The Courses Near North Conway that Every Golfer Should Experience
By Kathleen Bennett
While Mount Washington Valley is celebrated as a top ski town, it’s also long been known as a renowned golf destination. In fact, since the late 1800s, golfers have flocked to NH’s White Mountains to take in the fresh mountain air while playing courses designed by greats such as Donald Ross.
Fast forward 100-plus years, and the golfers still enjoy the many courses that dot the mountain landscape. Best of all, Mount Washington Valley offers a variety of courses that can challenge the scratch golfer, please families, and entertain high-handicappers. You can choose a different course every day of the week and not play the same course twice.
North Conway Country Club
— Historic Links Right in the Village
North Conway Country Club — North Conway, NH
Sitting just beyond the iconic train station and Schouler Park, North Conway Country Club has been welcoming golfers to North Conway Village since its opening in 1895. The course provides views of Mount Washington and the Presidential and Moat Mountain ranges.
How many courses require you to mind the train tracks when you descend in your cart from the clubhouse to the first green? The distinctive sound of train whistles serves as a soundtrack to your game.
The greens wind their way along the Saco River. Corn fields and decades-old elm trees wave in the distance. You’ll find it difficult to keep your eye on the ball with all the natural beauty around you. But when you do, you’ll enjoy a challenging course with classic appeal.
North Conway Country Club also has the best practice facility of any course in the area. It has the requisite driving range, along with multiple putting greens and areas where you can pitch onto a practice green. It’s open to the public even if you aren’t golfing there. Their pro shop is extensive and PGA Pro Kevin Walker offers detailed club fitting—the only shop in the Valley to do so.
Golfer or not, their Ledgeview Grille has the best dining views in North Conway. Sit outdoors on their deck and watch golfers tee off on the elevated 1st tee, or indoors at the large bar for post-round cheer. The public is welcome, and tee times can be reserved at www.northconwaycountryclub.com.
Omni Mount Washington Golf Club
— A Donald Ross Gem
Omni Mount Washington Golf Club — Bretton Woods, NH
One can imagine the delight of golf course architect Donald Ross when he was asked to design this course at the base of Mount Washington over 100 years ago. Already a celebrated destination for rusticators who arrived by stagecoach from New York and Boston, the Mount Washington Resort added this course in 1915; it remains a mecca for golfers today.
If you’ve played other Donald Ross courses, you’ll recognize his work. Long straight fairways lead to undulating greens protected by challenging sand traps and grass bunkers. Since Omni Resorts acquired the Mount Washington Hotel, it has invested heavily in improvements for this grand dame of golf. In 2008, the course was restored to Ross’ original plans by golf course architect Brian Silva.
Any round of golf here should end on the resort’s famous veranda, a sweeping covered deck serving cocktails, beer, and wine. With views to both the course and the rockpile, the veranda offers the perfect 19th hole to your round of golf here. Learn more and make a tee-time online at www.omnihotels.com/hotels/bretton-woods-mount-washington/golf.
Wentworth Golf Club
—Old World Jackson Charm
How many golf courses can boast, not one, but two covered bridges? Framed by both the Wildcat and Ellis rivers, it all makes sense.
The Wentworth Hotel opened in 1869, and then the stunning 18-hole Wentworth golf course in 1895. Somewhere along the way, the hotel and golf course parted ways. Tommy Mulkern, owner of the nearby legendary Shannon Door Pub, also managed the Wentworth Golf Course from 1975-1987. In 2023, the course was acquired by RADD America, who, rumor has it, plans to invest in course improvements.
Water hazards abound, especially on the picturesque par-5 ninth hole, where the long tees (hard by a covered bridge) require you to carry your drive over the river. Pull out a scuffed ball if you’re feeling anything but confident about your drive.
If you’re walking, the long and rolling back nine will help you get in your steps (and cardio) for the day.
Après golf opportunities abound in Jackson. Sit outside for a post-round bevie at the course-side Madeline’s Deli. Or for something a little more upscale, the newly renovated Wentworth Hotel’s Alpine Bar and Lounge offers handcrafted cocktails and the largest selection of specialty bourbon and whiskeys in the Mount Washington Valley. That alone is reason to golf at the Wentworth. Visit them first online at www.wentworthgolf.com.
Eagle Mountain House Golf Club
—Vintage Golf Experience
“The Eagle,” as it is affectionately known to locals, has seen it all. Located within the 800,000-acre White Mountain National Forest, this course was converted from pasture used by grazing livestock in the 1920s. But the actual game of golf at Eagle Mountain dates to the late 1880s, when the original owners of the Eagle Mountain House built a small golf course for overnight guests. Several decades later in 1931, Arthur Gale, son of Eagle Mountain House’s first owners, transformed the farmland in front of the inn into the nine-hole Eagle Mountain House Golf Course.
Its storied history doesn’t end there. In 1936, the golf course secured a spot in Mount Washington Valley’s downhill skiing history when the first organized group ski lesson was held on the course’s ninth fairway under the direction of Benno Rybizka. Rybizka himself came from the famous Hannes Schneider Ski School in Austria as part of Carroll Reed’s Eastern Slope Ski School. Local lore claims that in their first year, they trained on frozen apples and sheep manure on the steep fairway of the ninth hole, in a year where it didn’t snow until February. Local ski historian Tom Eastman still refers to that ninth fairway as “Carroll Reed Hill.”
