars out of 10