The final round of my trip turned out to be a last minute pick. Like usual, I debated on exactly what I wanted to do! We stayed in New Hampshire on Friday night and I wanted to try a different route back to Virginia.

Heading up to New England I took I-81 to I-84 and managed to avoid most of the tolls. However, traffic was heavy (as you’d expect) once I got to New England. For the drive back I decided to go a little out of the way and take I-90 to I-87 and then connect with I-84. Anyway, that meant if I wanted to golf then I’d probably be looking at a course around the I-90/I-87 interchange, given that I didn’t leave the hotel super early. I’m not a fan of early mornings, as you probably know!

I mention all that to say I didn’t plan very well and I ended up booking the wrong course! Sunny Hill Resort has two courses, Thunderhart and Sunny Hill. I saw on the website that Sunny Hill was a “resort-style course” and immediately booked a round there! The words “wide fairways” really got my attention, ha.

Well, I made the small detour from the interstate and passed by a couple of the holes at Sunny Hill as I pulled into the parking lot. From what I could see of the course it didn’t look regulation length. Sure enough, I looked up the scorecard online as I put on my shoes and found that Sunny Hill plays as a par-66, topping out at just 4,316 yards. There are seven par-3’s, ten par 4’s and one par-5. On the other hand, Thunderhart is the usual par-72 course and plays nearly 6,500 yards.

I’m not trying to knock non-regulation courses in this post as I’ve started to grow more fond of them in recent years! They just aren’t normally a focus on vacation for me. If you are like me and only have time for one round at Sunny Hill, then Thunderhart is the course you’ll want to play. For a moment I thought I might be able to sneak around quickly and play both courses, but that didn’t work as Sunny Hill was a zoo!

Apparently there was an event earlier in the day that was finishing up when I arrived. I was able to head straight to the 1st tee but things got log jammed after just a few holes, as everyone else who wanted to play was pushed to the later spots. All in all it took 4 hours to play with most of that time spent waiting on the back nine! There weren’t any open holes to skip to so I just enjoyed the beautiful area and comfortable temperatures!

After playing Sunny Hill I think there are two main reasons that make it worth checking out, if you live nearby. First, the scenery is spectacular! The course (and resort) sits next to the Catskill Mountains and you get some awesome views of the mountains from the back nine. Most of the holes on the back nine play across a small hill, with the holes almost terraced into the hillside. That means you have unobstructed mountain views!

The second reason to check out Sunny Hill is that it is a course that can be enjoyed by golfers of all abilities. Because the course is so short it is a decent place for those learning the game! The rating and slope aren’t on the scorecard, but a page online shows that the rating is 61.7 and the slope is 96 – not sure if that is the blue or red tees though. I saw mostly couples out playing and Sunny Hill struck me as a no pressure type course and one of those courses that I think helps generate interest in the game. There isn’t a lot of lost ball trouble nor are there many forced carries. Because it is so short you can probably luck into some pars or maybe even a birdie!

On the other hand, you have to hit good shots to consistently end up with low scores. There isn’t much of a challenge from tee to green, but once you get to the greens watch out, as you’ll have your hands full! Just about every green is small and raised up a few feet. It isn’t easy to get it close, even from short distance! Because of all the short par-4’s here if you decide to blast away with the driver you could find yourself with some awkward short game shots. Many times I wanted to go with the high lob, but thought a bump and run into the bank was the best play. Once you are on the greens you’ll find that they have a significant amount of slope so I’d suggest playing more break, rather than less.

The conditions were fine, but nothing to write home about. Things were wet and there were plenty of muddy spots with all the rain that this part of the country has seen this year! The lies in the fairway were a bit scruffy, so I had to play for some release into the greens. The greens were full and thankfully, on the slower side. With some of the breaks on these greens I wouldn’t have wanted them much faster!

If you are staying at the resort or a local and looking for a good time, then Sunny Hill gets my recommendation. It isn’t very expensive (~$40) and offers a taste of the good that the game can offer. To do over again, I would have tried the Thunderhart course but that is based on personal preference.

Course Pictures (click any picture to scroll through the gallery):