Golf Course Review by: Billy Satterfield
The Takeaway: Over time Shelter Harbor should continue to gain respect for its greatness and be recognized as one of the best modern designs on the east coast. With no weaknesses to note and excellent variety in the terrain and design, Shelter Harbor makes an argument as the best course in Rhode Island. Grade A-
Quick Facts
Cost: Private
Phone Number: 401-322-0600
Course Website: Official Website - Visit Shelter Harbor Golf Club's official website by clicking on the link provided.
Directions: Get here! - 1 Golf Club Drive, Charlestown, Rhode Island 02813 – UNITED STATES
Photos: See additional photos of Shelter Harbor Golf Club
What to Expect: Right up there with Erin Hills and Calusa Pines as the best course design that Hurdzan and Fry ever composed, Shelter Harbor is a gem located in the southwest corner of Rhode Island. There is little to criticize at this layout that combines New England charm with classic design strategy. There is excellent variety of hole lengths and shapes, movement in the terrain, and greensite challenges. The course is a comfortable walk with easy transitions from greens to tees, a homage to classic architecture that is found throughout the Northeast. The course avoids over-manipulation. Instead, it celebrates what’s there: granite outcroppings, native grasses, and the kind of rugged New England terrain that gives the course its quiet authority. It’s a layout that changes personality with the weather-gentle one day, formidable the next. While many of the top tier courses on the east coast have the ocean or linksland to magnify their offering, Shelter Harbor is mostly routed through trees yet offers one compelling hole design after another. The addition of several bunkers in front of the 9th green seems a bit heavy-handed compared to the rest of the course, but they do make it memorable. With a secluded location, impressive elevation changes, and engaging hole designs, Shelter Harbor truly is one of the finest tracks in New England.
By the Numbers
| Tees | Par | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 71 | 7028 | 74.3 | 135 |
| Blue | 71 | 6695 | 72.7 | 132 |
| Tournament | 71 | 6464 | 71.2 | 130 |
| White | 71 | 6188 | 69.9 | 128 |
| Gold | 71 | 5576 | 67.7 | 112 |
| Red (Ladies) | 71 | 4945 | 68.7 | 116 |
Individual Hole Analysis
Signature Hole: 18th Hole – 435 Yard Par 4 – A fantastic closing hole that perfectly captures Shelter Harbor’s natural drama with an ascent up the terrain with the clubhouse resting on top of the hill and onlookers watching how your group finishes. Tee shots need to avoid the fairway bunkers on the left side to set up the best approach into the green that is guarded by sand on the right. The fairway in the middle of the fairway is mostly for aesthetics, but can catch poorly struck approach shots that don't get off the ground. It’s a memorable closer with a slightly bowled green that rewards boldness and punishes indecision.
Best Par 3: 4th Hole – 205 Yards – A beautiful one-shotter that immediately grabs your attention while still embracing the natural feel of Shelter Harbor with native fescues and scattered stone helping create the setting. The tee shot plays slightly downhill to a beautifully shaped green with a swell that is so significant that it can play like a Biarritz. The bunker short and right is fine for a pin in the lower tier, but is a bear when the pin is in the back. The bunker long is a very testing shot no matter where the pin is, so if you are going to miss, then left is the spot. Ultimately though, the green is good sized and the biggest concern should be getting the distance correct because this green will punish those that don't.
Best Par 4: 7th Hole – 342 Yards – A crafty hole that should have players licking their chops, the short 7th features center line bunkers that make you choose one side of the fairway or the other. From the left side you get a more inviting angle to the multi-tiered green and will have an opportunity to go flag hunting. From the right side you'll need an aerial attack at the green over one of the largest bunkers on the course. You will be playing back into the hill a bit which will help your ball stop quicker, but you are paying a price to do it.
Best Par 5: 12th Hole – 543 Yards – Winding through rolling terrain with a fairway that rewards placement over power, the 12th at Shelter Harbor is a solid par five with a pair of center line bunkers. Most tee shots will find the valley of the fairway and require players to hit uphill to a green that is heavily guarded on the left by a gnarly bunker complex that imposes in far enough to encourage players to come in from as far right as possible with their approach shot. Coming from the furthest western portion of the property, this cross-country hole epitomizes Shelter Harbor's rural setting with rolling terrain and trees that frame it.
Birdie Time: 13th Hole – 348 Yard Par 4 – In the same vein as the short par four 7th, the 13th at Shelter Harbor is drivable for long hitters and tempting to everyone. A tee shot that carries the bunkers protecting the inside of the dogleg will be richly rewarded with a fairway that opens up the angle to the green and slopes towards the putting surface. Long bombers with a chance of flying it to the green need to take their tee ball over the tree protecting the line on the left side of the hole, and balls that fade out to the right have a high likelihood of landing in the trio of bunkers flanking that side of the putting surface. Players the lay up will still be afforded a generous landing area, but the pin position will need to be considered as the green angles from lower left to upper right in relation to the fairway. It is a bold and inviting hole to attack and create some memories on.
Bogey Beware: 10th Hole – 465 Yard Par 4 – The back nine starts with a kick to your teeth with the longest par four on the property. The tee shot sees bunkers on each side of the fairway in the most popular landing zone of the short grass, so there isn't anywhere to bail out in hopes of making things easier on yourself. The long approach shot doesn't offer a lot of reprieve with a menacing bunker flanking the left side of the green, but the bunker on the right is an optical illusion and is much further away from the putting surface than it appears. Conquering this hole will take two long, straight shots will little margin for error.