Fast forward to today. Time and nature have not been kind to The Eagle. The Wildcat River, scenic and wild, has chewed through riverbanks and cart paths. Players wend their way around these natural hazards left by Hurricane Irene in 2011, and several “once in a century” storms that have followed. Nature will have her way. But until then, this little nine-hole relic is what a lazy summer round of golf is all about.
High above Jackson Village, The Eagle feels tucked into the mountains. If you are lucky enough to play in the fall, there is no better way to view foliage than from a golf cart here. This is not a par-3 course, but you won’t need your driver on every hole. The first hole, with its elevated tee box next to the tiny pro shop, will challenge your aim. The small white building just beyond the red tees seems to have magnetic qualities, as do the trees to the right. But when you make it to the first fairway, don’t hit too long or you’ll find the river just beyond the green (closer than it used to be; again, thanks to erosion).
The Eagle is a course that makes the game approachable. Couples visiting the hotel for a romantic getaway can play a round together without feeling rushed. Families with young children who want to try out the game will find the course gentle (and with yellow tee markers in place for the kids). Even scratch golfers can find challenges, especially on long holes like their par-5s, or the short fifth hole with an almost invisible water hazard guarding the green.
For the best group lessons in the Valley, touch base with PGA Pro Bob McGraw. His clinics focus on one aspect each (long game, short game, etc.). Visit them first online at www.eaglemt.com/golf.
Grand History in the Whites
In the White Mountains, golf becomes more than a round played between tee boxes and greens. It’s the cool mountain air on a summer morning, the sound of a nearby river cutting through the woods, and the opportunity to choose from over a dozen historic courses around the Whites.
Speaking of history, few golf destinations in America can match the White Mountains’ concentration of historic resort golf. Within an easy drive of North Conway, golfers can play courses associated with three of four surviving grand hotels—Eagle Mountain House, Mountain View Grand, and the Omni Mount Washington. Together, they offer a rare connection to the golden age of White Mountain tourism, when visitors arrived by rail and stagecoach to spend their summers enjoying mountain air, elegant accommodations, and a round of golf.
White Mountain Seniors Golf League
Founded in 1993, the White Mountain Seniors Golf League has been teeing it up across northern New England for more than three decades. Open to golfers 50 and older, the league plays weekly
through November.
The league’s reach is impressive for a regional club: courses range from Colebrook to the Lakes Region, and east and west into Maine and Vermont. Weekly turnout runs from 30 to 70 players, and the annual banquet at The Maplewood in Bethlehem typically draws around 80.
The league grows almost entirely by word of mouth and prides itself on keeping costs affordable. New members are welcome; the best way in is simply to show up. Scan for more!
Indian Mound Golf Club
— Hidden Gem Between the Lakes and White Mountain Region of New Hampshire
Indian Mound Golf Club — Center Ossipee, NH
When playing at Indian Mound Golf Club, you may be tempted to bring your fishing rod. It’s a course that revels in nature, near the Bear Camp River and dotted with ponds complete with frogs and (yes) fish a-jumping. Owner PGA Pro Jonathan Rivers ensures the grounds and greens are beautifully maintained and landscaped.
Indian Mound Golf Club is an accessible 18-hole, par-70 course that features nine holes on a relatively level first-half of the course, followed by rolling terrain on the second half. It’s located in Center Ossipee, NH. Travelers to and from Boston to Mount Washington Valley who truck up Route 16 past Indian Mound would be well advised to stop and check it out sometime.
Rivers bought the course 20 years ago and has invested his heart and soul in its rejuvenation. It’s always the first course to open in the spring and the last to close in the fall, due to its location just south of the Valley, along with Jonathan’s commitment to his loyal members and guests. The River’s Edge Tavern (named before Jonathan bought it) is a fun place to drink and dine, even if you aren’t a golfer.
Make your tee time reservations in advance, even on weekdays. Indian Mound is a popular spot for tournaments and events. Bonus: you can play Keno in the tavern if betting on your golf game isn’t your style.
And about Indian Mound … it’s actually a unique, naturally occurring geological feature in the middle of its original nine holes. While historically believed by locals to be a Native American burial site, a 1950s dig concluded it is a natural, glacial kame. Learn more about this intriguing course online at www.indianmoundgc.com.
Hale’s Location Golf Course
– Always Time for a Quick Nine
You rarely find a nine-holer designed to withstand this level of quality. Definitely not an “executive” course, its layout, attention to detail, and upkeep of its greens compete with any of the 18-hole courses locally. In last year’s drought conditions, local golfers gave the course kudos for keeping things green better than most.
The nine-hole course is perfect for golfers of all levels who want to be challenged while enjoying a round. This professional-length, par-36 course offers some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in all of northern New England. How many courses can claim you can watch rock climbers as you tee off? It’s common to see climbers ascend White Horse Ledge, looming large above the course.
Another benefit is its association with the spectacular White Mountain Hotel, which recently underwent a multi-million-dollar renovation of its rooms, common areas, tavern, and dining room.
Speaking of the Tullamore Tavern, it’s the ultimate spot for a round of drinks with your foursome with views of Cranmore Mountain through its wall of windows.
Visit them first online and reserve tee times at www.haleslocationgolf.com.
Long after the final putt drops, most golfers won’t remember every scorecard detail—but they will remember the feeling of playing here. In a region defined by scenery, recreation, and a deep connection to the outdoors, mountain golf offers something increasingly rare: a chance to slow down, breathe deeply, and experience the game in a place that feels genuinely different.
