Few courses in New England carry the historical weight of Ekwanok. Designed by Walter Travis and opened in 1900, it stands as one of the oldest and most celebrated private clubs in Vermont — a layout that has earned consistent recognition among the finest courses in the country and regularly appears on national rankings of America's best. Travis, himself one of the premier amateur players of his era, brought a strategic, ground-game sensibility to the design that remains remarkably intact more than a century later.
The setting does much of the work. Manchester sits in the Battenkill Valley, framed by the Green Mountains to the east and the Taconic Range to the west, and Ekwanok occupies this landscape with an unhurried confidence. The turf plays firm and fast by Vermont standards, rewarding players who think their way around rather than overpower it.
At par 70, this is not a course that flatters with length. It asks for precision, creativity, and patience — the hallmarks of Travis's design philosophy and, arguably, the hallmarks of golf itself.
