It would be easy enough to choose an expensive course created by an internationally recognized designer as the best new golf course in our area. I wanted to find a course that provides a new experience and really gives you your money’s worth. I like what they have to offer at Beaver River. The design is a little quirky, and the fairway grass is a little thin in places, but the staff here puts a lot of effort into making your experience a pleasant one. The pro shop is well stocked, and the lounge has large, overstuffed chairs that are big enough to climb into for a post-round nap.

The course isn’t terribly long – just 6,000 yards from the back tees and 4,890 from the front – but it has nine doglegs, so you do need to have some skill in shaping your tee shots. Number eighteen is demanding, playing 410 yards from the tips. You need to draw your tee shot over a pond that carries almost 200 yards. Now fade a long iron or fairway wood over the pond that guards the left side of the fairway. Go for the middle of the green and you’re only two putts away from a well-deserved par and a comfy lounge chair.

Written by Jim Hammond (Reprinted  with permission of Rhode Island Monthly Communications, Inc. 2004  from the May 2003 Edition of  Rhode Island Monthly)