Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

EAST HADDAM, CT — This week's hidden gem takes us to 530 acres of rolling hills in East Haddam, adjacent to Devil’s Hopyard State Park and at the junction of state routes 82 and 156.

Welcome to Fox Hopyard, a deceivingly difficult golf course that happens to be among the most scenic in the state.

It's not only the hills that define Fox Hopyard. The course, which features six tee boxes ranging from 4,946 yards from the red tees to nearly 7,000 from the back tees, also features a dense forest, open pastures, running brooks, ponds, wetlands, rock outcroppings and stone walls.

Architect Roger Rulewich has crafted a collection of holes that are part links, part Vermont and may even include a touch of Hawaii.

The Hopyard's foundation is private membership, but visitors are also welcome. It also has a restaurant and banquet facility.

It has hosted a number of high-level state events and, from 2002 to 2006, it was the site of the Celebrity Players Tour Team Championship. Notable people who have teed up there include Alice Cooper, Jim Brown, Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, Joe Pesci, Ray Bourque, Ray Leonard, Kurt Bevacqua and Johnny Bench.

Arguably the most interesting hole is the Par 3 fourth, which plays from between 127 and 202 yards. Players are faced with the proverbial "all carry" decision on a tee that drops 90 feet to the putting surface. Seven hillside tees in all present a number of angles and four pot bunkers some 15 feet below the putting surface guard the green front left and right.

Check out an aerial tour of the course:

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Connecticut. Other columns in this series for 2021 include:

• The Dodd Center For Human Rights at UConn
• Manchester Ropes Challenge Course
• 4-H Education Center at Auerfarm
• Fuego Picante Food Truck
• The Amistad
• 9/11 memorials
• Club Champion Golf Fitters
• New England Civil War Museum and Research Center
• Avery's Soda
• Salt 2.0 Restaurant
• The Grave of Jonathan, The Original Husky
• Golden Gavel Auction House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• The Cogswell Temperance Fountain
• The Old State House
• BouNom Bakery
• Union Pond Park/Jay Howroyd Fitness Trail
• The Submarine Force Museum/USS Nautilus
• The UConn Dairy Bar
• Grove Hill Cemetery, Vernon
• Backwoods Smokin' BBQ
• The Ranch House
• Connecticut State Police Museum
• Berlin Historic District
• Connecticut Parachutists Skydiving Club
• Tail Winds Ice Cream Shop
• The MLK Mural
• The Hilltop Restaurant and Bar
• Fork & Fire
• Lena's Italian Kitchen
• The Benedict Arnold Trail
• Swank Pearce
• Vernon Depot Historic Park
• Farr's Sporting Goods
• Robs Drivin Diner

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