Hawk's Landing and Paul Gregory's Bisto.

 Hawk's Landing? More like Hack's Landing!  Wow - what a disappointment.

Playing Stats: 

Played 11/16/23, a Thursday.  Tee time was 9:20am.  Tee off temp was around 45-50°.  Partly cloudy skies.

Hawks Landing - Matt

This golf course has been on my radar for years - ever since I first drove by it when driving on 84.  I was so excited to finally play this course, and it's fair to say - like a kid getting picked last to play a pickup game of basketball - I was sad.  I'm gonna start by giving you one of my final thoughts while on the course.  Usually when I am coming up to the 15th-ish hole I start getting sad and want the day to just keep going.  This was not the case.  I was SO ready to get the fuck off those grounds as soon as possible and keep it in my rearview mirror forever.  Okay, now that you're full of suspense of whether I liked it or not...

Hawk's Landing is a solid contender for the worst golf experience I've ever had.  

I don't really even know where to begin, but I guess I'll go chronologically.

We get to the parking lot excited to be one of the first cars there.  We go to check in and pay our $40 for 18 holes and a cart - a decent price for fall golf for sure. That is until we got to our carts.  Literally held together by duct tape (Brad has a picture).  I've never seen worst golf carts.

Then we get to the first 'tee'.  No markers, dimpled boxes.  Just felt like an after thought.  They were wide and level to be fair.  Because of the group we had playing a 2man bestball, we decided to let whichever twosome won the last hole decided where we play from. 

From the first hole it was apparent that this course was Frankensteined together to stretch out the par as high as possible. Playing as a par 71 but this ground and the design was most likely originally thought out to be a par 65.  The course was very wet despite a stretch of dry weather.  The fairways were barely mown, the leaves were scattered and hardly addressed frequently (maybe they do one hole per day...???).  I liked the rough, it was deep and challenging.  The greens were shaggy and slow.  The pin locations hadn't been moved in a long time evidenced by the scalloping around the cup (you could see the 6 inch diameter turtleback around each cup which happens when we all step near the cup to bend down and pick up our ball once holed).  The traps were compacted, non-raked, footprint (both human and goose) riddled shitshows.  

We finished our 9 holes in about 2 hours and made the turn promptly having no one in front of us.  Only to be immediately halted by the SLOWEST group of OLD men who were sent (or just decided to go) off the back.  We proceeded to wait on the 10th tee for about 8 minutes before finally teeing off (mind you the old guys were already in the fairway when we got to the tee).  We then waited an addition 10ish minutes before hitting our 2nd shots to the green.  I'll let Brad comment about what else happened on this hole with the grounds crew.

14th hole tee box

This RIDICULOUSLY SLOW play continued for an additional 2 holes  (17 minutes on a 250yf par 4, 13 minutes on a 150yd par 3).  We played the par 3 quickly and rushed to the 13th tee box to ask to play through.  They ignored us and kept walking like one of the guys was squeezing his cheeks so tight to avoid losing his prunes at any moment [ yeah...picture that].  So we said Fuck it and just skipped this hole.  To be fair to the course (kind of) when we were on the 14th hole a 'ranger' came by and we told him about that group.  He said he was just the mechanic so he would talk to them, but couldn't do much more. In the mean time about 5 groups had stacked up behind those farts.  We were just glad to be in front of them.  Admittedly, though the 14th hole was a stunning golf hole.  

We finally finished, and got the hell out of there as quickly as possible.  None of us happy, none of us really having a pleasant experience, none of us planning on coming back.    Overall the course had some nice looking holes, had decent greens complexes, had good rough, had a bad layout, an arbitrary distance for most of the holes, a poor vision, and a severe lack of focus on the golfers experience.

Now that that dark cloud of a 'golf' 'course' is behind me, I'm excited to discuss the highlight of the day.

Paul Gregory's Bistro - Matt

This place was an absolute find! And must visit to all of the readers of this blog.  Paul Gregory's was located in an old factory building in downtown Southington.  It was clean, crisp, modern, and cozy all at the same time. 

