Part one of three golf course reviews, written by Brookfield grad Matt Digirolamo, is reprinted with permission from TrialbyEra.com. This was another Capstone Senior Project designed to help seniors experience their career choices.
Located in Danbury, Connecticut, Richter Park is perhaps the classic New England golf course and one of my favorite golf courses that I have ever played. My brother (and fellow Trial By Era writer) Joe and I have a lot of history with Richter; we began our golfing careers by participating in Richter Park's golf camp, something that became a mainstay of our summer until we were fourteen years old. Some of our favorite golfing moments occurred on the fairways and putting greens of Richter Park.
Surrounded by an expansive array of oaks and maples, the holes of Richter are expertly woven into the landscape. During the fall, golfers are privy to views of impressionistic shades of yellows, oranges, and reds, as if they themselves are framed against the backdrop of Monet's "Autumn At Argenteuil". Truly, Richter Park is one of the most whimsically beautiful golf courses in New England. And along with the attractive foliage, the course is situated around a large, clean reservoir, whose waters greatly contribute to the natural beauty of the adjacent holes.
Richter itself is well maintained, although the amount of traffic that the course receives is evident towards the end of the season. My favorite holes include numbers 3 and 5, par threes that necessitate tee shots over the reservoir, as well as the par four 7th and the par four 9th. Perhaps Richter Park's quintessential and most difficult hole is the par five 12th, a dogleg right who's green is guarded in the front, back, and to the right by water. Despite the amount of times that I have played the course, I still struggle to navigate this hole.
To my brother and I, however, Richter Park is no longer the affable golf course of my childhood. While the course remains in tip-top shape, a couple changes three years ago resulted in the departure of several people that played a large part in making Richter, and its summer golf camps, so enjoyable for us. And, the increased notoriety of Richter to people outside of Danbury, Connecticut and the neighboring towns has led to stricter rules and increased regimentation (if you play even somewhat slowly, you will be told to pick up the pace).
To learn more about Richter Park, go to www.richterpark.com