Designer: Dr. Michael Hurdzan/Dana Fry (2004)
Location: Charlestown, Rhode Island
History: The most significant course to open in Rhode Island in nearly a century, Shelter Harbor was built in 2004 by the duo of Dana Fry and Dr. Michael Hurdzan. They also designed a 9-hole par 3 course on the southern part of the property. It received immediate praise and currently owns the following awards:
- #153 Best Course in America – Golf Digest (2025)
- #71 Best Modern Course in America – Golfweek (2025)
- #3 Best Course in Rhode Island – Golf Digest (2025)
- #4 Best Course in Rhode Island – Golf Magazine (2024)
- #1 Best Course in Rhode Island – Top100golfcourses.com (2024)
- #3 Best Private Course in Rhode Island – Golfweek (2025)
Conditions: 10/10, Shelter Harbor is in excellent condition with beautiful fairways, teeboxes, and fescue-lined bunkers. The velvet bentgrass greens are quite unique and roll fantastically.
Value: N/A, This is a private course.
Scorecard:
Tee Par Yardage Rating Slope
Black 71 7035 74.3 134
Blue 71 6695 72.7 132
Tournament 71 6464 71.2 130
White 71 6188 69.9 128
Gold 71 5576 67.7 112
Red 71 4945 68.7 116
Hole Descriptions: Rhode Island (and New England as a whole) is an area dominated by private classic clubs, and Shelter Harbor is an outlier in this regard. Situated on 400 acres of hilly, environmentally sensitive land on the southern shoreline, Shelter Harbor very much feels like a modern design with eighteen, spaced out, “big” holes featuring many forced carries to wide fairways. The conditioning here is superb and the course is aesthetically gorgeous with numerous rock formations, beautiful bunkering by Coore & Crenshaw’s bunker man Jeff Bradley, and an extremely serene setting. In many ways, the course looks and plays very similar to nearby Boston Golf Club. There are many who will tell you Shelter Harbor is the best course in Rhode Island, and while my classic-bias does not agree, it is no-doubt a terrific place to spend the day and is clearly in a very tight top four in the state.
Shelter Harbor opens with the longest hole on the course in the 576 yard par 5 1st. This hole runs downhill the entire way with a wide fairway lined by fescue and bunkers down either side around 260 yards. This hole is strategically bunkered as you near the green, with a large midline bunker about 100 yards short and an additional crossbunker down the right shortly after. This green contains several plateaus and mainly runs right-to-left, defended by tight lies and bunkers short and right.
Although a modern course, Shelter Harbor attempts to feel older on holes like the 2nd, a 393 yard par 4 with an old rock wall coursing through it. This is an interesting hole with a generous fairway angled to the right on your teeshot. The fairway narrows and becomes more undulating at about 300 yards, with rock walls on either side and a historic cemetery on your right. This bunkerless green sort of sits in a swale of tight lies and contains numerous plateaus, with the back left one sloping hard back-to-front.
The 3rd hole is the number 1 handicap as one of the longer par fours on the course at 454 yards. This hole plays straightaway with an immediate 125 yard forced carry over wasteland to a tree-lined fairway lined by a large left bunker at 265 yards. Likely facing an approach of over 200 yards, this left-to-right sloped green is elevated and defended by bunkers long and short as well as a false front. Par is a great score here.
At 205 yards, the 4th hole is Shelter Harbor’s longest and most memorable par 3. This gorgeous one-shotter runs downhill over fescue and rock walls to what is likely the largest green in Rhode Island defended by massive bunkers short right and long. This putting surface is also wild, with dramatic Biarritz-like features and numerous different pin positions.
The 5th hole is an interesting 370 yard dogleg left par 4 that plays slightly uphill and semi-blind on the teeshot. This fairway turns almost 90 degrees left at only about 235 yards with a large bunker on the far corner of the dogleg, forcing the golfer to either lay-up or choose an uncomfortable blind line to cut the corner. This green is smaller and also quite severe, sloping generally right-to-left defended by a bunker long and small mound short right.
The 6th hole is a pretty 178 yard par 3 but is on the forgettable side on what is otherwise a very strong and memorable front nine. This hole again plays over rock walls and fescue to a two-tiered, back-to-front sloped green defended by bunkers on either side.
At 342 yards, the 7th hole is Shelter Harbor’s shortest par 4 and one of its most memorable holes. Offering numerous options for better players, this gorgeous hole runs downhill towards a wide fairway split by a pair of midline bunkers at 230 yards and lined by additional bunkers on either side. Those who lay-up short of these bunkers will be left an awkward and blind approach, but those who take them on face a progressively narrowing fairway and a hidden midline bunker at 280 yards. This green is one of the smallest on the course and slopes both back-to-front and left-to-right with several tiers. A fierce false front and bunkers short, left, and long surround the putting surface.