When you entered the baker greeted us and was funny and pleasant.  We got our table and she got us our coffee. The coffee was a mild medium strength with 'ok' flavor.  Nothing bold for sure.  Definitely could use more beans to strengthen it up, didn't have real cream, had to use creamers  (coffee 5/10).   The meal however was great!  

I got my usual.  2 eggs over medium, home fries, wheat toast, and bacon.  The eggs were a bit over cooked (they were over medium-well).  The wheat toast was from a homemade loaf.  The bacon was perfectly cooked.  

The home fries were close to great.  They were clearly home made, pan seared, but a bit bland.  Minimal seasoning detracted from the near perfect consistency. Only other thing I would have loved would have been to have one side of the home fry cooked a bit more just to get that touch of a different consistency.  Overall the experience from door to door was phenomenal though.  My coffee and meal was just shy of $15.  On the expensive side, but in my opinion for the overall experience was phenomenal!  (8.0/10)

Hawks Landing - Brad

Disclaimer: I did attempt to avoid using R-rated language in this review. In the end, that effort was impossible. 

Hawks Landing is 50 pounds of shit stuffed into a 10 pound sack. 

The staff at the clubhouse were kind and upbeat and one can only deduct that this is a symptom of Stockholm syndrome. Once you leave the warm glow of the human connection inside the clubhouse you are slapped in the face with the reality of the course you are about to play. The first omen of things to come was the carts. Ripped seats, body panels hastily duct taped and debris from countless rounds of snacks and drinks left the impression that when not in use on the course these carts are being used to reenact the Fast and the Furious franchise. 

Matt has done an ample and commendable job on describing the tee boxes, course overall and play in general so I will just fast forward to the 10th hole. 

After letting a twosome play through on the front nine we found a decent pace as one of the first groups on the course for the morning. Without stopping at the clubhouse at the turn, we drove straight to the 10th tee and as it turned out directly at the doorstep of hell. 

There was a foursome in the fairway. Odd. Not the twosome we had been behind. Three walkers and one player with a cart. Odd. The downhill dogleg left hole was narrow and filled with leaves. Weeks or months of leaves and there was a groundskeeper on a large John Deere tractor blowing them out of the fairway into the woods on either side. 

The foursome, now clear of our impending tee shots, ambled slowly towards the green. The tractor man was driving towards us. We teed off despite this obstacle. Two players hit left into the woods. One was right. I found the left side of the fairway in an area freshly cleared of leaves. The other three players in our group played shots into the leafy fairway. As I approached my ball to protect it from the advancing hurricane of wind coming from the leaf blower, the driver kept advancing towards me. He did not acknowledge me in any way. I had to run and pick up my ball so he would not drive over it. It was as if I did not exist. 

When the exhaust fumes and jet powered leaves had settled we were faced with a terrible reality. The foursome weren't even on the green after a long wait for the leaf man to exit the scene. I am a big proponent of the elderly being active. Of those that helped pave the way for the rest of us to be in the world and enjoy life. With that said, these four were the worst of golf in one group. 20 min per hole is offensive. We got up early to play 18 there. They cut in line and when confronted about it, they stared blankly in our faces. As if we did not exist. We had to skip a hole because they would not let us through. WE HAD TO SKIP A HOLE. Offensive. 

It is not my intention to be nasty or pejorative towards others in my reviews but as was the case here there was nothing redemptive about the experience. I could mention the quality of the green complexes of all 17 holes we played. They are well done with wide fringes, ample run ups, and well maintained greens but it is impossible to balance that reality with the rest of the course and the people on it. I am going to have a pint later and make a toast to the next course review being the opposite of this one. 

This course is perfect for anyone who does not care about golf. 4.0 

Paul Gregory's Bistro - Brad

I don't know Paul Gregory personally but I like his brand of chef. This establishment is well thought out, bright and clean and the menu is a testament to experimenting with food. One special menu item was pancake tacos. Say that out loud with me. PANCAKE TACOS. I did not get those in fear that the carbo-over-load would hit me four holes into the round so I opted for their biscuits and gravy. It was simple, with scratch made biscuits and full of flavor. The coffee was decent and always flowing. The staff were kind and you can tell they really care.  

