Colonia Country Club is a golf purist s dream It s a 107 year old golf course where par is a sacred score even on the calmest days There are no tricks and no overabundance of anything water trees or sand and for this reason Colonia stands proudly alongside the other dozen pre 1900 architectural masterpieces in the state It is a mighty mite a formidable foe of just 6,380 yards But what it lacks in length it makes up for in intrigue This golf course plays tougher than a lot of 7,000 yard courses said 10 year Superintendent Lance Rogers Here a golfer needs to put the reins on their tee shots and come at the greens from a comfortable distance It is a walk back through time one of those rare places where golf simply feels more like golf Originally laid out as a nine hole course by Scotsman Thomas Bendelow in 1899 Colonia demands you have your wits about you Since it is all wrapped in approximately 100 immaculately maintained acres landing areas are narrow but it is the greens that are the equalizers at Colonia They average only 4,500 square feet with mostly subtle undulations yet they are confounding The greens weren t built to roll at 11 on the stimpmeter but that s the way they can play after they are double cut each morning There are places you d rather be 25 feet below the hole than four feet above the pin said Head Professional Chris Mazzachetti We ve seen more than a few four and five putts out there Highlights include No 4 the toughest ranked hole and a textbook example of risk reward A par 5 of 528 yards it plays to the largest green on the course which is guarded by a pond in front No 13 its green sandwiched between two huge willows and fronted by a wrap around pond with a stone wall might be the prettiest Elsewhere Colonia is comprised of holes which force golfers to work the ball both ways and a tremendous mix of long and short par 4s The second nine was added by Robert White in 1923 and the holes were interspersed Renovations were made by Hal Purdy in 1969 and Frank Duane an associate of Robert Trent Jones Sr in 1970 As for an old world feature golfers cross under New Dover Road to reach holes 4 7 come back for 8 12 and go back over for No 13 Our members travel well in fact they usually shoot better scores elsewhere than they do here said Mazzachetti They understand the intricacies of the golf course especially the greens and have come to appreciate them For their guests it can be like shooting fish in a barrel