After a few shorter holes, the 8th ratchets up the difficulty again with a 405 yard uphill par 4. A slight dogleg right, this hole features an intimidating teeshot to an angled fairway with bunkers down the right at 195 and 235 yards. This approach plays significantly uphill over a cart path to an elevated, back-to-front sloped green lined by a bunker left and the 6th green right.
The 9th hole is a 510 yard snaking uphill par 5 that is both my favorite par 5 in Rhode Island and favorite hole at Shelter Harbor. This wonderful hole was once the closer before the nines were switched and is absolutely stunning with an 150 yard immediate forced carry over wasteland to a wide fairway that slides left. The fairway bunkering is especially strong here, with a midline pair around 200 yards, one down the right at 255 yards, and several on the left at 285 yards. Although possible to reach in two, this approach is quite difficult, as the fairway twists uphill and to the right at the end with a very small tucked green lined by bunkers on either side and fescue everywhere else. This green features two-tiers and slopes severely back-to-front.
The 458 yard 10th hole is the longest par 4 on the course, but doesn’t play as long running downhill the entire way. The most notable feature of this hole is its exhilarating teeshot over a valley of wasteland for the first 150 yards. Outside of this, the hole is pretty straightforward with a generous fairway and bunkers down the left at 220 yards and right at 240 yards. This green is flanked by a bunker left and overall runs back-to-front with interesting chipping areas short.
At 133 yards, the 11th is the shortest hole at Shelter Harbor and another excellent par 3. This is an all-or-nothing one-shotter with a small, back-to-front sloped, two-tier green defended by deep bunkers short and long and steep drop-offs long as well.
One of the weaknesses of Shelter Harbor is that the architecture and memorability sort of wane for a stretch beginning with the par 5 12th hole. There are certainly some solid holes to come, but overall the group is not as strong as what you’ve experienced so far. The 12th hole is a 543 yard dogleg right with a wide fairway lined by a bunker left at 175 yards and right at 250 yards. A strange feature of this hole is a small, smooth rock in the middle of the fairway at only about 150 yards. Once in the fairway, this hole begins to turn right and features a large cluster of bunkers about 50 yards short of the green. This green again contains two tiers and overall slopes right-to-left.
The 13th hole is a quirky, short par 4 with an immediate 180 yard forced carry over tall shrubbery to a partially obscured fairway that turns directly left. While cutting the corner is an option for longer hitters, I don’t see much advantage with the fairway narrowing and numerous bunkers on either side beginning at 220 yards. This diagonal green is long and narrow with a central ridge running through it and several bunkers short.
The 14th is one of the toughest holes on the course as a 437 yard straightaway par 4. Again featuring a significant 185 yard forced carry over a hazard, this fairway is generous but contains a large bunker complex down the left around 250 yards. The most interesting feature of this hole is its green, which has several different plateaus and is defended by a bunker right. Everything on the green funnels towards a back right swale, making this a very fun pin position.
The 15th hole is an amphitheater-like par 3 playing downhill at 201 yards. A gorgeous hole, there’s ample fairway to miss short of a right-to-left sloped green lined by bunkers.
The 523 yard par 5 16th hole features the first water hazard on the course, with a pond dominating the entire left side of a narrow fairway. Bunkers line this fairway as well at 210 yards down the left and 255 yards right. While this is a very pretty hole, it does not fit the rest of the course and feels like it belongs in Florida. Once in the fairway, this hole continues straight and narrow with another large bunker down the right about 90 yards short of the green. This green is subtler than most at Shelter Harbor and is defended by a bunker short and left.
The 17th is another pretty, but seemingly out of place hole as an 178 yard par 3. This hole plays over water the entire way to a shallow, back-to-front sloped green lined by bunkers short and long.
Shelter Harbor’s closing hole is a beastly par 4 at 435 yards playing uphill the entire way towards the clubhouse. My vote for toughest hole on the course, this monster features another lengthy 185 yard forced carry over a hazard to a tree-lined fairway. This approach continues uphill to a two-tiered, severely back-to-front sloped green lined by a bunker right. I would imagine par here usually wins the match.
General Comments: Shelter Harbor offers some of the best practice facilities in America with a giant, near 270 degree grass driving range and numerous short game areas. The clubhouse sits on the property’s highest point and offers beautiful views of the course and Atlantic Ocean. As a private club with few local members, pace of play is usually fantastic and walking with a caddy is mandatory.
Verdict: The best modern course in Rhode Island, Shelter Harbor is a gorgeous, impeccably conditioned, and challenging layout on a big, rocky property. Many (not me) will tell you this is the best course in the state, and it is well-worth a play if invited.
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