This spot is worth the trip. 8.3

Welcome and Intro Bradley

 

My name is Bradley and I am a recent transplant to Connecticut. After almost 17 years spent roaming the southern states of the U.S. my wife and I chose New England and specifically Middletown Connecticut as our home. After trying a few courses near me I saw a nine-hole course near by. So on a sunny Sunday morning I found myself at Indian Springs Golf Club in Middlefield, CT. and at the threshold of a new friendship. Matt is one of those friends that everyone needs in their life. I have always been the golfer in the group that is considered "avid" or "obsessed" with the game so it is refreshing to know someone and play golf with someone who has "the golf sickness" WAY WORSE than I do. Matt is terminal with it. 

To say I have been lucky in life is an understatement. I have traveled the world for work and pleasure and have golfed in most of the places I have visited. In 2015 I created a gameshow for the golf course called: Shot at the Green. We shot the pilot for that show in Orlando. The YouTube golf world had not yet been pioneered and the show, sadly, did not go on. Maybe there is chance it can make a return in some form in the future. 

When I am not golfing I am working on renovating/restoring our home that, as of this writing,  is 273 years old. I love saying: "...our house is older than our country and Guinness." When I am not doing that I write words for other people to say or read. 

This adventure, to talk about courses and the food we eat before and/or after our rounds,  is a way to log the memories of a life spent golfing. My hope is that you find our ratings and musings helpful, maybe insightful but always humorous. 

Hope to see you out on the course in New England- B.

Welcome and Intro - Matt

 Hello!  My name is Matthew.  I am a PGA Associate Pro.  I live in Middlefield, CT and have been golfing since I was 12 years old.  I grew up in RI, but moved to Connecticut in my mid 20's to pursue education.  I went to school for Physics and ultimately became a Physics teacher for 13 years.  In that time, my passion for golf has increased at an exponential rate, and at this point (aside from being with family) golf is the predominant occupier of my thoughts.  I'm constantly thinking about every aspect of the game, especially when I'm not on the course.  

My physics knowledge has helped me develop my golf game by allowing me to analyze the why and how of shot shapes and mechanics of the body.  I currently am playing around a 5.7 handicap. 

I work at Indian Springs Golf Course in Middlefield, CT part time as the Director of Instruction - running the youth development program which hosts around 30-40 kids in multiple sessions during the season, as well as running the front desk on Sunday mornings.  I am also the Members Champion for the 2022-2023 season.  

One Sunday morning in the spring of 2022 I received a phone call I'll never forget.  I answered the phone like I always do, "Good Morning, Indian Springs, this is Matt", and the person on the other end has changed my way of thinking.  A long story short (or perhaps saved for a later time), this is how I met Brad.  A guy with his own, far more interesting, backstory that loves the game of golf (almost) as much as I do.  He was new to the area, never played our course before and asked if I could squeeze out a single that morning.  I told him to come on down and I'd see what I could do.  When he arrived, as I do for all first time players, I pulled a scorecard and walked him through the intricacies of our little 9-hole course.  As we talked a bit more, he just seemed like a fun guy to play a round of golf with, so I suggested we do just that.  That was the start of a phenomenal friendship that has evolved and developed into many things, including the idea for this blog.    Brad will post his intro here as well.

As our friendship grew, we started playing more 18 hole courses around the area, both excited most when we are trying out new courses that we hadn't played before.  I don't know how it began, but it became a quasi-tradition that we would try a new diner every time we played a new course as part of our experience.  Usually breakfast.  We want to document our "Diners and Drivers" or "Courses and Cafes" experiences here with you.  We will be posting reviews and ratings of both the diners and courses around CT that we play.  We ultimately want to share our passion for the golf experience with golfers of all types alike so they have an unbiased means of pre-iewing golf courses in CT from a low handicapper, and a mid handicapper.  I have no idea where this will all go, but I'm excited for the journey it may take us on.  

If you have a golf course or diner that you love that we haven't reviewed, please leave a comment and we'll try to get there as soon as we can!  

Thanks, and "hit 'em straight, unless it's a dog leg"

Matt