Rhode Island Guide and Deals

Along with providing classy urbanites with a pastoral setting of forested hills, treacherous water traps, and the scenic Moosup River, the Foster Country Club offers a full 18-hole, par 72 course for your golf-cart-rampaging pleasure. Players of all skill levels can get in on the action, but every golfer should beware of the approach to the elevated green on hole 6, the double dogleg on hole 12, and the resident troll beneath the covered bridge.

Staffed by experienced coaches and computers who’ve sworn allegiance to the three laws of golfing robotics, GolfTEC’s motion sensors and high-speed cameras monitor swings and break down each individual’s form on a high-definition video display to get results. Sensors chirp with approval whenever they detect the perfect stroke or an especially witty golfing joke. GolfTEC’s certified personal coaches will point out flaws and strengths while providing golfers with tips on how to permanently improve their game from tee to green through a detailed, diagnostic gameplan.

With a sea of bent-grass greens, picturesque ponds, and strategically placed hazards, Rose Hill provides championship-level challenges for all skill levels, from putting pilgrims to golfing veterans. The professionally designed par 3 golf course features 1,250 yards of well-manicured bent-grass greens, providing a true roll unparalleled by the lesser establishments blanketed by blowing tumbleweeds and mischievous moles.

At Mulligan's Island Golf & Entertainment, 60 covered hitting stalls look out onto 11 acres of target areas, a sprawling configuration that helped earn the facility a spot on Golf Range Magazine's 2011 list of top 100 ranges. Golfers can use the driving range's 20 heated stalls to practice during off-season months without worrying about cooler temperatures stiffening their swings, or they can invest in lessons that use digital teaching methods such as computerized swing analysis to lower handicaps. A USGA-rated course tests participants with nine holes of regulation-size golf, while an 18-hole pitch-and-putt short course and two mini-golf courses help golfers calibrate aspects of their short game. The practice mecca also tests swings at 10 batting cages that feed baseballs and softballs at adjustable speeds to suit both little leaguers and professionals fishing for compliments.

Carved through dense pine trees according to the vision of New England course designer Donald Ross, Triggs Memorial Golf Course artfully incorporates the natural terrain into a scenic, 18-hole layout. The course begins with three long par 4s—demanding par 4s have become the course's calling card—making it a daunting layout for slow-starting swings and jet-lagged 9-irons. Relatively short par 5s offer stick-flickers scoring chances to compensate for some of the more difficult holes, provided they can keep their drives out of the fairway bunkers and dense tree lines that flank most fairways. Flat terrain eases golfers into the round on the front nine, and more hilly terrain awaits on the back nine to complicate club selection and force the occasional above- or below-the-feet lie. Small, well-bunkered greens loom at the end of each fairway, requiring precise approach shots to keep balls on the green. After rounds, golfers can head to Yogi's Grill, where a menu of sandwiches, wraps, burgers, and 13 beers slake appetites that haven't been spoiled by handfuls of savory greenside sand.

Course at a Glance:

• 18-hole, par 72 course
• Course rating of 72.0 from the farthest tees
• Slope rating of 124 from the farthest tees
• Three tee options