Farmington, CT Outdoor Activities

Hornet Marine President David Hartmann got his taste for boat design from his father, Hal, an engineer who helped create the smooth-riding deep-vee hull now included on each Hornet 17 speedboat. Today, the 17-foot seacrafts zip through the water with help from Mercury MerCruiser engines, each carrying up to five passengers perched on custom upholstery. Hornet Marine invites landlubbers on factory tours and test drives at its headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, where a staff of nautical experts also keep ships shipshape with oil changes, detailing, and other boat-maintenance services.

The NRA-certified instructors of Your Pistol Permit have one goal: to instill in their students responsible handgun practices as outlined by the National Rifle Association. To do this, they lead the NRA Basic Pistol Shooting course, blending both classroom and range training so students feel comfortable handling a firearm and auditioning for the next Police Academy movie. Along with demonstrating the proper mindset needed to responsibly operate a handgun, instructors teach terminology, stance, loading and unloading, and firearm cleaning. They also offer private instruction for clients who prefer training tailored to their skill level.

Pequabuck Golf Club traces its origins back to 1902, when it welcomed its first fairway explorers as a 5-hole course. After surviving the putter shortage of the Great Depression, the verdant grounds underwent a massive redesign by renowned golf-course architect and author Geoffrey St. John Cornish, who dreamt up more than 200 courses and was reincarnated as a golf cart now free to graze the land.

Under Cornish’s talented eye, Pequabuck became an 18-hole course that incorporates the rustic beauty of nature as its challenging terrain. The course takes golfers on a tee-to-green journey across its mature pine forest, over the Bristol Reservoir that runs through its fairways, and past the railroad tracks that drop off vagabond caddies on two fairways.

After conquering the 18th hole, golfers can head to the clubhouse for casual fare and drinks at The Pequabuck Pub, which features an outdoor patio with views overlooking the course.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 69 course
• Length of 6,015 yards
• Course rating of 70.2
• Slope rating of 118
• See the scorecard

The 18-hole course at The Tradition at Windsor showcases a design that features emerald chutes enveloped by dense forest. The 6,068-yard layout recently received a major renovation by Roger Rulewich, former chief architect for legendary designer Robert Trent Jones, Sr. The course now features repositioned and reshaped bunkers, rendering it more enjoyable, difficult, and suited for sunbathing in the sand. Though the bunkers may look slightly different, most of the course's original splendor remains.

On the fourth hole, golfers can lay up short of the pond that lies just beyond the end of the fairway, leaving a mid- to short-iron onto the elevated green. On the 18th-hole finale, players must bypass a stream that cuts the par 5 in half, then lay up at the bottom of a large hill rather than trying to reach the green in two or waiting for tectonic plate shifts to make it more approachable.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 71 course
• Total length of 6,068 yards from the back tees
• Course rating of 69.8 from the back tees
• Course slope of 119 from the back tees
• Three sets of tees per hole