Lakeview Golf Club Course Review
Located about 10 minutes of I-93 and the Tilton outlets, Lakeview Golf Club offers 9 holes of classic golf at one of the most affordable rates you’ll find. Just $19 to walk 9 holes on a Saturday evening, I even got a free clementine with my round.
A par 35, Lakeview Golf Club plays at about 3,100 yards from the back tees, according the scorecard. Featuring two par 5s, three par 3s and four par 4s, the course takes you up and down the rolling hills in Belmont, New Hampshire. The interior of the club house boasts a modern bar set up, though I didn’t try any of the food or drinks so I can’t vouch for the quality.
To start off, you loop around the club house and are taken the first tee. The only picture I took, it was a nice opening hole.
Hole 1 - Par 5 - 505 yards
The first hole measures about 500 yards, but plays uphill the whole way. A good drive should stay on the left side of the fairway to give you an angle into the green on your next shot. I had about 220 into the green and came up short and right. There’s a bunker on the right side of the green, but otherwise the front section is open and there isn’t much trouble. The greens were a bit wet, and fuzzy the day I played, as there had been heavy rain the day before.
Hole 2 - Par 4 - 315 yards
A short par four with a blind tee shot. I’m glad I didn’t hit driver because the hole narrows significantly and you won’t know where to aim. I can imagine a good drive would get you close to the green, but a 200 yard shot will leave you will a wedge in hand. You’re hitting to a small, circular green and should be able to make par if you can find the putting surface.
Hole 3 - Par 4 - 290 yards
Also a short par 4, but gets very narrow. Again, a 200 yard shot leaves you with a wedge in hand. Driver could get you close, but there’s woods on the right and a hillside on the left that could be trouble.
Hole 4 - Par 4 - 425 yards
Plenty of room on the right side allows you to hit a comfortable drive and potentially reach the green with your second shot on this hole. There’s tall grass on the left, and a few small trees that could obstruct your view to the green. I had 170 yards in and left the ball on the left side of the green.
Hole 5 - Par 3 - 220 yards
While this hole is downhill, it’s a long ways. I don’t know why scorecards often indicate 200+ yard par 3s as relatively easy holes (this was only the 4th hardest hole). I had to hit a miraculous tee shot which landed short of the green and just barely snuck on. Again, there’s not a lot of trouble, but the greens were small and surrounded by rough.
Hole 6 - Par 4 - 435 yards
A long par 4 that rewards a draw. There’s a tree that splits the fairway so you can choose to stay to the right or left of it. Either way you’ll give yourself an uphill look into the green.
Hole 7 - Par 3 - 175 yards
The easiest par 3 on the course has a few bunkers on the right side, and encourages players to be on the left side of the green. It plays downhill, so you can hit a little less than the distance listed on the card. Anything on the putting surface should be an easy two putt.
Hole 8 - Par 5 - 550 yards
A long par 5 that requires a precise tee shot. There are trees on the left that will swallow up a ball hit straight and longer than 230 yards. You have to keep it to the right, but there’s also woods on the far right so you need to thread the needle. A good tee shot will still make it challenging to reach the green in two. Your second shot will hope to find a narrow fairway so you can hit off the short grass with a wedge into the green.
Hole 9 - Par 3 - 195 yards
This hole plays long, and way up hill. I had 185 to the pin, but with the hill it was playing all of 200 yards to get it onto the green. There is no great place to miss, but if you can get the ball up far enough, you have a big green to land on.
Final review
It’s hard to beat the price. In a time when a round of 18 holes in southern NH, the seacoast, or anywhere near Boston can be $80-100+ for some mediocre courses, paying $19 to play is a welcome relief. With that said, the greens were a little slow, and the course design isn’t anything to write home about. This is a perfect place to play a casual nine holes if you’re staying up the lakes region.
I found that most greens here were quite small, and mostly all were circular. While the slope and rating at this course indicate that it’s very easy, there is plenty of trouble, and the greens are difficult to hit. There are some short par 4s, but they’re surrounded by trees and you can’t just hit driver and find it in another fairway. The par 3s are also long. I do feel like slope and rating at courses like Lakeview and Den Brae are often understated, but perhaps that’s a topic for another post.
More serious golfers looking for an 18-hole round have other options in the area, but I would say Lakeview and Den Brae are quite similar in that they cater to a more casual golfer looking to learn the game, or just enjoy a walk in the woods. The course is easy to walk and I was able to play the entire 9 in under an hour and a half, though it was quite late in the day.
Personal Status Update
After playing Lakeview Golf Club, and learning about the closing of the 36 hole, Green Meadow Golf Club in Hudson, I’ve now played 441 of 1521 golf holes in New Hampshire. This brings me up to 29% of all holes in the state. I should be able to push that percentage up a few more points before the season is over.
