Golf Course Reviews Part II: Club at River Oaks

Part two 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. Matt will be attending Cornell University in the fall.

If there was one word to describe the Club at River Oaks, it would be "unique." Although fellow lifestyle editor Matt and I have traveled everywhere from Cape Cod to Kiawah Island to Barbados in search of great golf courses, the Club at River Oaks remains the place most vividly ingrained in my mind.

Nestled into the foothills of the Berkshires, in Sherman, Connecticut, River Oaks' fairways run through polished residential housing, untamed forest, and picturesque streams. It creates a peculiar, yet somehow beautiful and endearing combination of urban and natural life. Ralph Salito, the head pro at River Oaks, rather proudly told me that on no other course in Connecticut will you find such an interesting arrangement of private housing and championship golf (and as both a former realtor and President of the Connecticut PGA, he should know). But that brings me to another point: the people.

The golfing staff at River Oaks consists only of Jason, Fred, and Ralph, yet they make for an extremely friendly and enjoyable golfing experience. While the course itself presents a difficult, if enjoyable test, you will always feel welcome, happy, and relaxed once you return to the clubhouse. And if you truly desire the quality of your game to match the charm and challenge of the course, Ralph and Jason are the most professional, patient, knowledgeable, and considerate teachers from which Matt and I have ever had the pleasure of learning.

From the moment you pull into the parking lot, the red barn house and silo, rolling hills, and elegant white clubhouse together provide a friendly welcome, even if you are visiting River Oaks for the first time. With each swing, chip, and putt, you will fall increasingly in love with the setting and people of River Oaks. If questioned, all golfers reminisce, teary eyed about the one golf course from their childhood they cherish enough to call home; and many spend the duration of their golfing careers attempting in vain to recapture those wonderful memories. Thankfully, I believe I've found the cure for that age-old malady called "home sickness."

Whether you golf a few times a year, are a weekend warrior, or spend almost every day on the links, there is something about the Club at River Oaks that will bring you back to those perfect moments in your past, that will lead you back home.

The Club at River Oaks & Community
2 Evans Hills Road
Sherman, Connecticut 06784
860.354.3330