Climbing the Countryside

By Bruce Hoard

You know that Canterbury Woods Country Club is something special when you’re climbing the access road to the course and a white golf cart descending the first fairway looks vaguely reminiscent of a mountain goat working its way down a rocky precipice. The alpine feel becomes even more pronounced when you reach the top of the access road and your ears pop.

Park your car, walk across the parking lot toward the brand new, 6,000-square-foot clubhouse and admire the mountain vistas that surround this former farmland, which has been lovingly carved out of the unforgiving central New Hampshire landscape and converted into 18 challenging holes that work their way up, down, over and around the 260 acres of surrounding countryside.

Thankfully, George Glines, the owner of Sloping Acres Farm from which Canterbury Woods was created, decided that he would rather look at a new golf course rather than a bunch of new houses when he decided to utilize this unfarmable tract of land.

“With all the side hill slopes and ledge, this was not conducive to agriculture,” Glines recalls, “so this was a nice addition to the farming enterprise.”

Construction on the course started in the spring of 2000 and was completed during the summer of 2002, at which time it was opened to members, some 120 of which have since joined. Daily fee operations commenced in the spring of 2003, and 22,000-25,000 rounds have been played per year since.

Ross Forbes of Forbes Design Group was the architect who designed Canterbury Woods, and it comes as no surprise that he decided to work with, rather than against, the prevailing topography.

“Initially, we explored the many natural golf corridors that existed on the beautiful property,” Forbes explains. “We looked for a broad diversity of holes with sufficient width to provide golfers a variety of play options, and we tried to take full advantage of the panoramic views.”

Mission accomplished.

In addition to the course, which employs L93 Bent Grass on its greens and L93 and South Shore Mix on the fairways, there is a 300-yard driving range with all-grass tees and five target greens placed at various distances from the tees. Canterbury Woods stretches 6,644 yards from the tips and features a USGA rating of 71.7 and a 136 slope. The more playable whites offer 6,134 yards with USGA and slope ratings of 69.2 and 130, respectively. The gold tees, which the ladies play from, check in at 4,482 yards and are rated at 62.1 and 100.

Private and semi-private lessons are available from teaching pro Laura Shanahan-Rowe. Laura, who hits the ball a ton, has some impressive credentials, having won the 2001 USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and placed seventh in the 2004 Connecticut Women’s Open. In 2003, she missed the LPGA Q-School final by a stroke.

Care for a sandwich or a beer? The snack bar has both, and the wraparound deck provides the perfect place to relax and enjoy them.

Canterbury’s first hole frames a vista that looks like something out of a Ben and Jerry’s ad. Playing to 394 yards from the whites (all future yardage references are from the white tees), this is an easy downhill par 4 with a blind drive that looks out on a gorgeous tableau that includes Glines’ Sloping Acre Farm (with its rustic red barn and past-its-prime silo) and his herd of spotted, black and white Holstein dairy cows. Think bucolic.

The course then settles into a pattern that is marked by frequent elevation changes, steep side hills, undulations of all sizes, and ever-present lateral hazards. The $5 yardage book available in the pro shop is an invaluable guide to all these potential pitfalls, which of course can be simply avoided by banging out big drive after another that split the angular fairways.

As Shanahan-Rowe puts it, “If you’re hitting it down the middle and putting it on the green, there’s no problem. If not, you will get yourself in trouble.”

In its previous incarnation, the 353-yard, par 4, seventh hole more than earned its No. 3-handicap status because it demanded a 180-yard carry off the tee to a postage stamp-sized landing area that seemed like it was about a mile away. Now, however, players will be heartened to learn that common sense has prevailed and a new, far-more-forward tee box has been created. Not that the seventh has been tamed. It is still a tough, uphill slog to a blind green with more undulations than a hula dancer. After putting out, be sure to turn around and soak in the awesome view of Ragged Mountain before heading over to the eighth tee.

The backside is all downhill for the first two holes, and that is especially good news on the par 5, 466-yard 10th hole, where short hitters have a legitimate chance of getting home in two. Just carefully mix an oversized drive with a healthy dollop of 3-wood and voila, it’s birdie time.

There is another 80 feet of altitude to shed on the par 3, 11th before golfers enter the lowland phase of the course, which commences with the 381-yard, par 4. According to the yardage guide, “The ‘Highway Hole’ is New Hampshire’s most visible golf hole.” That’s because about six zillion cars a day can check it out from the northbound lane of Route 93. Hi guys. Wish you were here!

The 15th and 16th are a true test of back-to-back par 5s that can put a quick damper on a decent round. Fifteen is the No. 2 handicap hole, and a real attention-getter because of the lateral hazard that splits the fairway at a 45-degree angle. The big dogs can let it all hang out and cut the corner on this 516-yard par five, while mere mortals will want to deposit their drives in the commodious landing area just across the hazard. From there, it’s a straightforward 300 yards to the green, which is guarded by bunkers left and right.

The view from the 16th tee is simply breathtaking. Although slightly uphill, the 474-yard, par 5 requires a blind shot through a picturesque portal that is framed by rock outcroppings on both sides of the fairway and back-dropped by a row of deciduous trees. From the crest of the fairway, the hole assumes a much more aggressive demeanor as it dives into a ravine and then climbs steeply to a narrow green located between two bunkers created to punish all those who hit their approach shots too lightly or too hard.

Canterbury Woods is indeed a road trip for denizens of the North Shore, but it’s worth the drive to experience the rough-hewn beauty of this unique, hilltop tract.